Over the weekend we learned that Russell Wilson had been released from his scholarship at NC State and essentially is now a college free agent. The two schools being tossed around pretty consistently as possible transfer destinations are South Carolina and Auburn. (Not sure why Ole Miss is not the number one option here, but maybe the Right Reverend Nutt is playing it cool, or maybe Wilson has made it known he wants to go somewhere where he can contribute AND win.)
One thing I feel is certain – if Stephen Garcia is reinstated (#freegarcia) then there is no reason for South Carolina to entertain the thought of bringing Wilson in. Garcia has now been at South Carolina and in Steve Spurrier’s offensive system for approximately twelve years, and despite his bi-monthly foibles is unquestionably the guy to lead the offense in 2011. Plus, Garcia is highly durable and doesn’t give up snaps to back-ups easily. I’m sure Wilson doesn’t want to spend his final year of football holding a clip board, and the USC staff is not interested in any distraction and/or controversy that would follow.
If Garcia is NOT reinstated (and apparently the guys at FitsNews are the only people who think this is a possibility), then the Wilson option becomes more viable. However, how many of these one-year, D1 transfers have actually worked in the past? (The guy who played for Auburn last year doesn’t count – he was a JUCO, and a freak of nature.) I’m thinking Jeremiah Masoli at Ole Miss and Sam Keller at Nebraska as recent examples. Good ideas on the surface that didn’t work out so well.
I believe Connor Shaw is more than capable in the absence of Garcia, and bringing in Wilson (who by all accounts is a good guy) could turn into a major headache for everyone involved and create a chemistry disaster in the locker room.
Some other Tuesday musings:
- Joe Person still has a way with words…a way of even making a charity kickball game negative and depressing.
- I was much more shocked that CTU had seven player drafted than I was that USC only had two. To paraphrase what Spurrier said about UGA in the Ray Goff days - they keep getting all these good players, and I don’t know what happens when they get there.
- I feel bad for Tori Gurley, and I’m not sure I understand why a South Carolina fan wouldn’t. The guy is 23 and probably wouldn’t improve his draft stock by coming back and playing beside Alshon Jeffery again. He took a calculated risk, and it didn’t pay off. He didn’t screw us, didn’t betray us, didn’t turn his back on us. I hope he catches on as a FA and kicks some ass.
- Same hope goes out to Garrett Chisholm and Jarriel King – those two guys have gone through quite a lot in their short lives. Last but not least, Pat DiMarco is going to make some NFL team very happy.
- Baseball continues to chug along despite losing an outfielder a week. Have you ever seen so many guys go down on one team in a season? Despite all that, they continue to find ways to win and ease closer to a national seed. Amazing job by Ray Tanner, and an amazing team effort by all the kids.
- By the way, are we saving Jose Mata for the postseason or something? Where the heck has he been?
God Bless America.
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