USC added some major pieces to its roster during the spring. One of what was already the top-ranked transfer classes in the country saw a bit more size join the fold on the line of scrimmage.

Bear Alexander (Georgia) and Emmanuel Pregnon (Wyoming) were two of the best additions made by anyone during the spring transfer portal window.

And with the spring window closing on Monday, ESPN pulled together a few of its college football experts to survey which teams made the most of the window and which players are in positions to make the biggest impacts at their new schools. USC was a major winner in that roundtable.

Craig Haubert wrote that Lincoln Riley’s squad improved the most:

When it comes to the transfer portal it can be easy to confuse quantity with quality. A successful utilization does not need to be represented by multiple additions, which brings us to USC. The Trojans’ roster has plenty of perimeter talent and brings in more via their 2023 class, but for them to return to the top of the college football world, questions still remain in the trenches.

The Trojans have worked to address that via the portal, including this spring window with the arrival of Alexander, who contributed to Georgia’s national title defense as a true freshman and gives a unit of need an immediate boost. They also infused more talent to their offensive trenches with Emmanuel Pregnon. He does not come with the same fanfare as Alexander, but he is a big man who excelled last season at Wyoming. Finding quality linemen in the portal is not easy, and the Trojans landed two of the best this go-around.

And Tom Luginbill wrote that Alexander will be the most impactful spring transfer in the country:

For all the talk of USC’s use of the transfer portal over the past 18 months, the two position groups that are truly going to get the Trojans over the hump and in the national title hunt are their offensive line and defensive line. Despite being young, Alexander is a significant upgrade in talent and should make an immediate impact in a league that lacks star power in the defensive line.

USC has struggled to dominate in the trenches, and Alexander is a big building block. He’s talented, disruptive and certainly looks the part. Alexander was the fifth-ranked DT in the 2022 recruiting class and No. 56 overall player in the ESPN 300.