USC Football: Did Jordan Addison make a smart career move?

Former Pitt Panther Jordan Addison has decided to transfer to USC football. Was such a big move worth making in the grand scheme of things?

Last season, Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison cemented himself as quarterback Kenny Pickett’s right-hand man and, subsequently, a household name in the world of college football.

The Panthers benefitted tremendously from the dominating connection that the two would often showcase on the field. It was so dominating, in fact, that they even won their first ACC title with it, as Pitt’s offense was regarded as one of 2021’s highest-powered.

Taking such success and combining it with Pittsburgh’s history of producing big-name talent (including but not limited to Dan Marino, Larry Fitzgerald, and Aaron Donald), why would Jordan Addison wish to go anywhere else?

That’s a fair question to ask, considering that he has since transferred to USC — a team that just saw its worst record (4-8) since 1991 (3-8), despite playing in what has been the most underwhelming Power Five conference over the past several years.

Now it should be clarified that there are several reasons why making this move is justifiable. USC is a bigger football brand than Pitt, is in a bigger/more marketable city than Pitt, has a better climate than Pitt, and almost certainly has a more promising future than Pitt.

If the Trojans were still struggling under former head coach Clay Helton and showing virtually no signs of light at the end of the tunnel, talents of Addison’s caliber most likely wouldn’t even be looking their way. What has begun changing that narrative is new head coach Lincoln Riley and talented quarterback Caleb Williams, both from the offensively-gifted Oklahoma Sooners.

While Addison has lost a quarterback (Pickett) to the NFL, USC has gained one in Williams, and is definitely capable of replicating the connection that Pittsburgh had last season; the familiarity between Williams and Riley will make doing so all the easier.

Looking back at brand and marketability, the legalization of NIL deals has also surely had an impact on the decision. When the “Jordan Addison transferring to USC” talks began making the rounds, potential deals that he could score by doing so did as well. And now that he has seemingly set the move in motion, he most likely won’t be broke.

But the questionability of this relocation has little to do with how it looks on paper. Rather, it has to do with whether or not Addison completely uprooting his collegiate life was truly worth it.

While Los Angeles is easily more appealing than Pittsburgh, that does not mean that the latter isn’t appealing at all. Pittsburgh is still a big sports city that lives and breathes football, so standing out as a college football talent and NFL hopeful there would also result in some serious boosts for Addison’s brand.

Taking all of that into account, the move makes less sense and even feels somewhat redundant.

In short, Addison is obviously going to do what he believes is in the best interest of his success both on and off the field. With that said, him taking his talents to Southern Cal is understandable. However, considering that he has seen, or would see, a decent deal of that at Pitt — where he already was — as well, was it worth it? That is up for further debate.