USC Trojans Land Elite Transfer Portal Offensive Lineman DJ Wingfield From Purdue

The USC Trojans landed a big addition for its offensive line with former Purdue Boilermakers guard DJ Wingfield signing with USC on Sunday. The Southern California native is the seventh commitment for the Trojans via the transfer portal since it opened on Dec. 9.

Purdue offensive lineman DJ Wingfield / X / @_DaJuanye

Former Purdue interior offensive lineman DJ Wingfield has signed with the USC Trojans after taking an official visit over the weekend. Wingfield is taking advantage of a blanked waiver that is giving athletes who competed at a non-NCAA school, or a junior college an extra season of eligibility.

Wingfield was part of big recruiting weekend that featured several transfer portal targets. The Southern California native played his high school football at Redondo Union (CA), less than 20 miles from USC’s campus and will return home for his final season eligibility. Wingfield began his collegiate career by playing two season at El Camino College, two more at New Mexico and then one at Purdue in 2024. He is the third player the Trojans have added via the portal that is returning home to Southern California for their final season of eligibility, joining former New Mexico running Eli Sanders, an Oceanside native and former San Jose State cornerback DJ Harvey, a Palmdale native.

Purdue offensive lineman DJ Wingfield / X / @_DaJuanye

Winfield is the seventh player the Trojans have added in the portal since it opened on Dec. 9, joining Sanders, Harvey, former Kentucky defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver, former Georgia defensive lineman Jamaal Jarrett, former UNLV kicker Caden Chittenden and former Valparaiso punter Sam Johnson.

The addition of Wingfield comes on the heels on Second Team All-Big Ten guard Emmanuel Pregnon entering the transfer portal on Jan. 3. Pregnon had decided to forgo the 2025 NFL draft and played in the Trojans 35-31 thrilling victory over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27. However, since then Pregnon has had a change of heart and is now looking for his third program. 

USC is working to rebuild its offensive line after losing three of its starting offensive lineman in 2024. In addition to Pregnon, starting right tackle Mason Murphy transferred to Auburn and center Jonah Monheim is headed to the NFL. Wingfield adds versatility to the Trojans offensive line with his ability to play guard and tackle.

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USC center Kilian O’Connor and tackle Tobias Raymond performed admirably in their first career starts. Freshman offensive tackle Justin Tauanuu stepped in for Elijah Paige, who was injured on the Trojans' second possession of the game and played very well himself. The Trojans still have some work to do to rebuild its offensive line, but the addition of Wingfield is a great starting point.

USC signed four high school offensive linemen in the 2025 cycle. Four-star offensive tackles Alex Payne, Aaron Dunn, three-star offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona and three-star interior offensive lineman Willi Wascher. 

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