Safety Leaves Penn State, is Silas Redd Next?

Five days ago, two senior players on the Penn State football team issued a statement among many of their fellow players. They spoke for their teammates, explaining how their “loyalty lies only with (their) teammates, coaches, fans and families; no one else.” Another quote was how they’ve “acquired the strength that (they had to) overcome and (they) will embrace our anger and burn it as fuel this season.”

All of this was being said despite the potential jolt of tailback Silas Redd, arguably the best player on the Nittany Lions with 244 carries for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns last season. However, Redd didn’t make the first move.

Today, safety Tim Buckley was the first to remove himself from the condemned program. Also announced was both Redd and linebacker Khairi Fortt (who would like to go somewhere in the Pac-12) not making a decision today.

Or maybe there was.

Joe Schad reports that Redd is likely transferring to our buddies in Southern California:

Now, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of talk from Penn State fans of the player “bailing” on the team and maybe some Pac-12 people believing that it’s not fair for USC to come in and scoop out a talented back that can play right away this season.

There is absolutely zero percent surprise to this development. Redd is a huge talent that, from the beginning of the allegations, has made it known that he wants to play for a national championship contender. The faster Nittany Lions fans remove themselves from Redd, the better. He doesn’t owe anything to a football program that will likely have their best season this year for the next decade. Rally around the players that decide to stay there; it will be a tremendous story on how the team responds to all this mess in the worst offseason in school history.

Lane Kiffin also reached out to the back, and there’s nothing here that says there’s anything bad about that just because they are a national championship contender. Redd also adds a wealth of depth alongside Curtis McNeal.

It’s a tremendous fit, and if there’s anything more to this story than “Redd tells Penn State he’s taking the next flight to California” tomorrow, everybody should be shocked.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Autzen Zoo, follow the site on Facebook and Twitter. Read his other work on the Iowa State blog, Clones Confidential, and Watson Talk Lacrosse.