[socalstanfan1]

I flat do not believe that Amir Carlisle would be leaving the University of South Central if he expected to be a featured part of the Trojan offense next year. Nor do I suggest it's hateful for Lane Kiffin to tell Carlisle that if it's true. If and when there's evidence that Kiffin is yanking scholarships to make room, then I'll hate.

I'm guessing that it would violate some NCAA rules if head coaches just "yanked" players scholarships just because they did not perform up to expectations.  That seems to be the reason Saban and others use medical scholarships to clear room on the team.  Is it "hateful" for Kiffin, or any other coach, to encourage players to look for other options by honestly telling them they won't see the field?  Telling Kyle Prater, for example, that it is very unlikely that he will get any PT, and he may have a better chance someplace else, seems to me in some ways ethical, actually.  More ethical than giving false hope to a kid who was a star in HS and who still entertains dreams of playing on Sundays.  What we cannot know is whether that is really where the conversation ends, or is the kid pressured in other ways to make that decision to leave.  My question: how common is this with USC?  How many students, on average, leave USC each year for opportunities to play elsewhere?  For me, if this is a really unusually high number of transfers (say, double the normal number or more), I would take that as an indication (maybe not "evidence") that there is some kind of pressure being applied.  If this is a normal number, and we are all just noticing it because of the scholarship limit coming up, then it is probably just business as usual at USC.

R.E. Carlisle, I'm beginning to wonder exactly what is going into the young man's decisions (which are entirely his to make).  He commits early here, noting that he felt it was a divine call; then said he was headed to USC due to the drama program; now he is off to the midwest, where he will be close to dad (coincidence? maybe, or maybe not).  I'm not sure that he would be someone Kiffin "ran off," just based on his performance as a true freshman last year.  It is possible that some of the attrition in the program is just normal, business as usual, but other people leaving is the result of some additional "encouragement".

[socalstanfan1]

I flat do not believe that Amir Carlisle would be leaving the University of South Central if he expected to be a featured part of the Trojan offense next year. Nor do I suggest it's hateful for Lane Kiffin to tell Carlisle that if it's true. If and when there's evidence that Kiffin is yanking scholarships to make room, then I'll hate.

I'm guessing that it would violate some NCAA rules if head coaches just "yanked" players scholarships just because they did not perform up to expectations.  That seems to be the reason Saban and others use medical scholarships to clear room on the team.  Is it "hateful" for Kiffin, or any other coach, to encourage players to look for other options by honestly telling them they won't see the field?  Telling Kyle Prater, for example, that it is very unlikely that he will get any PT, and he may have a better chance someplace else, seems to me in some ways ethical, actually.  More ethical than giving false hope to a kid who was a star in HS and who still entertains dreams of playing on Sundays.  What we cannot know is whether that is really where the conversation ends, or is the kid pressured in other ways to make that decision to leave.  My question: how common is this with USC?  How many students, on average, leave USC each year for opportunities to play elsewhere?  For me, if this is a really unusually high number of transfers (say, double the normal number or more), I would take that as an indication (maybe not "evidence") that there is some kind of pressure being applied.  If this is a normal number, and we are all just noticing it because of the scholarship limit coming up, then it is probably just business as usual at USC.

R.E. Carlisle, I'm beginning to wonder exactly what is going into the young man's decisions (which are entirely his to make).  He commits early here, noting that he felt it was a divine call; then said he was headed to USC due to the drama program; now he is off to the midwest, where he will be close to dad (coincidence? maybe, or maybe not).  I'm not sure that he would be someone Kiffin "ran off," just based on his performance as a true freshman last year.  It is possible that some of the attrition in the program is just normal, business as usual, but other people leaving is the result of some additional "encouragement".