Regarding Flournoy
Pete Carroll said he did not regret playing freshman wide receiver De'von Flournoy instead of redshirting him, even though Flournoy's played sparingly in the first five games.
``We'll need him, there's still a lot of games left,'' Carroll said. ``He's going to play.''
Sure thing, Pete! You've got a history of misusing your athletes and burning up redshirt years on a wrong hunch. De'von Flournoy will be lucky to see the field at any point this season where the game isn't already a blow out.
De'von just isn't speaking out about his displeasure because he doesn't want to go down further in the depth charts like Mitch Mustain - who is now wanting to play baseball.
These players and their families deserve more, Pete.
"And with only three receivers really getting serious time, why didn't De'von Flournoy redshirt?"
Scott, you asked all of us this yesterday, and I appreciate that you were able to run down an answer for us. It's a legitimate question, because despite what Ceaser says, I doubt Flournoy will see a lot of action this season.
I'm not certain there is much advantage to redshirting an NFL-bound WR. Like NFL-bound RBs, almost none of them return for a 5th year of eligibilty. Of the top 20 WRs selected in the NFL draft in 2009, only 1 (Barden from Cal Poly) spent 5 years at the college level. The top three WRs in the NFL draft (Heyward-Bay, Crabtree, Maclin) all redshirted, but didn't use up their eligibility. In fact, Crabtree and Maclin only played two years apiece. All "wasted" a year of playing time by redshirting.
It is too early to say whether Flournoy is NFL-bound, but if he is, the odds are that he wouldn't stay more than 4 years anyway.
Just curious, can anybody remember if any USC WRs have made an impact in their 5th year of eligibilty? Damian Williams would be in a position to do so next season, but I believe it is unlikely he will return.