APBut before anyone gets up in arms about the wording, I’m sure he meant it was the best decision for him.
Although, given the reason why USC is currently facing sanctions, it’s pretty funny.
But former Penn State running back Silas Redd has his own reasons why he decided to transfer to USC when NCAA president Mark Emmert handed down hefty sanctions to the PSU program. Redd called it “a business decision” but didn’t elaborate.
“It was either Penn State or here,” Redd said Sunday. “I wasn’t going to go anywhere else. This is my new family now. We’re all going to get a fair shot and we’re competing for the No. 1 (tailback) spot.”
Redd is one of several players to depart Penn State since the sanctions. The NCAA granted immediate eligibility to those wishing to leave, and you can’t blame any of them for doing so.
Players have their reasons for choosing the college they did. The Sandusky scandal and the sanctions given to the program changed things at Penn State. Some will stick it out, and that’s admirable. Others feel another opportunity will benefit them more.
It happens all the time.
(Source: Los Angeles Daily News)
Business…personal…who cares. It was his decision to make and he made the decision that made sense for him.
Sorry but I think the NCAA went way beyond what was called for by allowing these players carte blanche. It made a mockery of the entire academic process IMO. Every one of the kids that transferred would have learned a more valuable lesson by remaining at Penn St. That is just the way I feel.
Agree with gamecocker.
And this is Kiffin’s whole approach to college football….its a business. At least he admits it.
Good luck Silas, you’re going to need it. LOL
Kiffin has a very mafia approach to business. Only thing that matters is the bottom line!
Yeah….. business decision $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Some folks, even in California, are questioning his statement and wondering if his business is similar to Reggie Bush’s?
he had to leave. u don’t want to be the focal point of a crappy team. if he stayed it would have killed his draft stock. btw. psu should have been given a five year death penalty. not just a silly monatary punishment. they made much more from this scandel and hopefully they will lose it all.
Bless his heart. He’s so dumb he doesn’t even realize the implications of that statement.
Silas made an excellent decision !!! He’s on THE premier team on the West Coast with tons of TV exposure. You Trojan haters can keep your heads in a hole, no biggie same old same old………He has greatly improved his draft status instead of playing on a “death squad” !!!
The Penn State football program announced changes to its player uniforms this afternoon, opting to add player names to the backs and a blue ribbon in support of child sexual abuse victims.
It will be the first time in the 126 seasons of Penn State football that names will be shown on the backs of jerseys.
Coach Bill O’Brien lauded the players who opted to return after the NCAA levied heavy sanctions against the program last month.
“We want our fans to know and recognize these young men,” O’Brien said in a university press release.
- Courtesy of the Harrisburg Patriot-News
Silas Redd made the correct “business” decision. He got out of Pedophile State so he has a better draft pick possibility when he decides to turn pro. Had he stayed at Pedophile State he would have been ignored and gotten little good publicity. Now he is at Tailback U. where he’ll be able to improve and play for a team that has credible national championship aspirations.
NCAA Give Pedophile State the Death Penalty!
The NCAA sold themselves out in the handling of PSU. And for what? Some public favor?
The same organization that pesters programs across the country for guys bunking at a friends place because they get to campus a day or two before practices start and for hitching rides on a scooter to get to class because its an “illegal benefit”- and numerous other petty “incidents”- now just had an AMATEUR ATHLETE say he made a BUSINESS decision!!
Integrity (or what was left of it) gone.
I can’t fault Redd for moving out west. If he believes the NFL is in his future, he really had no other choice but to leave Penn State, especially given how many other key players have left as well. It’s too bad, however, that he was so publicly “recruited” by his new head coach and team. Kiffin doesn’t get style points for dancing on Penn State’s grave.
@Trojan33SC
For the record, USC was one of my favorite schools growing up. I’m not a hater of the Trojan’s. As a matter of fact I still root for them. I’m not fond of Lane Kiffin but that is another story. I respect his recruiting ability (except in this case of course) and his coaching. His character and ethics leave alot to be desired. I continue to believe the NCAA went way beyond by allowing these kids to move on without sitting out the year. They just violated their own rules. Anyway, Fight On! The Gamecocker
Oh boy. Last time I heard a cfb player say going somewhere was a “business decision” it was Scam Newton on the Jim Rome radio show.
@frenchy121212
Don’t get me started……..that was clearly a “BUSINESS DECISION” if ever there was one. But the NCAA dropped the “panties” on that one!
Listen you nimrods, I cant stand Cam Newton…I’m sick of that guy, but not only did the NCAA turn up nothing at Auburn, neither did the friggin FBI!
OK, I know his dad tried to shop him to MSU, but there is no evidence of anybody profiting from him signing with Auburn, and continuing to harp about it just makes you both look stupid.
Oh yes – mass transfers available – go to a team that can maybe play in a bowl – don’t worry about transfer credit and completing a degree on time(schools can only take a certain percentage of transfer credit, usually not more than 60%), allow coaches to harass players and then bitch about a football culture. Is the ncaa that blind to its own lack of integrity and how it treats “student-ATHLETES”? Yes, we need the money coming in to keep the coaches paid, and the players coming around. We need the money from TV to pay for the ncaa lavish headquarters and all. The ncaa bemoans the PSU football culture and then glorifies it with the idiotic transfer rules, and people wonder why no one trusts the ncaa in this case or actually in many cases. But to be fair for the ncaa it is a culture of money, and not a culture of college sports.
I wish Redd the best but I’m not sure he even made the best “business decision” by joining USC. He was not going to have to share the spotlight at Penn State. He was guaranteed 25+ touches a game there and would still be on TV every Saturday. He might not even be #1 tailback at SC and will share limited touches in an offense that will be pass happy featuring a Heisman candidate at QB. I understand the desire to play for a championship with more nationally televised games, but he is taking a risk by moving. Kiffen has proven to be less than trustworthy. Just ask the kid who just lost a scholarship to make room for Redd.
Welcome, Silas.
Just remember, Kiffin did nothing wrong in acquiring Silas. Silas did nothing wrong in leaving PSU. The wrong doers were Sandusky and the Paterno cover-up team.
As a society, we tend to assign blame in all the wrong places. Guns killed several in Dark Knight Rises movie theater. No. It was James Holmes who killed those people.
I have a feeling Silas would have wanted to have been given a head’s up about Sandusky when he was being recruited by Penn State. In the end, Silas could have said “No” to Kiffin and stayed at Penn St. It was Silas’ decision. If he doesn’t want to be at Penn State, why must he stay?
If you’re upset about USC acquiring Silas Redd, it’s most likely because you’re afraid of USC’s power and jealous of it. If that’s the case, be mad at the NCAA for their rules or at Sandusky for causing this entire situation to happen.
Last I checked PSU still plays a Big 10 schedule packed with big schools and plays in front of 105,000 fans. The NFL STILL will scout PSU and the rest of the Big 10. Other than one extra game a year. I really don’t see that much of a difference. In fact I expect the lions to have a good year. Plus now he has that Karma thing against him.
From what I am taking from the NCAA punishment is rapong women and covering it up is alright. Beating your wife in front of people and tell the school to go to hell in a sense when it wants to pull the football player scholarship is ok. If you are wondering what I talking about, google U of Washington, football, and rape. Also Colorado Football and rape. There was no threats of sanctions Promise to take money for a rape criss center. Talk of football being more important then the academics.
Add the University of Montana, football, and rape to your search. They have their own freeh type of report condeming the cover up of the football program.
My point is this was done to make the NCAA good amd they had morals. By the way, Mark Emmert once bragged how important the success of the football team was to LSU, who complained about Penn States football culture, before he left for University of Washington. Hypocrisy at its highest form.
@ yourteam
You are correct about the Karma thing, you are also correct that his NFL aspirations would not have been impacted one iota by staying at PSU, in fact they would have probably been enhanced to be quite honest.
Now he’s got to fight for playing time with a talented squad, Kiffin only needed him for insurance fer crying out loud. I doubt the kid gets more than 4-500 yards this season, now just what the hell is that going to do to his draft stock? LOL
He would have benefited from staying at Penn State, rushing for over 1000 yards, then declaring. As it is now he’ll be no better than a 7th round pick.
houndofthebaskervols says:
Aug 7, 2012 6:07 PM
Listen you nimrods, I cant stand Cam Newton…I’m sick of that guy, but not only did the NCAA turn up nothing at Auburn, neither did the friggin FBI!
OK, I know his dad tried to shop him to MSU, but there is no evidence of anybody profiting from him signing with Auburn, and continuing to harp about it just makes you both look stupid.
///Yeah. He asked for 180k from MSU and they said no. Cecil then said “heck with it son. Go to Auburn for nothing”. Yeah right.
@houndofthebaskervols
Reggie Bush’s draft position wasn’t compromised because of LenDale White’s awesome season. Calling his transfer a business decision makes a lot of sense seeing as USC sends the most players to the NFL draft and also in the first round of the NFL draft all time. plus he will have a chance to add the national championship to his resume a chance that he would not have had at Penn State
Anytime someone talks business its plain and simple,money or making a deal.Bush talked business and got a place on the beach,pimp ride,money and his folks a nice house.Now thats talking business,so Kiffin making deals to get Redd @ Southern Cal happened in the past (Bush) so it just maybe happening again.Lame Kiffin.
Cam did nothing,without proof the kid was clean.You can bet if the NCAA and the FBI could of busted him they would of.Most that hate him envy the way he plays.Best QB in college in a long long time.Complainers,i bet if he won the NC for your team you wouldn`t hate him.lol
@kozbee
You kind of just contradicted yourself. You said Cam and Auburn did nothing wrong because the NCAA didn’t have the evidence to prove Auburn paid Newton. OK, fine. That makes sense. But are you saying that Kiffin and/or USC was involved in paying Reggie? Because according to the NCAA USC was never implicated in the Bush scandal. Maybe that’s not what you’re saying but I guess I’m asking for you to clarify. If you believe Auburn then you should believe USC.
That pac10 sure is scary. What a bunch of sec wannabes. Ha ha.
@papabush88…USC’s got a good, if not particularly deep football team, but “it’s most likely because you’re afraid of USC’s power and jealous of it.”???
UT played SC for the championship in ’05…did it appear that we were quaking in our boots when SC took the field? How about Stanford? They’ve represented quite well against USC for a while now. You miss the point of the post anyway.
The complaint is NOT that Redd chose to transfer to USC. It’s that little Kiffin came on like a used car salesman in recruiting him. Several players have already transferred out from Penn State, including an outstanding kicker in Anthony Fera, who will play for UT these next two years. However, Mack Brown didn’t camp out on the Penn State doorstep recruiting Fera. Fera made the trip, on his own dime, to Austin, and was only offered then.
What Kiffin did WAS within the rules, but was unseemly and disrespectful of Penn State. That school has come in for plenty of deserved criticism, but Kiffin, unlike most of the other head coaches out there, chose to pile on by rounding up most of his assistant coaches and borrowing a private jet from a USC got-rocks, to put the full court press on Redd. USC has generally conveyed a sense of class, but Kiffin showed little of that.
Believe what you want, but USC right now doesn’t strike the kind of fear with other teams that the top two or three from the SEC do, not even in the PAC 12 these days. They’re respected. Not feared. Kiffin still has to prove he can coach up the players he gets on campus, by whatever means he gets them on campus.
Everytime i post against Bush you go up in arms.So then why is SC still on probation.By the way did Bush ever give back the Heisman trophy he won,just curious.Pete knew it was about time to run cause the NCAA was about to come down on Southern Cal.Lane is Lame.
@ frenchy
Go complain to the FBI doofus. They spent two months investigating the thing, they found no trace of any deposits in anybody’s accounts associated with the family. Go on thinking he got paid, but you are wrong, as I suspect you are most of the time.
@ papabush
Reggie had way more yards from scrimmage than Lendale White, and he had waaaaaaay more potential as a pro. And this nonsense about going to USC to get drafted is total BS and if you knew anything you would realize that.
@houndofthebaskervols
I get that Silas would be THE guy at Penn St, but it is very true and should be acknowledged that more USC players are drafted and drafted in the first round than any other program. Plus he can actually play for something at USC. If he were selfish, he would’ve stayed at Penn State and been the star of his team. He just wants to win.
@kozbee
You’re just making baseless accusations. The NCAA was never able to implicate Carroll or anyone at USC. You’re cherry picking. The NCAA couldnt implicate Auburnand you’re cool with that. They couldn’t implicate USC and you still think USC cheated. Just trying to correct you. It would be a disservice if I allowed others to remain ignorant. Lane has come a long way since his Tennessee days thanks to Pat Haden
My point is this…the argument that Silas went to USC to improve his draft stock… or even to get drafted at all, is just plain stupid!
And it doesnt matter what USC has done in the past, its what happens today that matters to the NFL. And also as I have posted in detail before, 45 players from nobody schools were taken in the 2012 draft, and that included 3 guys from friggin Utah State fer cryin out loud.
Silas Redd would have been a 2/3rd rounder if he had stated at PSU, and he will still be a 2/3rd rounder, or worse depending on how the NFL views his defection. If he left to compete for a national championship thats fine, but his draft stock will not be affected at all, only negatively.
Better education, better weather, better girls… Honestly, I don’t know why the top recruits don’t always head to California schools. Really, at this point, what would be your justification for not going to, say, Stanford?
USC football is a joke. Going on 40 years now not owning an undisputed national title (those two AP titles in 03 and 04 are lame and overshadowed by the BCS title being the only relevant title in those years…which is why it was fitting that the 04 BCS title was stripped from those cheaters. Mamabushleague can slurp on Trojan dong all he wants to but that won’t change the fact that USC plays in a league that can’t compete with the SEC in modern times. Your school even had to take an SEC reject as a coach.
@houndofthebaskervols
You’re saying he could drop some spots depending on how the NFL views his defection? I can make an argument that leaving PSU just raised his stock with NFL teams because it shows that Silas left Penn St to compete on a team stacked with talent. And not jus any team. The USC Trojans for crying out loud. Maybe the most talented of any team especially offensively. If this guy wants to play he’s got to compete and work harder than he ever has. He’s playing behind another 1,000 yard rusher, 2-1,000 yard receivers, and the 2012 Heisman favorite. NFL scouts should love that and acknowledge that they better not be shady and better be up front with Silas (Saints) or he will leave. Of course there might be NFL teams that want to do shady stuff and won’t want to draft a guy like Silas doesnt tolerate that kind of stuff
Didn’t USC discipline a kid last year for talking about getting paid?
I love it when the President of the NCAA talks about student athletes despite the following:
1. None of the keys players from this years basketball National championship team left with a degree
2. Two yrs in a row of Wisconsin and their Free Agent QB program
3. The majority of PSU transfers won’t graduate with a degree
4. Schools automatically allowing players in Master’s Programs they would normally never qualify for just to satisfy a transfer (Jeremiah Masoli)
5. Two yrs in a row of BCS National Championship teams with key players that didn’t graduate just hanging out for 2 yrs before going pro (Nick Farley, Cam Newton, Trent Richardson)
I wish the NCAA would just say that big time football is about money and the fan experience and quit trying to justify why disadvantage kids are getting an “education”.
@bozosforall
“The titles in 03 and 04 are lame.” What a pathetic argument. I expect better from you, bozos. Sorry that the BCS is a terrible system and left the best team in 2003 and possibly 2008 (according to top Vegas prognosticators) out of the BCS title game. Must be why the BcS is in major reform.
“USC football is a joke?” We have the winningest bowl percentage of any school. The most players drafted all time to the NFL. The most players currently in the NFL. Most pro bowlers. Most first round draft picks of all time. Doesn’t sound like a joke to me.
I, myself, would like to play the SEC more often. It’s tough when most SEC teams play 8 home games a year and like scheduling games against FCS opponents for their OOC schedule. I enjoyed going 4-0 vs the SEC from 2002-2006. I will give some of the SEC their deserved respect. Les and Saban have done great things and of course so has Spurrier.
THAY BREAKIN BREAD
Lol, garbage. Go Irish.
I’m conflicted on this point.
On the one hand, I really do admire those that are staying. They played no direct role in the scandal, so their loyalty is admirable.
On the other hand, I also don’t blame players for leaving because of the stigma that’ll for the foreseeable future be associated with the words “Penn State”.
For those that think PSU football will be terrible over the next few years, you might want to rethink that. I’m no fan of theirs, but if the defections remain few, they’ve got talented players and they will be competitive on the field. You know what they say about letting a wounded animal lie? These guys will play with a permanent chip on their proverbial shoulder for many seasons to come. I, for one, would not underestimate them if they were on my favorite team’s schedule. They will NOT be a guaranteed win like some think.
@ thegamecocker – you said “Every one of the kids that transferred would have learned a more valuable lesson by remaining at Penn St. ”
What lesson would that be?
Is it their lesson to learn, or PSU’s lesson?
They want a shot at winning titles, championships, bowl games and PSU robbed them of that.
PSU changed the conditions of the agreement, not the student-athletes.
PS – here’s the overriding lesson that many are missing:
You don’t allow heinous acts to be committed – crimes against children and a community, try to hide it all… and then COMPLAIN that the penalty is too harsh!
If they DIDN’T allow those things to occur or continue, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the penalty. Right?
NCAA had both power and authority to met out the decided justice. You get what you get at this point.
Papabush – I don’t know why you even bother to respond to Bozo’s comments. It’s obvious he’s an ignorant SEC cracker suffering from Crystal Meth induced hallucinations. Bozo (the clown) hates USC and its apparent that he gets his rocks off making nonsensical scurrilous postings on USC, USC football, Coach Kiffin and the PAC-12.
Silas Redd made a personal decision to leave PSU (as he was allowed) for USC. However I don’t understand Ben Kercheval’s remark “Although, given the reason why USC is currently facing sanctions, it’s pretty funny.” USC is not facing any sanctions, they are under sanctions (for the most ludicrous reasons) and as far as this being pretty funny I can’t see any reasons to think of the transfer as being absurd or amusing,
Agree with the people who say that Redd won’t gain a great deal of additional NFL draft exposure at USC – he still would have played a Big Ten schedule at PSU, and very likely would have handled the ball more. The current USC tailbacks are not exactly dog meat, and while I’m sure Kiffin will give Redd some carries, the Trojans have been more of a ” tailback by committee” team for quite some time….his main concern was building depth on that committee, not replacing it with one workhorse back.
However, I don’t doubt that Kiffin and Orgeron did some selling in the now-famous PowerPoint recruiting presentation about the impact that USC could have on his pro prospects…..and they’re probably right. Many NFL teams are still in thrall of the Trojans talent, often drafting part-timers from USC on the belief that they are still better than full time starters from other schools, and they are often correct. If you want college to basically serve as preparation for an NFL career, there is no better place to go – let’s face it, unlike other universities that have a football team, USC is essentially a football team with a nice university attached.
@polegojim
I agree with your comments. My point is a scholar/athlete ideally selects a university based on its academic standing as well as other criteria. I don’t think someone to transfer purely for athletic reasons under any circumstance. In this case, they are part of a team. You win or lose as a team regardless of the situation. You learn to overcome a adverse situation much like most of us experience. Sometimes life deals us a blow which you had no control over. But you deal with it. This to me is one of those examples.
Redd increased his draft status because of the transfer is a joke, a huge joke, as suggested by papabush and other USC members…
Whatever his decisions are for leaving, no one will ever know. To increase his draft status is definitely not one of reasons..
As an NFL scout, what would be more impressive? 1500 yards at USC, behind one of the best Offensive linesmen, with two stud wide receivers, and a potential heismen trophy candidate and number one all draft pick QB, in the PAC12.., or
A 1500 RB from a depleted program, who’s the QB? Number one receiver just left Sooner rather then later. And they’re still playing in the BIG10… Be honest with yourself, which would be more impressive?
And papabush please stop with the “sec schedules fcs” teams and we don’t !!
I don’t know how many you are going to point that out… Who does USC open their season opener against this year?? No, not that power house FBS football program over the Pacific!!!! Slow down there lets not over load ourselves so early in the season.
Say what you want about the BCS bowl but it did what it suppose to. Slive is no idiot, he knew that the only way to walk a mile is one step at a time. Do you really think that we would be looking at a four team playoff ten, twelve years ago.., and the only time the BCS fail was in ’04, when they left out an undefeated Auburn team in a championship game,.. Other then that, and this is coming from an LSU fan, when did it fail?
@crazyasian – USC is opening their season against Hawaii. The Hawaii home and home series was scheduled off Hawaii’s 12-0 record, WAC conference title season when they were ranked #12 in the BCS. Things changed after June Jones left but your sarcastic comment about UH being a “powerhouse” is uneducated.
While the SEC may not be the only conference that schedules FBS teams they are the only FCS conference that schedules FBS opponents in November. My assumption is that is being done to have a cupcake game on the schedule where there is a miniscule chance to be upset in order to influence the polls with a lop-sided score.
It’s peculiar that that you categorized the 2004 Auburn season as a BCS failure. Potentially an argument could be made if Auburn had stronger OOC opponents other than Louisiana Monroe, Citadel and Louisiana Tech, (two FBS teams in the mix) but an undefeated USC went #1 from wire to wire to play an undefeated Oklahoma who was #2 from wire to wire. It appears that SEC bias was not quite so much a factor back in 2004.
@thecrazyasianinseccountry
I am not saying that coming to USC 100% improved his draft stock. I’m just offering another argument. A difference in opinion. I recognize one side’s argument that Redd could have been THE MAN at Penn St racking up stats. However, there’s more to it than just racking up stats. NFL scouts also really look at player’s work ethic. Vontaze Burfict racked up the stats for ASU as a stud LB, but his work ethic and attitude were terrible. My point is that there are more things to look at. But I absolutely agree that Redd probably could have had a better chance to stuff his stat sheet at PSU. However, that may not be true if PSU keeps getting gutted and loses OL. Who will create the holes and block for Redd?
I am not sure how old you are, but I clearly remember the atmosphere at the end of the 2003 season. Just about everyone (including fans, sports writers/analysts and sports prognosticators) had USC as the best team in the nation. Oklahoma lost 35-7 in their Conference Championship game for crying out loud!!! USC’s only loss was @Cal to in 3OT (Aaron Rodgers was QB). That is why USC earned an AP title following their dismantling of Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Yes, Auburn was undefeated in 2004 but USC ran the table in 2004 with the No. 1 ranked toughest schedule in the nation. And USC had destroyed Auburn the previous year @Auburn 23-0. Oklahoma actually looked pretty good, but USC’s 55-19 destruction proved that no one could beat USC that year.
I’ve always said this: The SEC is a GREAT conference. But enough with the FCS teams. Why would a great conference schedule those teams? And the SEC does it more than any of the top conferences in CFB. That should bug an SEC fan more than anyone else. I hate when USC plays weak OOC teams. I loved it when we scheduled home and home series with Ohio State, Auburn, Arkansas, Nebraska, Texas (coming in 2017, 2018), Kansas State (when they were good), and a game vs Va Tech. Also, sometimes scheduling happens so far in adavance, you have no idea how good or bad a team will be by the time you play them. Take Hawaii for example. They are not good right now. We play them Sept 1. But 5-6 years ago they played in a BCS game. We meet Texas for a home and home series in 2017 and 2018. This was scheduled maybe 3-4 years ago. Maybe Texas will be terrible by that time. Maybe they will be No. 1 in the nation. You can’t count on those things. What you can count on is that FCS teams are not in the same league as FBS. Maybe they can be mediocre, but do you really see them as being a BCS contender?
The BCS also failed in 2004 for Cal. It also failed in 2004 and 2008 for Utah. Utah was undefeated in 2008 and had to play Alabama. Utah blew out Alabama, who later won the BCS title the following year. It also failed in 2001 for Oregon. That Joey Harrington Oregon team was really good. Even the top Vegas prognosticators had USC as the No. 1 team in 2008.
STOP WITH THE STUPID DRAFT POSITION TALK
Deangelo Williams, Chris Johnson, Joe Flacco, Demarcus Ware, and numerous others were drafted in the first round after playing at the likes of Memphis, East Carolina, Delaware, and Troy. If you can play, the scouts will find you and you’ll get drafted where you deserve- and if not, OMG YOU GET TO PROVE IT IN GETTING YOUR NEXT CONTRACT.
That, along with the new shelf-life/devaluation of the RB in the NFL, is making all of this dumb draft talk meaningless; and those whose are speaking it look stupid
@mrpowers88
Very true. There are guys out there that many overlook, but scouts find. Diamonds in the rough.That needs to be taken into account, and it would be stupid to not do that. But it is also stupid to disregard the fact that there is one program out there that send more bodies to the NFL draft, and more bodies in the 1st round of the draft…and that is USC. Most pro bowlers too I believe. In fact, the NFL Network named USC as the No. 1 all time NFL factory, meaning USC sends the best talent to the NFL. (Miami was #2 and ND was #3). The NFL loves USC. Sure, there are misfires like Leinart and Mike Williams…but there are more direct hits like Polamalu, Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing, Marcus Allen, Keyshawn Johnson, Ronnie Lott, etc.Say what you want about Palmer, Sanchez, and Cassel. They all start for their respective teams.
@ mrpowers88
Joe Flacco started out at Pitt, but transferred for more playing time Pat Devlin did the same thing a couple of years later. Point is they were already D-1 talent. And Chris Johnson only had one good season in the Pros so far.
aah, i love a young man with school spirit!!!!
papabush88 says:
Aug 8, 2012 1:12 AM
@bozosforall
What a pathetic argument. I expect better from you, bozos. Sorry that the BCS is a terrible system and left the best team in 2003 and possibly 2008 (according to top Vegas prognosticators) out of the BCS title game. Must be why the BcS is in major reform.
—————————————
Couldn’t agree more about the BCS — of course, this was the same crummy “system” that denied the powerhouse ’04 Utah squad a rightful chance to compete for the national championship, which of course benefited USC. (Funny I don’t hear you complaining about that.) USC got to play a mediocre Michigan squad, on their home turf, and practically have the red carpet rolled out for them that year. Making USC’s “championship” all the more questionable.
Utah was likely the best team in football that year, and Urban Meyer would’ve beaten that SC squad. This was just politics in action — the same politics that has always benefited “pet” schools like USC, the BCS lapdog. A USC fan complaining about the BCS is like Saudi Arabia complaining about OPEC.
But hey, you only remember ’03 and ’08 — how self-serving.
papabush88 says:
Aug 7, 2012 7:40 PM
Welcome, Silas.
Just remember, Kiffin did nothing wrong in acquiring Silas. Silas did nothing wrong in leaving PSU. The wrong doers were Sandusky and the Paterno cover-up team.
As a society, we tend to assign blame in all the wrong places. Guns killed several in Dark Knight Rises movie theater. No. It was James Holmes who killed those people.
I have a feeling Silas would have wanted to have been given a head’s up about Sandusky when he was being recruited by Penn State. In the end, Silas could have said “No” to Kiffin and stayed at Penn St. It was Silas’ decision. If he doesn’t want to be at Penn State, why must he stay?
——————————————–
Spoken like a true SC’er — why nothing is EVER our responsibility, EVER!
Yes, it’s all on Silas, he could’ve “said no” and stayed. Uh, guess what? Kiffin, too, had the option to “say no” to benefiting from the spillover from Sandusky’s crimes, and never recruit Redd in the first place. But of course, that possibility never occurs to you, because again, we’re USC, and we’re never guilty — or even responsible for — anything!
Don’t you see? The responsibility’s all on this college kid, not the adult coach! Even though the USC coach was the one who initiated things, who started the process in motion, it’s all on Redd!
Regardless of who committed the crime, the fact is, USC is benefitting from the outcome. The fact that you refuse to see such an obvious truth doesn’t change that reality. Kiffin knew what happened at Penn State, he knew taking Redd would be benefitting from the whole sad situation, but in the end — just like Joe Paterno — he decided to put “the program” above all else.
And that’s the bottom line.
@ampat – Don’t know if you’ll ever read this considering the original article is dated but I find your last comments unfathomable.
In the case of Redd, it is true that USC started this process and there is no denial of responsibility. Before Redd was recruited the idea went through the AD and USC President’s office. Kiffen then approached Redd’s High School Coach as an intermediary. This led to a meeting where USC made a serious pitch on how Redd would fit into the USC program. While you personally may believe that Coach Kiffin was unethical in recruiting Redd to play for USC, by your comments you’re taking the position that Coach Kiffin’s desire to do what’s best for the USC football program by recruiting Redd to play at USC equates to Paterno and Penn State to do what’s best for Penn State by not taking action to investigate the heinous crime of children being raped by a program coach.
@ampatsisahypocrite
If you really think that 04 Utah could’ve beaten 04 USC (a team that destroyed undefeated Oklahoma 55-19) you seriously need help. USC had the toughest schedule that year. 2004 USC is known in many places to be one of the all time great teams.
@papabush88
Agree – USC ’04 one of the greatest teams ever.
I realize Kiffin did nothing wrong re. Redd. But it just “smells bad” that USC would stoop to that level to recruit this chump. I seriously doubt that Coaches: Howard Jones, John McKay, John Robinson, or Pete Carrol would EVER tarnish the great legacy / history of this storied program. And you know I am not a USC hater. I am a fan of USC West and have been all my life. While I’m a proud graduate of U. of South Carolina, USC is still one of my favorites. FIGHT ON!!! But the Trojans don’t need to raid other programs to be supreme.
@thegamecocker
You can never do any wrong by me. USC and Kiffin deserve some sympathy on this one. Gamecocker, you’ve asserted before that the NCAA sanctions on USC were pretty unfair given the circumstances surrounding the Reggie Bush scandal (such as the fact that the NCAA even admitted that no one at USC knew it was happening..they just should have known). Because of this, our team has been struggling with a 75 man roster. I can remember back when USC had players transfer due to our sanctions. Kiffin never whined, at least publicly, about it. He was hired into a job, where before he could coach his first game, the transgressions of one individual from years before, affected a coaching staff and team that had nothing to do with the scandal. It is unfortunate that the PSU team is being gutted. However, the blame should rest solely on Sandusky and the Paterno cover-up team. I see how, on a moral platform, enriching your program by depleting another’s roster looks bad, but that is nothing compared to the immoral acts performed by Sandusky and the injustice of Paterno by protecting a child molester and his beloved program. Kiffin is offering Redd to be a part of something real, and not a lie that PSU offered. I’m not a HUGE fan of these circumstances either. I wish we could’ve recruited Redd out of high school. That would be ideal. But at that time, he was being a sold on a lie. Remember too that Redd has a choice to stay or go. He shouldn’t be blamed for walking away from PSU.
I work as a financial planner for families. I make sure they are properly protected, they can build their equity, save for retirement, get out of debt faster, and save money for children’s education. My company is unlike any other for several reasons, but one being that we carve out a full plan for families, like their debt. Not just insurance and investments. I ask to sit with them and show them what I do. I have a lot of good things to offer and I truly believe in what I do and that what I do really helps families. But at the end of the presentation, I can’t force them to become a client. I do the best to represent my company and myself. Kiffin’s three hour presentation to the Redd family must have been good. I’m sure Kiffin truly believes that USC is the best school/program in the country. I’m sure he suggested several reasons for that in his 3 hour presentation. Obviously, he did a good job doing so. He shouldn’t be condemned for it.
But, everyone is entitled to their opinion. As always, thegamecocker, I respect yours.
Oh papa bush — you and your “immoral acts performed by Sandusky, the injustice of Paterno, oh the horror!” Yeah, I think we’ve established how bad what happened at Penn State was. And that is just the point — it makes USC’s taking advantage of this horrible stuff ALL THE WORSE. Because it’s demonstrated how bad it was, and we’ve had months of public pontifications on the subject. Again, that’s the whole point — the worse the underlying crime, the worse it is to take advantage of the situation. How you or your USC buds cannot see this is simply incomprehensible.
If Penn State had been busted for your garden-variety recruiting violation stuff, that’d be one thing — but to make a conscious decision NOT to stay 1,000 miles away from such “immoral acts,” and rather take full advantage of the situation, well that just — in the words of another poster here — just plain “smells bad.”
Of course, the USC crowd has put the clothes pin on the nose, and no doubt will be cheering every yard Redd gets next year. So enjoy. And be proud. Be very proud.
@ampatsisahypocrite
Oh! I get it finally!!! So, the Sandusky/Paterno scandal was so horrid that the Penn St players who are being punished for it should just have to stick it out. Sandusky rapes children, Paterno covers it up, and the Penn St players who weren’t involved at all, according to you, MUST stay at Penn St and live with the fact that they can’t compete for real. That sounds sooooooo fair. How evil USC and Kiffin are. I’m so ashamed of my alma later for offering a kid a real opportunity to compete in a sport he loves. Shame on USC. The “honorable” thing would be to turn our backs on he innocent football player at Penn St. They deserve to be treated like lepers just like Sandusky. Thank you for explaining it to me.
Show me where I ever said that Penn State players “must stay at Penn St.” In fact I said the OPPOSITE, but again, either you really don’t read my posts, or you’re changing facts to avoid the issue at hand.
Either way, things don’t look good for you.
I never said Redd (or any other Penn State player) shouldn’t transfer, if that’s what they wished. I DID say that any school that ACTIVELY went after Penn State players, in light of the circumstances, was as guilty as Paterno was of putting their program above all else.
Did Kiffin have the chance to act, like, say Coach Jimbo Fisher of Florida State who stated “We did not go after any of the Penn State players and we’re not going to”?
It’s just like originally — and you still owe me for this one — you tried to claim that Redd was the one who contacted USC first, until I pointed out how things REALLY went down. Then you backed into the position of “well Redd could’ve said ‘no’ to USC.” Which, again, is a nice way of absolving USC of all responsibility. What, Kiffin also couldn’t have said “no” to going after Redd in the first place?
Know what? I won’t comment on this again if you’ll do me the favor of answering one question:
Did USC have the option of not recruiting Penn State players, and refusing to make the effort to profit from the “horrid” Sandusky scandal — as some other notable schools did? Was this option available to them, just the same as the option to recruit was?
@amp
You really need to let it go. Redd was coming to USC no matter what. Kiffin’s only crime was making Silas feel welcome and wanted to the Trojan family.
So in the end, you run out of arguments, and this is what you resort to — “Redd’s here, deal with it.” OK, then. At least that’s a bit more honest.
See, what gets me is you USC types have to have it both ways — it’s not enough you exploited the Sandusky situation, no, you can’t admit that, so you have to act like it’s all ethical and above board. So you spin it like you’re taking in some player as if it’s charity work, like he’s a lost stray dog or something — and you’re doing HIM a favor. Uh huh.
No it’s not enough you got the player you wanted, you have to make it seem like it’s the “good” thing to do, too. Why? I mean, it’s not illegal what Kiffin did. Disgusting, yes, but not illegal. See finally I’ll see it your way — there was no “crime.” You simply exploited a situation involving child sexual assault, and its subsequent cover-up. That’s all.
In the end, you did what everyone ragged on Paterno for — putting football above all else.
@PAPABUSH88
You are quite correct that we would not be discussing this IF the powers at Penn St. would have come forth 14 years ago. You are further correct in stating I thought and continue to believe the NCAA sanctions against USC were way overboard. What I was not aware of though was that student-athletes transferred from USC as a result of the actions of the NCAA. I vaguely recall some commits de-commiting but I really don’t remember player defections. But I’ll take your word for it. I understand your feelings and we can agree to disagree. I honestly don’t think Jones, McKay, Robinson, or Pete Carrol would have gone after PSU players. I might be incorrect….who knows. I suppose Robinson or Carrol might answer off the record. Anyway, I’m expecting big things from the Trojan’s as well as the Fighting Gamecocks this coming season. FIGHT ON!!!
@amp
“In the end, you did what everyone ragged on Paterno for — putting football above all else.”
FALSE: Paterno covered up a child molestation scandal in order to protect his football team. This meant that Paterno was willing to allow Sandusky to do perform more harmful and disgusting acts on more children. That’s what we “ragged on” Paterno for. He protected a child molester.
Lane sought after a player, who was probably going to come to USC anyway, to improve his football team. Lane did so without jeopardizing the lives of anyone.
Your argument makes no sense. If Lane was trafficking children to sexual predators as part of a bizarre deal that would help Kiffin and USC acquire Redd…THAT WOULD BE THE SAME/SIMILAR TO WHAT PATERNO DID.
I would agree with part of your argument if Kiffin forced Redd to come to USC. But we didn’t. Lane probably asked Silas and his family “If you transferred to USC, do you think you could improve your life and career chances?” Obviously, Silas said “Yes.” He made the choice. Lane just presented him with the offer.
Say you’re an employee at a company, and you have done nothing but excellent work and represented your company in the best possible way. One day news breaks out that the CEO, VP, and other heads of the company are involved in a heinous scandal (maybe like a Ponzi Scheme). Company stock plummets and several families lose their lifes’ savings, but a rival company sees that you were an excellent employee; one of the best. They want to hire you. They promise to run a clean program. Do you choose to go down with the ship? Is the rival company wrong for reaching out to you and perhaps capitalizing on the crimes of others? Do you think the shareholders of the tanking company who got “screwed” are pissed off at the company they have stake in, or the rival company that just hired a former employee?
Always go to the source of the issue: Sandusky and the cover up. I don’t care about other coaches’ holier than thou stance on the recruiting of PSU players. It’s irrelevant. They’ll stay if they want to stay. They’ll leave if they want to leave. Why not make them feel wanted?
@thegamecocker
I would hope those other USC coaches would go after Redd if they were facing the same ridiculous scholarship reductions/sanctions Kiffin is facing. Remember, Kiff took the HC job at USC before the sanctions were brought down on USC. He inherited a program in dark territory because of the actions of one player. I’m sure any Trojan fan expects Kiffin to do his job and do it by the rule book. If Kiffin didn’t express interest in Redd, that would be a bigger problem. It would mean that he’s not serious about winning football games. He has said from Day One of Spring Camp 2012 that USC is thin at RB. Amir Carlisle transferred. George Farmer wanted to move back to WR. And Kiff even tried to move LB Tre Madden to RB, until he tore his ACL. USC only has 75 players compared to everyone else’s 85. Kiffin didn’t ask for this. If you asked him, I’m sure he would rather have 10 more guys at various positions than one Silas Redd.
I understand the “how it looks” factor of Kiffin recruiting Redd considering the Sandusky scandal. However, I end up at the same conclusion every time I try to look at this issue in a different light: The final decision was up to Redd (and his family). If there was some rule that stated that a school could forcibly remove Redd from PSU and admit him to another school, that would suck. That would be a case of something where “it’s not illegal, but it looks really bad.” Nothing wrong with Lane believing that USC is the best fit for Redd. He can only repeat the awesome things about USC. It is Redd’s choice. And Redd should NOT be tried as a traitor to PSU. PSU betrayed Redd.
With Alabama getting gutted in the NFL draft, Arkansas losing Petrino, and LSU losing Mathieu….things are looking good for South Carolina. I think Georgia is a little overrated. South Carolina will have Lattimore back. Shaw looks good. Spurrier is a legend and Clowney is a beast. I think South Carolina not only has a great chance of winning the SEC East, but now also winning the SEC.
USC vs USC in the BCS title game??????
@ampat – While you’ve obviously made up your mind on this topic but in saying “In the end, USC did what everyone ragged on Paterno for — putting football above all else” you’re making the case that Paterno’s condonment of child rape for the sake of not wanting to hurt the Penn State program is as egregious as USC’s recruitment of Redd to add depth to the USC program’s running game. If you believe that USC did some wrong in pursing a Penn State player you have a right to your opinion but taking a position that there is even a remote connection to being unethical in pursuit of a player as a consequence of what happened at Penn State is beyond ignorant.
Oh, papa bush — you shoulda quit while you were ahead. I was fine with the “Redd’s our’s now, deal with it” idea. But no — you and your SC buds just HAVE to act like what you did was all morally peachy, too. You have to have it both ways.
Do they teach reading comprehension at USC? Jerseyshore dude, obviously I am not saying that recruiting a player (no matter how distasteful the circumstances) is the same as covering up the crimes of a pedophile. What I am saying is that Kiffin acted in the SPIRIT of Paterno, in that he put “the program” above all else, including taking advantage of a sickening situation involving children. Rather than do what the Florida State coach did, and declare that he wouldn’t go after Penn State players, period — Kiffin instead said screw it, we need a back, and here’s the chance to nab a good one!
In some ways in fact it IS worse than what happened at Penn State, because for months all we’ve heard was “bad Sandusky, bad Paterno, bad bad bad!” So to go in and profit after it’s been ESTABLISHED that things were awful, is almost beyond belief!
And I’m not even just picking on USC — it’s ALL the schools who swooped in and feasted on the carcass. Got it?
This isn’t recruiting — it’s more like looting. It’s like going in and taking furniture after a house fire. After a confirmed arsonist struck. Why do you think the FSU coach said what he did? Because he knew the reality of the situation. He WASN’T going to take advantage of the sick situation Sandusky created. Yes, Sandusky and Paterno were responsible for the framework — but that has NOTHING to do with what Kiffin did afterwards. Again, Kiffin could’ve walked away, but chose not.
Like I said, good for you for nabbing Redd. But spare me the moral justifications. It is what it is.
So now I must ask, guys — how does it feel to get morally bested by Florida State? Bwahahaha!
@amp
I don’t really feel bad that my coach is open to the idea of improving the team within the rules. I’m more concerned about the real victims of the Sandusky scandal, than the PSU football team. By real victims, I mean the children that Sandusky molested. I have a feeling they are more concerned with the incarceration of a monster and not about a player to leaving the Penn State program.
According to Silas Redd’s dad, it was only between USC and Penn St. Would you still be on your period if he chose us over Penn State without Lane visiting him?
I really don’t care about other coaches. Why should other programs want Penn State players anyway? USC only has 75 players on scholarship and every other school has 85. I highly doubt when USC was having players transfer a couple years ago that you were complaining about that.
So tell me what I already knew — you don’t care that USC profited off the situation involving the “real victims, the children Sandusky molested.”
And if you don’t care that your school actively sought to profit from it, well then, I doubt you care as much about the victims as you claim.
I’ve already explained — and explained — the deal with Redd “choosing” USC. You clearly choose not to listen.
Florida State morally superior to USC. Who’d a-ever thunk it?
What USC did in acquiring Redd had nothing to do with the Sandusky victims. To even try and connect the two is despicable. You’re just using the victims in vain to disparage USC. I’m sorry you hate USC so much that you need to sink this low. Someone that really cares about the victim wouldn’t be wasting his/her time complaining about this issue. The reason “I don’t care” about the way Kiffin handled it is because he did nothing wrong in a legal or moral sense. Your argument would have some validity if Kiffin’s presentation to Redd went something like this: “Penn State sucks. There are a bunch of child molesters here. If you stay here, your career is over.” That would be a way of capitalizing on the Sandusky crimes in an immoral way. All Kiffin did was tell Redd how great USC is and then left the choice up to him and his family. You probably blamed the guns in the Aurora shootings not James Holmes. Learn how to assign accountability.
Wait, WHAT? You’re actually trying to claim that Redd ending up at USC had nothing to do with what Sandusky did to START the process in the first place? Please. So I guess this was the “Joe Smith Jaywalking Scandal” and not the “Jerry Sandusky Sex Abuse Scandal.” OK, got it.
And please — don’t act like I’m the only one raising this issue, like I’m some lone whiner. Jeez, only the head coach at Florida State himself said he wasn’t going to recruit Penn State players — why do you think he did that? Obviously because he feels that what happened at Penn State was so awful, he felt profiting from the situation would be WRONG. That’s pretty much been my whole point. And I’m FAR from alone in this viewpoint.
And please — I’ve already pointed out I wasn’t singling out USC, I applied it to ANY school targeting Penn Staters in light of this sick development. So you can put away the “you’re just a hater” ploy, it won’t work here.
And please — I never said there was anything illegal about it. Disgusting, yes. But no rules broken.
If you REALLY cared about those “poor kids” Sandusky abused, then you wouldn’t want any part of trying to exploit the situation by going after the Penn State players who are available BECAUSE of what Sandusky allegedly did, and Paterno covered up. No ifs, ands, or buts.
And again — I’m not the only one who shares this point of view. Just ask the head coach at Florida State (just to name one).
@amp
You’re comments were so gay that me commenting on them on any fashion would be a hate crime. How many times you gotta say “jeez” and “oh please”? If you have a bigger problem with USC getting Silas than Sandusky raping children, then you are mentally ill. I’m so sorry that you’re that afraid of USC becoming awesome again.
Quit crying.