Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia officially entered the transfer portal on Monday afternoon, leaving a void in the kicking game for first-year head coach Josh Heupel to deal with. Heupel quickly got to work replacing Cimaglia, adding a commitment from USC transfer kicker Chase McGrath on Tuesday night.
“THANK YOU USC,” McGrath tweeted. “Blessed to be a Volunteer. #GBO”
THANK YOU USC ✌️
Blessed to be a Volunteer. #GBO pic.twitter.com/xcJ1HTAsLX— Chase (@ChaseMcGrath) February 3, 2021
McGrath played in 30 games during his career at USC. He made 32 of his 42 field goal attempts, with a long of 52-yards. McGrath only missed one extra point in 119 attempts. He even had a tackle and a fumble recovery.
The Newport Beach native began handling USC’s placekicking duties as a walk-on during his freshman year in 2017. McGrath kicked off in 10 games and appeared in all 14 games. He was 12-of-17 on field goals and 58-of-59 on PATs. He also made a tackle and recovered a fumble as he made eight consecutive field goals after missing his first career kick. Of his 57 kickoffs in 2017, 20 were touchbacks and 11 pinned opponents within the 20-yard line. He was hampered the second half of the season with a strained groin, but still managed to win USC’s Joe Collins Walk-on Award.
McGrath was awarded a scholarship after the 2017 season before returning as USC’s placekicker as a sophomore in 2018. He appeared in USC’s first three games before tearing a ligament in his right knee at Texas, which required surgery and sidelined him for the rest of the season, allowing him to redshirt. Overall in 2018, he hit 6-of-8 field goals and all six of his PAT tries.
McGrath re-assumed his starting job as USC’s placekicker as a sophomore in 2019. He appeared in all 13 games, making 14-of-17 field goals and all 54 of his PAT tries. He made the 2019 All-Pac-12 honorable mention, the Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team and was USC’s Special Teams Player of the Year.
This past season, McGrath lost his starting job after suffering from tendinitis in his knee and hip during fall camp.
