We alluded to this possibility last week but it is now confirmed...

Redshirt junior cornerback Shareece Wright was declared academically ineligible Monday after failing to raise his grade-point average to the required level.

Wright, who also has been battling a sore knee, will be able to practice with the team and regain his eligibility for 2010. However, he will have missed most of two seasons by then after sitting for 11 games in 2008 because of a neck injury.

Carroll had his contingency plan in place during Saturday's scrimmage, when he shifted senior Josh Pinkard from safety to cornerback and inserted senior Will Harris in Pinkard's spot.

Pinkard, who filled in for Wright last season, returned to USC for a sixth year in part to showcase his safety skills to the NFL. Now he's back at corner barring other injuries.

"I think if he had his way, he would like to play all the time at safety," Carroll said of Pinkard. "But more important, he wants to play all the time."

I don't want to be too critical here but come on...

Wright missed most of last season because of injuries (and some legal trouble) so how could he not have the time to make sure his grades were up to snuff. It can't be that hard to maintain the minimum standards.

This is really disappointing, Wright was going to be one of the big pieces to the puzzle this season. SC has enough issues right now with a new QB, new starters on defense and other injured players so this just adds more crap to the pile.

Thank god we have some depth...