Like every year, the holiday season brings in a lot of good and bad news for college football programs. Guess this time who is at the receiving end of good news? For a change, it’s Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminole. And who got to bear the blows? It’s Lincoln Riley and USC Trojans. After all, Riley and Co. underwent a costly loss, losing a gem of a player who chose the Seminoles as his next home. Poor, Riley! The Trojans have already lost 19 players since the transfer portal opened on December 9.  

Apparently, the Seminoles appeared to have landed in a sticky spot, ending the season 2-10. All thanks to their HC Norvell, who lost the trust being the HC. So much so that even his buyout figures worth $64,132,500 started doing rounds. And look how the tables turned! Riley’s wide receiver, Duce Robinson, has signed now with Florida State. On Sunday, December 22, Norvell announced, “I’m excited to welcome Duce Robinson into the Nole Family.” What makes the new transfer so enticing?  

Well, Robinson was ranked as a Five-Star Recruit & is the No. 6 Player in the Portal. As Norvell stated, “He is one of the most unique and explosive playmakers in the country. Duce brings tremendous versatility with where he can align, as well as the ability to stretch the field at his size.”

Played for only two seasons with Riley’s program, the young chap appeared in 23 games with five starts. He gifted the Trojans some of his best feats, catching 39 passes for 747 yards and seven touchdowns. Not to forget, he recorded a season-high 90 yards against Nebraska. Wondering what made Robinson choose Norvell’s Seminoles?

Well, Robinson shares a heart-to-heart connection with Florida State. After all, he is the son of former Seminole Dominic Robinson, who played for the program between 2001-2004 in football and baseball in 2022. But this story is just a fraction of what Riley must be going through this holiday season, which turns out to be not so merry for him. 

Lincoln Riley speaks about the reason behind the mass exodus

It feels like every other day, another Trojan player is jumping ship. It’s no surprise, really—a 6-6 season isn’t exactly something to write home about. The heat is on, and these guys are looking for greener pastures. But recently Riley’s pain must have intensified. Just before losing Robinson to Norvell’s Seminoles, the USC HC lost one of their prized possessions, their now former defensive lineman, Bear Alexander. And who got lucky this time to land the gem? It’s none other than Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks. 

Well, Riley must have been prepared for this. Three games into the season, Alexander announced on September 25 that he would be entering the portal after not getting the playing time he desired with USC. After this, Riley immediately started looking for Alexander’s future replacement as he snagged some big names. For instance, four-star defensive lineman Jahkeem “Thanos” Stewart has been USC’s second highest-rated high school signee this recruiting cycle. But somewhere deep down, Riley still has a nudging pain. 

For the USC Trojans HC, there was a clear-cut explanation for the exodus. According to him, behind the portal decisions made and every player transfer, money had to play a big role. “There’s a financial component to every decision that we make. Now, you overpay for the wrong person, it affects every other one on the roster.”

But sadly, as Lincoln Riley believes, college football has now become “more of a business than it’s ever been.”  And as all must be aware of, the Trojans have a NIL problem where the structure doesn’t allow maximum money to flow. It’s high time the Trojans do something about it.