The USC Trojans have hit the transfer market rather aggressively this offseason. In addition to adding wide receiver K.D. Nixon from division rival Colorado, the Trojans also added running back Keaontay Ingram from Texas. Ingram decided to make the move after Texas announced the hire of Steve Sarkisian to replace Tom Herman. Sarkisian had been the offensive coordinator for one of the best offenses in college football history last year at Alabama. Ingram felt the Texas backfield had become too crowded and he wants to try his hand in Los Angeles.
That said, Ingram is going to find that the USC backfield is just as crowded as the Longhorn backfield, perhaps even more so. Ingram is a 6-foot, 222-pound beast of a back. How that fits with Vavae Malepeai, Stephen Carr, and Kenan Christon remains to be seen. That doesn’t even account for the addition of Brandon Campbell, who was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. There’s also the complication presented by USC running back coach Mike Jinks, who told L.A. Times Trojans beat writer Ryan Kartje that he plans to rotate running backs and wants an “RB1 and an RB2.”
Essentially that means Ingram is going to have to displace Carr or Malepeai as RB1 or RB2, assuming Christon doesn’t take one of those roles. It’s a cluttered backfield.
The biggest thing working against Ingram is USC’s full commitment to the Air Raid gimmick. The Trojans brought in Clay McGuire from Texas State as their new offensive line coach, and he will attempt to turn that offensive line into an Air Raid machine. How this affects the running game remains to be seen, but the Trojans have been trending in the wrong direction for several years.
Factoring in the preferred offensive style of the Trojans with the talent they already have, plus the talent coming in, and you can see the obvious: This is going to be one tough hill for Ingram to climb. That’s not to say he can’t do it, he absolutely can. It’s just that the odds are definitely against him. That said, USC’s motto is Fight On, and Ingram will have to embrace that if he truly wants to leave his mark at USC. It’s a hard road, but one paved with glory and riches if Ingram can meet the challenge.
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January 30, 2021 at 11:44PM
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Keaontay Ingram greets a crowded USC backfield -- can he separate? - Trojans Wire
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