Dec 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; USC Trojans center Khaliel Rodgers (62) gestures before the snap against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second quarter in the 2015 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

After declaring his intentions to transfer to Iowa State in January, former USC lineman Khaliel Rodgers had taken a Heel turn and is headed to North Carolina.

Flips are ever-common in recruiting, but it’s not every day you see one on the graduate transfer market. Especially after a player has been introduced by his new school. But here we are.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Khaliel Rodgers announced he would be transferring from USC football at Rose Bowl media day in December, before settling on Iowa State a month later. After a change of heart during a whirlwind recruiting process, Rodgers flipped his graduate transfer commitment on Thursday from the Cyclones to North Carolina.

According to Inside Carolina, UNC won out partly due to geography. Chapel Hill is a relative stone’s throw from Rodgers’ roots in Northern Delaware, compared to the treks to Ames and Los Angeles

“I really thought to myself that it was a great opportunity for me,” Rodgers told the Scout site. “It’s only like a 50-minute flight from home, it’s a great area, a great program, and everything just seems to be right there.”

RELATED: How Graduate Transfers Won USC the Rose Bowl

Part of that rightness is a vacancy at center in 2017. The Tar Heels, 8-5 last season and tied for second in the ACC Coastal, are now without the services of three-year starter and graduating senior Lucas Crowley.

Rodgers got to USC as part of Lane Kiffin’s diminutive yet acclaimed 2013 recruiting class, and part of a Eastern Christian Academy package deal with still-Trojan Kenny Bigelow and former quarterback commit David Sills.

SEE MORE: Grading Every USC Recruiting Class Since 2002

In three years of action, Rodgers started six games, including at center during USC’s run to the Pac-12 South crown in 2015.