I asked the folks at Longhorns Wire to provide perspective and context on incoming transfer Keaontay Ingram, who came to the Trojans from Texas.

Patrick Conn, who has been editing Longhorns Wire but will be helping out at Sooners Wire, is an authority on University of Texas football. He joined me to discuss a former Longhorn who is coming to Los Angeles to make his mark on the Men of Troy:

What type of person and athlete is Keaontay Ingram?

Patrick Conn: Ingram is a high character guy that provides leadership for any locker room. He provides athletic ability at the position of running back. Looking at a runner that stands in at 6’ and 223 pounds, you might think he is a power back but he is a lot more than that. Ingram can show off his athleticism in the open field, just ask the Utah Utes about his ability to leap over the competition.

USC has noticeably shifted away from Student Body Right to Air Raid, how does Keaontay fit into that new structure? Is his running style a fit?

PC: Well the USC version of the Air Raid is a bit different than the one that Mike Leach ran in Lubbock as the Texas Tech head coach. Graham Harrell prefers to run the ball a lot more. Given that, Ingram is definitely a fit. He can run on the edges or between the tackles. In this offensive system, a lot of the touches for a running back are generated in short passes or as some refer to it as a long hand off. Ingram possesses the hands to be a good receiver out of the backfield and he can get downfield in a hurry with his quickness and vision.

Ingram left Texas because of a crowded backfield and USC isn’t going to be much different. How can Ingram separate himself from Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr?

PC: With the transfer of Markese Stepp to Nebraska, there is a need for another running back in Harrell’s offense. It might be one crowded situation for another but he will come in immediately and work to take the starting role in the offense. Ingram might be the better receiver out of the backfield and that is where he can separate himself from the pack.

What do you expect Ingram to accomplish at USC? In other words, what do you personally think he’s capable of?

PC: I think that Ingram is the type of player that can be a workhorse in the offense. The issue with Malepeai and Carr is that neither have had to carry the load. At Texas, Ingram had to split carries with Roschon Johnson and Bijan Robinson in 2020. In his first two years, Ingram was the workhorse down the stretch with over 140 carries in each season and nearly 170 touches overall. When given the opportunity, Ingram could be a weapon for the offense if he is given consistent touches in the offense.

USC has a blend of speed, size, and vision in the backfield. How do you think Keontay fits into that?

PC: It feels very much the same with Ingram in terms of speed, size, and vision. Ingram is probably around the 4.4 range in the 40-yard dash. He clearly has the size as we discussed in a previous question and he does display good vision when he gets to the second and third levels of the defense. He finds ways to weave through traffic to extend runs. All in all, I believe that USC is getting a really good back. It is just unfortunate the way it all turned out.