Report: ASU football adds former blue-chip recruit in USC transfer Raleek Brown

ASU Football has landed the No. 2 overall running back in the transfer portal per 247Sports, in Raleek Brown from USC.

Per 247Sports, Brown was rated as a four-star prospect out of the 2022 high school class when he played at football powerhouse Mater Dei. Brown was the third-ranked running back recruit in that entire high school class, the seventh-ranked overall recruit in California and the No. 69 overall recruit in the class (all three rankings as of 247Sports).

He was both a running back and wide receiver at USC, although he redshirted this past season. Part of the reason he redshirted was due to not being fully healthy, and also being buried behind other high-skill position talent on the Trojans. He was always going to have a tough time getting carries over the backs that USC had in their backfield this year.

Marshawn Lloyd was their starter, and he averaged 7.1 yards per rush attempt. That's good for ninth in the country. Even their No. 2 running back in Austin Jones averaged 5.6 yards per carry on 74 attempts.

Even at receiver, it was still going to be difficult to find targets when competing with the receiver room USC had. Their receiver corps was led by the likes of Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice.

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Washington racked up 963 yards this regular season. Rice grabbed 12 receiving touchdowns. So while Brown had to redshirt in 2023, and finished with just 34 scrimmage yards and one touchdown, it wasn't because he isn't capable as a player.

He showed promise in 2022 — his true freshman season — where he averaged 5.4 yards per rush attempt (on 42 carries) and 10.9 yards per reception (on 16 catches). Brown added six touchdowns that season as well (three rushing and three receiving).

Brown won't be competing with a star-studded group of running backs and receivers at ASU. Only one back had 260 or more rushing yards for ASU this season, in RB Cameron Skattebo (783 yards).

ASU could have big plans for him in the slot too. Only one wideout from ASU this year had more than 226 receiving yards (Elijhah Badger with 713). Badger was tied for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns at three with Troy Omeire. Brown had three receiving touchdowns as a true freshman when he was not even on the two-deep at USC.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU Football adds former blue-chip recruit from USC in transfer portal