One way Lincoln Riley has revamped the USC roster was by telling quite a few players “it’s in your best interest to transfer.”
But according to the Athletic, Riley also freed up around 10 scholarships by utilizing an NCAA rule that affects “Aid After Departure of Head Coach.”
The rule says when a coach who recruited and provided a scholarship to a student-athlete is replaced (like Clay Helton), the coach has the right to not invite an athlete back to the team the following year.
The athlete may be given the right to stay at the school on scholarship until the athlete graduates with their degree.
So you can stay at USC, you just can’t play football. And your scholarship will no longer count against the football program.
The rule’s original intention was to benefit student-athletes who are close to finishing their degree requirements and want to stay at their school in order to graduate.
But coaches have a way of using rules to their own benefit.
Riley will add about 25 players because 14 transferred out and around 10 are being allowed to stay but not play football under the above NCAA rule.
The Athletic story is behind a paywall.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
That is only fair that a kid who was offered an athletic scholarship but does not pan out can still remain on scholarship and finish his schooling to graduation.
I mentioned Jim Plunkett the other day, and looked him up to see how he was doing. Not well. The Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick out of Stanford was sacked 380 times during his career, along with hundreds of take-downs, and the toll has led to brain damage and living in constant pain.
Not surprising inasmuch as a couple of hundred autopsies have been performed on NFL players and nearly all of them had brain damage of one sort or another.
When we watch games from the comfort of our seat we forget what is happening on that field. An NFL running back once said that football was like being in 50 car wrecks a week for 20 straight weeks every year.
They tinker with the rules and the helmet in order to increase the safety of the game, but men are still suffering the consequences of a brutal game. Football enjoyment is part of many American’s DNA, but I fear that one day the game will become extinct.
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Wait, Scott has enough money to afford a subscription to The Athletic? #doubtful
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ugh,so u is say-ying we got evin moar loop holes to got the lines man john,
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You are so good at reading between the lines, Ed, but not linesman.
That is exactly what I am saying.
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Yeah…..let’s keep using those loop holes. We need to get that lineman
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Whatever Lincoln Riley has to do to get rid of those Mountain West Conference type of players that Fuck Boy, Clay Helton recruited, then I’m fine with it.
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That is what we love about you, Urban. There is no dancing around with you, you get straight to the point.
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Urban puts his finger right on it.
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I wonder if any or all of this group were the turncoats that did not play in the Cal game last year. The helton wimps need to move on.
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Win-Win … player gets his USC degree and Riley upgrades the talent of the team.
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It is a win-win. The player gets his degree(which will be more important to him in the long run) and LR gets to build the team with players that fit his program.
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Does anyone know the names of the 10 players who were allowed to stay but not allowed to play football.
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PlowH
One could probably venture a guess by cross matching the old roster with the new roster(less the portal additions) and eliminating those that portal transferred.
If they weren’t on the two deep in the spring and didn’t portal out and aren’t on the new 2022 fall roster…….well pretty good chance they got the message.
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According to many knowledgeable people
SC football will be known by a new name in 2022.
USC Methodist Trojans, 1888-2021
USC Mercenaries, 2022—->>>>>
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Has a nice ring to it. Thanks, Cal.
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I’m good with it…. especially if the mercenaries kick a lot of U. C. tail…
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The name of the game is to win. If you can win with mercenaries……so be it.
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I keep hearing how the defense is going to be such a liability for SC this year, but I really think there is an over-abundance of caution being used.
To base the expectations off last year is just wrong. There have been so many changes and they are finally practicing against a REAL offense.
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I would say….look at it from LR’s standpoint. He didn’t recruit these guys. Why should he be required to rebuild the team with a bunch of athletes that he didn’t recruit and probably would have never recruited in the first place?
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greetings fans, well heres the thing the nba playffs kidd s defense vs gold state needs improvement the loney tune should not be scoring 20 points the guy stinks !!! kleber and finny aahh need more production here ?? Regards , E
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