Lincoln Riley went into the transfer portal knowing he had to upgrade the special teams unit at USC.
Walk-on kicker Denis Lynch manned the spot for the Trojans. While he was decent (10-of-14 on FG attempts), his lack of respective range led to USC either punting or being forced to go for it on less-than-ideal 4th down conditions.
Dipping into the portal, USC earned a commitment Monday from kicker Michael Lantz.
Ironically enough, Lantz came from Georgia Southern — the program that ex-USC head coach Clay Helton currently coaches.
Initially, Lantz began his collegiate career at Minnesota. He eventually left after three years and headed south to Georgia Southern.
Pro Football Focus listed Lantz as a First Team All-Sun Belt Conference player this past year. He set a school record with 23 field goals converted (on 28 attempts).
Perhaps even more impressive, nearly 71 percent of his kickoffs went for touchbacks. Lantz was also flawless (45-of-45) on extra-point attempts.
The element of touchbacks seems like a rather mundane thing. However, it was a problem for USC last year. Far took often did the Trojans gift the opposition solid field position simply due to the fact their assortment of kickers couldn't consistently kick the ball deep enough to warrant a touchback. It put the defense in a hole routinely.
With considerable experience both in the Sun Belt and the Big Ten, Lantz should walk right into the starting kicker spot for the Trojans from the jump.
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