By Mark Pszonak
Times have quickly changed in college sports, and with that it has become standard for former stars to compare their past situations with the current state of NIL and the transfer portal. The latest to discuss this was former USC wide receiver Keyhawn Johnson, who was on a recent podcast episode of Games With Names, which is hosted by Julian Edelman.
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Aside from saying that he wouldn’t have left USC despite any other possible offers from other schools, he also believes he would’ve made around $10M during his time with the Trojans if NIL existed back in the mid-1990’s.
However, it got more interesting when Johnson brought up the possibility of transferring to a specific school.
“Leaving USC to go where? To Alabama? I’m not going to [*****] Alabama,” said Johnson. “Me? Alabama? A brother from the West Coast? Oh hell no.”
Johnson’s personality was always meant for Los Angeles, but it is also easier to say that he never would have transferred today, instead of when he was 20 years old. Plenty changes when options are presented to you in present time.
Johnson enjoyed his time at USC and excelled while in Los Angeles. In 23 games he totaled 168 receptions for 2,796 yards and 16 touchdowns, before being selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the New York Jets during the 1996 NFL Draft. He then totaled 814 receptions for 10,571 yards and 64 touchdowns while playing with the Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers from 1996 to 2006.
