Josh Shaw Reinstated to the USC Football Program

USC redshirt senior Josh Shaw is back!

The former Trojans’ captain was reinstated to the USC football program Tuesday afternoon, the school announced.

This comes on the heels of Monday’s report of the Los Angeles County District Attorney declining to press any charges against Shaw.

Distancing himself from both Shaw being out previously and his role going forward, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said the following in the USC release:

"For several months, local authorities have been investigating the August 23 incident involving Josh Shaw. They have now concluded that investigation and determined that no action will be taken against him.

"USC also conducted its own internal investigation of Josh, evaluating both athletic department code of conduct and potential NCAA compliance issues. Based on these investigations and their conclusions, and the 10-game suspension Josh has served for code of conduct violations, we have made the decision to reinstate him.  The role Josh will have in any remaining games is now in the hands of Coach Sarkisian."

USC head coach Steve Sarkisian, who according to Shaw, told Shaw he was ready to allow the senior cornerback to return after the Boston College game two months ago, made this statement in the release:

"I've welcomed Josh Shaw back to the team. I'm now in the process of evaluating how Josh can contribute to the team's success."

Shaw was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for an incident at The Orsini apartment complex when he and his girlfriend had a "heated argument" and two neighbors called 911. When Shaw saw the police arrive at the complex, he apparently panicked, climbed over the railing, dangled from the third-story balcony and jumped to the ground despite being in sandals.

He sprained both of his ankles and then contrived a story of saving his nephew from drowning in Palmdale pool. When the story was released by the USC athletic department, it blew up, quickly going viral. But the next day when Shaw was to meet with the media after the Trojans’ Tuesday practice, he was nowhere to be found after USC began to get word that the story might not be true.

Josh Shaw continued to stick with his story, but holes in the tale started surfacing. He later recanted his story and revealed that he had fabricated the entire thing. He was suspended from all team activities and had not been seen or heard from until last week when he opened up about the entire series of events with Los Angeles Times’ columnist Bill Plaschke.

USC officials appeared to be waiting for the Los Angeles Police Department investigation into the girlfriend argument incident to be resolved before making any decision on Shaw. Reports were that USC planned to conduct its on investigation after the LAPD completed its. Apparently, that investigation was completed in one night.

Now the questions turn to Josh Shaw’s abilities on the football field. Shaw hasn’t practiced in nearly three months.

How long will it take the senior defensive back to get back in game shape? How much can be asked of him after twodays of practice and a walk-through leading up to the Crosstown Showdown between USC and UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Saturday?