While many Penn State players are professing to band together in the aftermation of heavy sanctions againt the program, running back Silas Redd was in Conneticut Thursday, visiting with the USC staff and campus as he considers transferring to play with the Trojans.
The Nittany Lions’ leading rusher last season met for three hours with head coach Lane Kiffin, a coming together that “went really well,” a source told ESPN.
Saturday, Redd could visit the USC campus in California and decide by Monday if he will return to the sanction-crippled Nittany Lions or start fresh with USC.
He, of course, is intrigued by the chance to compete for a national championship – the Trojans are many polls’ preseason No. 1. That prospect could override the thought and emotion of remaining with his teammates at Penn State.
Redd has two years of eligibility remaining; he would plan to play at USC for both seasons, but could turn pro after this year if he was judged to be a first-rounder. USC laid out an extensive presentation on how Redd would fit with the team, including Power Point presentation and video clips, the source said.
The NCAA has said players can transfer from Penn State and not have to site out a season.
While Kiffin was returning to California, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien was at the podium at Big Ten media days in Chicago. Asked if he had an update on Redd, O’Brien said, “No.”
Redd originally was scheduled to attend the media days, but three other Penn State players were brought to Chicago instead.
On Wednesday, Penn State had decided not to bring any players to the event, but the Nittany Lions changed course Thursday, bringing linebacker Michael Mauti, defensive lineman Jordan Hill and guard John Urschel.
Mauti said Thursday that he hopes Redd “makes the right decision.” Redd, 5-foot-10 and 209 pounds, ran for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Any transferred Penn State player who gets a scholarship does not count against another school’s scholarship total. However, the NCAA has clarified that a school “subject to scholarship limits due to an infractions case is allowed to accept transfers from Penn State but cannot exceed the scholarship limits specified in its infractions report.”
