Southern Cal 23 recruits so far

Submitted by Maize and Blue… on

This should be interesting.  My understanding is they are appealing the scholarship reduction portion of the penalty.  How long is the NCAA going to wait before making a decision.  If the scholarship reduction holds they are already 8 players over the limit.

I wish I could hear Lane's recruiting pitch when a kid says, "I undertand you're appealing the scholarship reduction, but what happens to MY scholarship if the NCAA updates their original ruling?"

Hardware Sushi

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:24 PM ^

I was under the impression that USC was looking to EE a decent number from this class and they won't count against the scholarship number for this upcoming class...

...then again, there are people on here with a much better understanding of recruiting rules so I may be off.

remdies

December 22nd, 2010 at 1:21 PM ^

There are two limits that cannot be exceeded when counting an EE toward the previous year's class.  The first limit is that you cannot exceed the 25 scholarship limit for that school year and the second limit is that you cannot exceed the 85 scholarship limit for the entire team for that school year.  I believe USC was fairly low on total scholarships this year but it also depends on how many scholarships they gave to walk-ons.  I also don't know how many recruits USC had in their last class.  So assuming they had 17 or less recruits count toward last years class and they had less than 77 scholarship athletes last year then they could still sign 23 recruits this year even under the penalty if 8 are EE.

DGDestroys

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^

They can get around the rule this year by signing as many EE as possible. It's the only reason they gave a scholarship to a number of players, including Juco guys. The following list has already signed and don't count towards their 15-per-year limit. 

Jeremy Galten, David Garness, Andre Heidari, Dallas Kelley, Cody Kessler, Peter McBride, Isiah Wiley, and Max Wittek. I believe more plan on EE. 

PurpleStuff

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^

The EE guys don't count toward this year's limited scholarship numbers so they are trying to get as many as possible (since they are already low on scholarship bodies even without the 15 per year sanction).  Basically it just means they are taking a bunch of borderline JUCO guys who normally wouldn't get offered but are getting a shot because they have a pulse and SC needs bodies.

bronxblue

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^

I'd be amazed in Kiffin was there in even 3 years, so might as well try to EE as many kids as possible, win some games, and then move onto something else (like another pro gig).

sandiego

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:52 PM ^

the beauty of the whole sanctions at USC is that Kiffin will use the sanctions as the reason why they are mediocre every year.  After 3 years, he will say they are in rebuilding mode for 2 more years.  Then only in year 6 will USC actually realize that Kiffin is a bad coach, great recruiter and that they have just wasted 6 years.

mgowin

December 22nd, 2010 at 2:00 PM ^

I think that's mainly why he is the coach. He is a great recruiter and will get players no matter what. And when the sanctions are over USC can point to his mediocre record and insert a new coach into a nice situation (talent wise), and thus the machine is rebuilt. At least that's my theory.

evenyoubrutus

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:53 PM ^

Considering USC is on probation for however many years, it means they have to run a squeaky-clean program.  What do we think the odds are of Kiffin running a "squeaky-clean" program, and keeping it up for that many years, and still being able to win?

NateVolk

December 22nd, 2010 at 2:20 PM ^

The NCAA sanctioned open transfers gave them more roster space too.

One thing about this season is they were 8-5 and were pretty competitive in all but one loss.  He didn't skimp on redshirting either. He ran it like they had full numbers and didn't push new guys forward hoping to steal an extra win this year.  So they'll have a strong redshirt class this coming season.

Pretty good long term planning really.  When it is all said and done, the goal is to have the same number of new scholarship players making the active roster each season as without the sanctions. There is just going to be less stockpiling for a few years. They'll have to be more discerning on who they offer to and can't have misses.

I am reserving judgment as far as Kiffin as a coach, but he is a big-recruiter.

Umichmadness

December 22nd, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^

all you disappointed USC recruits...i dnt understand why recruits would waste time going there anyways, but RR almost got a couple of those kids last year (i.e. Dillon Baxter) so we'll see