It sounded too good to be true and, in the end, it was.
In John Bacon‘s new book “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football,” which recounts the post-sanction time at Penn State, it was written that USC head coach Lane Kiffin called in a favor during the recruitment of Silas Redd. Specifically, the book states, Kiffin had rapper Snoop Dogg/Lion meet Redd at the airport in a limo as part of the recruiting pitch.
The author goes on to state that "[f]rom the private jet to the favor called in with Snoop Dogg, Kiffin pulled out all the stops to score a late-summer roster coup.” The only problem? It never happened according to all the parties involved.
“I’ve never met Snoop Dogg in my life, much less been in his limo,” Redd said. “Coach Kiffin picked me up from the airport. The person who wrote that has no credibility whatsoever.”
Redd, who led the Trojans in rushing with 901 yards last season, was one of the first Penn State players to take advantage of NCAA sanctions against the Nittany Lions, which stated that any player could leave the program and transfer to another FBS school while retaining immediate eligibility.
Like Redd, both Kiffin and the school openly scoffed at the report as well.
“That would have been tough to have happened because I personally picked up Silas myself in my own car. So, that must have been another Silas,” the head coach said following practice.
“Silas Redd has never met Snoop Dogg, much less received a ride from him in any type of vehicle. USC head Coach Lane Kiffin picked up Silas from the airport on his recruiting visit,” the school wrote in a statement. It added, “Bacon never contacted Redd or USC to confirm this report before publishing his book.”
There was also some news regarding Redd on the football front, and not exactly of the encouraging kind.
The back missed the latter half of spring practice after suffering a left knee injury that required surgery. Limited throughout summer camp, Kiffin said “I’m not sure he will be” available for the season opener against Hawaii next weekend.