Former Texas TE Malcolm Epps commits to USC

A week after entering the NCAA transfer portal, former Texas Longhorns tight end Malcolm Epps committed to the USC Trojans on Monday.

Epps is now the third former Longhorns player to land with the Trojans, joining running back Keaontay Ingram and safety Xavion Alford. Former Texas assistants Todd Orlando and Craig Naivar are both at USC, along with former Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington.

The 6’6, 253-pound Epps arrived at Texas out of Spring Dekaney in the heralded 2018 recruiting class as a consensus four-star prospect ranked No. 227 nationally and as the No. 10 tight end, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Despite the classification as a tight end out of high school, Epps arrived as a bit of a tweener and began his career at wide receiver, playing in two games during the 2018 season when starting wide receiver Collin Johnson suffered a knee injury, catching one pass for 18 yards.

As a sophomore, Epps played behind Johnson as an outside receiver and once again saw playing time when Johnson missed much of the season with a hamstring injury. Epps started seven games, catching 20 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns, but struggled to consistently create separation.

During the spring, Epps made the long-expected move from wide receiver to tight end, but was unable to pass sophomore Jared Wiley on the depth chart, serving as the third-string player at the position. Epps appeared in nine games during the 2020 season, catching three passes for 42 yards and three touchdowns.