There were many sleepless nights for Travis Dye as he tried to find the right path forward this winter. The road split in three different directions, each pulling at his heart in a different way.

Return to Oregon and complete his college journey at the place where it all started. Go to the NFL and fulfill his dream. Or return to his Southern California roots and transfer to USC for one season.

So he made pros and cons lists for each option. Talked daily with his fiancée, Erin Hemerson. Had FaceTime sessions with his parents, siblings and in-laws almost every day.

“He was going back and forth, back and forth,” Hemerson said. “He had no clue what to decide.”

Ultimately, though, USC won out, for reasons both football and family. Calling his new head coach Lincoln Riley to inform him of his decision was easy for Dye, though. Letting his Oregon community know was a different story.

But the soft-spoken Dye found a way, inviting his offensive line out to lunch because, after all their battles together, he felt they deserved to hear it straight from him why he was moving back south.

“It was tough. Oregon was my first love and it always will be,” Dye said. “But it was just I gave everything I could to that school for four years straight and it was time to move on.”

Such a decision was unthinkable for Dye as recently as November. Over the course of four years with the Ducks, he had amassed 3,111 rushing yards, the fifth-most in school history, to go with 869 through the air. He earned All-Pac-12 honors and was part of a conference championship and Rose Bowl team.

He was so settled in Eugene that he and Hemerson did not return to Norco, their hometown, during quarantine, staying in their apartment with their three dogs.

“Probably more so than the other kids, he’s the one that created independence and his own path and didn’t come home a lot,” his mother, Danna, said.

But when Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami after the 2021 season, Dye was faced with a new prospect. Even if he stayed at Oregon, he would still be working with a new coaching staff, learning a new offense.

And then on Dec. 23, he proposed to Hemerson, surprising her upon returning home with candles and flower petals leading his high school sweetheart to where he stood with an engagement ring.

So when he entered the transfer portal in January, he had not just his own career to consider but his new family, too.

“It was one of those grown-man decisions, for sure,” Dye said.

Not long after he entered the portal, he received a phone call from USC running backs coach Kiel McDonald. Riley reached out, too, offering his vision for how Dye would fit into his offense.

So even though much of the Pac-12 and many Big 10 and Big 12 schools inquired about his services, it soon became clear that if Dye would leave Oregon, it would be for USC and the chance to play closer to home.

“I personally was stoked. I was like, ‘Let’s go, I’m ready,’ Hemerson said. “But I did not want to make the decision based off our situation. I really wanted it to be focused around his career and what would be better for him in the long run.”

The football side of it, though, was as appealing as the homecoming. Riley laid out a plan to utilize Dye’s abilities in both the run and pass game. Given Riley’s track record at Oklahoma, there was credibility to his pitch.

Still, Danna said, she wasn’t sure what decision he was going to make until he took his official visit to USC. Then, she said, “it was a wrap.”

“What really got me was just coming back home, being with my family. You can’t beat that for the last year in your college career, you really can’t,” Dye said.

Dye moved back in with his parents initially when he got back to Southern California. Hemerson was left in Oregon to pack up their things, and Danna flew up to Eugene to help her move south. Dye’s old Oregon teammates helped load up the truck, and Danna drove it down while Hemerson took the three dogs in her car.

Dye and Hemerson have since rented a house in Whittier. On good days, he’s 40 minutes from USC while cutting the drive to Norco down to an hour. They’re busy planning a second birthday party for Dye’s nephew, Ty, which will be held next month in their new home.

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For Dye, who had only two offers out of Norco High, he’s now the conquering hero returning to the hometown blueblood.

“I take a lot of pride in it, but I know I haven’t really done anything yet. That’s what I feel like,” Dye said. “I know I’ve had a big kind of career up to this point, but I still feel deep down I haven’t done anything yet.”