Five Stories: Part 3

We’re already on part 3 of my 5 part series, Five Stories.  Today’s story is quite different than the others.  I guess you could say, this is the only “negative” story of the bunch, as this was the only player of the five who chose to abandon Penn State in its darkest hour.  Now, in case you haven’t sensed the theme of all five stories, it’s that all five players were immeasurably affected by the NCAA sanctions.  However, it’s how they handled that situation that distinguishes each of the players.  I didn't think it would be appropriate to only tell inspirational stories, so for the sake of parody, I give you: Silas Redd.

During the 2007 football season, I noticed backup running back Evan Royster, who took snaps behind starter Rodney Kinlaw.  The young running back was impressive in limited play.  It wasn't just the stats, though, there was something about how he ran the ball that impressed me.  I immediately predicted that Royster would become the next great Penn State running back.  By his senior season, even I was shocked as Royster went on to become Penn State’s all-time career rushing leader.  Coincidentally, it was during that same season that I noticed Royster’s backup, Silas Redd, and I made another bold prediction; Silas Redd was going to be even better than Evan Royster.

Redd got the starting nod during his sophomore season in 2011 and quickly became one of the best running backs in the nation.  Unfortunately, 2011 was also the year that the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke.  Redd seemed to play the part of a loyal Lion for the rest of the season.  He ran the ball hard and did his best to lift his team to victory – even though Penn State would lose 3 of its final 4 games that season.  The Connecticut native went home over winter break and trained extra hard, even releasing some fun videos of his progress.  In Spring drills, new coach Bill O’Brien praised Redd’s skills and labeled him the clear favorite to start.  After his 2011 season, I was so excited by what I thought Redd could do, I went out and bought a #25 jersey.  I was so excited to wear it for the first game.

If you want to know what happened in late July, 2012 as the NCAA unleashed their sanctions on the Penn State football program, just read my post about Michael Mauti from Friday.  Needless to say, each player had a choice to make.  As the Clash once asked, “should I stay, or should I go?”  Now, if you watched the video of Mauti and Zordich’s speech to the media, you’d know that most of the key pieces to the 2012 team stayed.  But a few did take the opportunity to seek out greener pastures with other teams.  LB Khari Fort left for California, WR Justin Brown went to Oklahoma, and K/P Anthony Fera transferred to Texas.  But the most notorious was Silas Redd, who almost immediately after the sanctions were announced took a trip to preseason #1 ranked USC.  Ironically, USC was under their own sanctions and their own scholarship limits, but the NCAA declared that teams under scholarship restrictions could have those penalties temporarily lifted to accommodate adding Penn State players.

Eventually, as was expected, Silas Redd transferred to USC.  He made media appearances to explain his decision, citing “academic” and “personal” reasons, but everyone knew what this was really about.  USC was ranked #1 going into the season, and they didn't just have bowl game hopes, they had National Championship hopes.  If Redd stayed at Penn State, there would be no bowl game, and possibly no national recognition as he tried to make a run at the NFL.  Most members of the media agreed, you couldn't blame Redd for his “business decision” (although in all fairness, it was a complete slap in the face to change your Twitter handle to @coast2coastSi just to rub it in.  I mean really?!).  He was doing what was best for him, and he was doing it under the rules that were established by the NCAA.  He made his choice.

Well, I’ll make this short.  Redd’s stats in 2011 as the feature running back at Penn State were 244 carries for 1,241 yds.  In 2012, as one of many backs at USC, he only had 167 carries for 905 yds.  Meanwhile, due to injuries and inconsistent play, Penn State didn't find their new starting tailback until the 4^th game of 2012.  Even with 3 less games, Zach Zwinak managed 203 carries for 1,000 yds.  In addition, while Penn State was racking up an impressive 8-4 record including a win over eventual Big Ten champs Wisconsin, USC completed one of the most epic falls from grace ever witnessed in college football.  They fell from #1 to unranked and lost 5 of their last 6 including a bowl game against a Georgia Tech team that needed a special waver from the NCAA to even attend said bowl game.  Their final record was 7-6.

Most people predicted that Silas would go to the NFL after his Junior year.  However, after his stats dropped off so significantly, he decided to stay for his Senior year at USC.  So far in 2013, Redd has only managed 38 carries for 192 yds and 1TD.  His NFL stock has basically never been lower.  Zach Zwinak, on the other hand, has already had 92 carries for 393 yds and 8 TDs as part of a 3-headed monster rushing attack.

Now, the whole point of this piece wasn't to gloat.  But in the end, I think it’s fair to ask 2 questions: How did Silas Redd’s business decision work out for him?  How would things have been different if he had shown a little bit of loyalty?