During his recruitment to USC, Silas Redd was greeted by Snoop Lion in a limo [UPDATED]: USC says no
To say that Lane Kiffin really wanted Silas Redd at USC may be an understatement.
In an upcoming book Fourth and Long from author John Bacon that chronicles four programs in the Big 10, he says that when the private jet that Redd, the former Penn State running back was on to visit USC touched down, noted USC fan Snoop Lion (the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg) was waiting for him in a limousine.
This was also nine months before USC offered Snoop's son a football scholarship "out of the blue" to play football.
In 2011 at Penn State, Redd ran for 1241 yards. USC's effort paid off, as he opted to transfer from Penn State after he was able to do so without sitting out a season after the NCAA levied sanctions against the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal. After Kiffin visited Redd at his home in Connecticut, he took his visit to USC and subsequently committed.
While he, and virtually every other member of the Trojans' coaching staff in addition to Snoop Lion, was wooing Redd to USC, Kiffin was giving Bill O'Brien public tips on how to keep as many of his players as possible after the sanctions. USC was facing scholarship losses and a postseason ban when Kiffin left Tennessee for the Trojans.
To many, Redd was seen as the missing piece for USC's championship run in 2012. That never materialized as the team went 7-6 and lost to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. Redd did run for 905 yards and his yards per carry was up over his average at Penn State the year prior.
In addition to Penn State, Bacon follows Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State in the book, which is due to be released September 2. You can read an excerpt of the book here, which is a fascinating account of how O'Brien and Penn State scrambled to keep as many players as they could at the school amidst the sanctions.
UPDATE: USC has issued a statement saying that Redd and Snoop have never met, and Snoop was not waiting for him when Redd arrived in California for his visit and said that Bacon did not contact the school or Redd before the book was published.
"Silas Redd has never met Snoop Dogg, much less received a ride from him in any type of vehicle. USC head coach Lane Kiffin picked up Silas from the airport on his recruiting visit," USC said.
