This whole situation about Vidal Hazelton wanting to redshirt because of his ankle injury has come to an interesting conclusion…will Hazelton transfer?
USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton's status remains up in the air with no definite answers if he will play this week, the rest of the season or ever.
Hazelton, who wants to redshirt, said he will undergo an MRI on his sprained ankles today to determine the extent of his injuries. He was able to run routes Monday but said he wants to redshirt.
But USC coach Pete Carroll has not addressed the issue and the coaches appear resistant to granting the redshirt because they feel the ankle injury is not season-ending. There is increasing speculation Hazelton might transfer.
"I'm not thinking about transferring right now," Hazelton said Monday. "I don't think (the redshirt year) will be done anyways. It's up to the man upstairs (Carroll)."
Hazelton is one talented receiver but he has yet to find a consistent groove at USC. He has struggled to make plays and at time hold on to the ball.
Recent comments that he made about wanting to redshirt in order to make him a better man, or something to that effect, raised some eyebrows that there could be a bigger issue just underneath the surface. At times it seems that Hazelton based on his involvement with the offense that he just isn't comfortable here. Even going back to his recruitment it just seemed that there was always some turmoil. His family pushed for Hazelton to go to Penn State going as far to not co-sign Hazelton's letter of intent until the very last minute.
There is something more going here behind the scenes and it hasn't quite come to the surface. Make no mistake he has a lot of talent and if he is healthy and firing on all cylinders he is a great weapon in the USC offense and I do not want to lose him. But if there is something going on in his head that has to be fixed before he can be effective on the field.
This could simply be a phase of frustration about not living up to expectations or it could be issues with academics...I don't know but regardless I would prefer to see him get it all worked out and hit the ground running the to have this black cloud over the program that could be a distraction. Only the coaches, Hazelton and his family know the full story so the rest of us can only speculate...lets hope he gets it back on track he is too potent of a weapon not to have him on the field.