Transfer looks to become threat for USC

A few weeks after losing top recruit Seantrel Henderson to Miami, the USC football team gained one of the Hurricane’s biggest playmaking threats.

Amid a number of players leaving the program, junior Thearon Collier decided to join the sanctioned Trojans. The wide receiver and punt returner will have to sit out this season because of NCAA transfer rules but looks to make signficant contributions next season.

Collier provides USC with explosive talent both on offense and special teams. The 5-foot-9, 192-pound junior caught 44 passes for 574 yards and three touchdowns during his two seasons at Miami and also returned two punts for touchdowns last season, causing some people to compare him to another Hurricane returner, Devin Hester.

But while his decision to join a program handcuffed by the NCAA is intriguing, the real story lies in Collier’s past — one that includes losing a father and a son, and an adolescence bolstered by football.

Collier, 20, is older than his father ever was. In a tragic series of events, his father was murdered when he was 18 in a case of mistaken identity, according to the homicide detectives. Collier had yet to be born.

As a result, Collier grew up in a single-mom household and took on a very reserved personality. He recounted an encounter with Miami coach Randy Shannon to The Miami Herald.

“Every time I’d see Coach Shannon in the hallway I’d drop my head down,’’ Collier said. “He would say, ‘Put your head up.’ I came into his office a couple times but I was scared because I’m not used to opening up.”

Collier said he’s since become more comfortable opening himself up to others, but his life hasn’t gotten any easier.

Collier comes to the Trojans after being dismissed from the Miami team for unspecified reasons.

Several publications in the area speculate that absences  stemming from off-the-field incidents played a role in the decision. One of those incidences involved the death of his child at birth, which occurred earlier this spring.

Despite the recent issues with Collier, USC coach Lane Kiffin is excited to welcome Collier to the team and provide him with a fresh start across the country.

“After talking to him, talking to people at the University of Miami, we feel very confident he’ll come here, fit in, work extremely hard to go through this season,” Kiffin said to The Orange County Register. “He’s been through a lot. He’s had a very tough life so far. I’m glad we could give him an opportunity. Talking to a number of people, I think it’s very clear that this is something that’s very good for him, to get away from home, and start fresh. I know he’s excited to be here as well.”