Penn State running back Silas Redd may have one foot out the door, but Nittany Lions head coach Bill O'Brien has one more shot at keeping the junior tailback.
According to a report on Twitter from ESPN college football analyst Joe Schad, Redd will meet with O'Brien on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his options after visiting USC over the weekend to investigate the possibility of a transfer.
When Redd left USC on Monday afternoon, Schad reported that the Connecticut native was leaning strongly toward joining the Trojans - who enter the 2012 college football season as the No. 1 team in the nation but have depth issues at running back - but would give O'Brien a chance to talk him into staying at Penn State. Schad posted on Tuesday morning to his Twitter account (@schadjoe) that player and coach would meet "This afternoon in State College."
Under the terms of the NCAA's sanctions against Penn State, enacted in the wake of the Freeh Report, any current or incoming Penn State player is allowed to transfer to another institution with immediate eligibility, a departure from rules that normally require transfers to sit out a year before competing. Redshirt freshman safety Tim Buckley became the first Penn State player to avail himself of that option on Monday when he transferred to North Carolina State to play for his hometown Wolfpack.
Buckley was a preferred walk-on who had yet to play for the Nittany Lions, but the loss of Redd would be a much bigger blow. Redd ran for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns in his sophomore season, and was instantly identified as one of the top candidates to transfer from PSU after the NCAA announced its sanctions, which include a four-year bowl ban and loss of scholarships in addition to a $60 million fine.
Penn State is scheduled to officially begin training camp next week.
