Transfer Tracker: USC transfer DT commits to UCLA

Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

The transfer portal never stops grinding. Jay Toia pulled a surprise when he decided to leave USC and enter the portal. He then did it again on Tuesday night when he committed to cross-town rival UCLA, over Michigan, the assumed favorite by most.

Recruiting: Toia was a very early commitment to USC, making his decision during the spring after his freshman season. Holding offers from schools like Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, Utah and Tennessee at the time of his commitment, he added additional offers from Oregon, LSU and UCLA over the course of the next two years. After taking a closer look at a few schools, he stuck with the Trojans at the end.

At USC: Toia was an early enrollee with the Trojans. From multiple reports he impressed during his initial collegiate experience.

Farrell’s Take: It was interesting to see Toia in the portal already after just a spring with USC and his upside is impressive as a huge tackle who can move. Michigan was thought to be the place here but a great visit to UCLA before his trip to Ann Arbor clearly impresed and he's going to be a tough one to handle for the Trojans and others. He's a 3 tech who can also play over center as a nose and is very scheme flexible.

Impact Meter: 8.5 out of 10

IMPACT METER

The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.

1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.

4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.

6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.

9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.

10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.