USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans running back Travis Dye

Countdown to kickoff is back! USC will kick off its 2026 football season on August 29 when the Trojans host San Jose State at the Coliseum. In this series, we will be counting down the days until the season opener by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number.

With 26 days to go, today we look at former USC running back Travis Dye.

Position: Running back

Years played at USC: 2022

Career highlights: Dye spent the first four years of his college career at Oregon—even scoring the game-winning touchdown in the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game against the Trojans. Prior to the 2022 season, Dye transferred to USC for his final year of college eligibility. It did not take him long to make an impact with the Trojans, rushing for over 100 yards in five of his first eight games in Cardinal and Gold.

Unfortunately, Dye’s USC career came to a premature conclusion when he suffered a leg injury during a November game against Colorado, ending his season. Without Dye, the Trojans took down rivals UCLA and Notre Dame, before falling to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game and Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.

Despite playing in just ten games for USC, Dye had a massive impact on the program, as his leadership played a key role in helping the Trojans improve from four wins in 2021 to 11 in 2022. Following his departure, USC was not the same caliber of team the following season.

After USC: Unfortunately, Dye’s injury prevented him from being able to work out at the NFL Combine, which likely hurt his draft stock. He was not selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Dye signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, but was waived prior to the start of the regular season.

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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans running back Travis Dye