Report: Penn State RB Silas Redd Meets With USC
By Kyle Kensing
on Thursday morning that Penn State running back Silas Redd met with USC coaches to discuss a potential transfer to the West Coast. Redd was the primary weapon in the Nittany Lion offense during PSU’s nine-win 2011, accruing over 1200 yards and scoring seven touchdowns.
Redd’s name was at the tip of many a reporter’s tongue during Tuesday’s Pac-12 Media Day in Hollywood, but USC head coach Lane Kiffin was mum on the subject. Coaches cannot discuss potential transfers per NCAA regulations, which view them similarly to high recruits. Kiffin did however discuss the lack of depth the Trojans have at running back, and how it could be a roadblock on USC’s goal of reaching Miami and the BCS championship game.
Returning starting tailback Curtis McNeal eclipsed 1000 yards last season and scored six touchdowns. The local product broke out late in the season, complementing the potent Trojan passing attack with an impressive 6.9 yard per carry clip. A Redd-McNeal tandem could provide opposing defenses headaches.
The recruitment of potential PSU transfers has reached an unsettling fever pitch since Monday’s announcement of NCAA sanctions against the program. Players can leave the program without having to sit out the customary year following a transfer, which has prompted coaches needing to fill an immediate void to double down on Lions.
Members of new Illinois head coach Tim Beckman’s staff were reportedly lurking around PSU’s campus on Wednesday, sparking harsh criticism from Nittany Lion head coach Bill O’Brien. From ESPN:
"Our players are in our building right now and they don’t want to leave the building because there are coaches from other schools in the parking lot waiting to see them."
An added element of intrigue is that the Illini and Lions play on Sept. 29 in Champaign, so any PSU transfers who made the Big Ten switch would be lined up opposite their comrades just two months from now.