Darreus Rogers to enroll at USC for spring semester


Incoming freshman wide receiver Darreus Rogers will wait to enroll at USC until January, allowing him to greyshirt, ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Blair Angulo reported  Monday.

Just days earlier, Rogers announced on his Twitter account that he had been cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center to play for the Trojans.

USC, however, has already accumulated its 75 scholarship limit under the current sanctions the NCAA has imposed, meaning the Trojans would have to get creative to fit Rogers on the team. The Trojans are deep at receiver currently, with junior Robert Woods and sophomore Marqise Lee leading the way, while freshman Nelson Algohor and junior De’Von Flournoy have also seen time in 2012.

As Rogers missed all of fall camp and the first two games of the regular season, he was highly unlikely to participate in any game action for the 2012 season.

But instead of redshirting, USC designated Rogers as a greyshirt, ensuring he doesn’t use another scholarship this semester.

A greyshirt is used when a school has reached its maximum number of players allowed under scholarship, forcing them to delay the arrival of a player by a semester. By waiting to enroll until January 2013, Rogers will be able to eventually earn a scholarship and will keep his first year of eligibility intact.

The 6-foot-2 Rogers was a four-star recruit from Carson Senior High School who finished his senior season with 1,251 yards and 10 touchdowns on 64 receptions.

He earned several honors as a senior, being named a Super Prep All-American, Cal Hi All-State first team member and co-Player of the Year in the Marine League. As a junior he caught 45 passes for 1,347 yards and eight touchdowns and made the Cal Hi All-State underclassman team.

The Trojans are set to bring in Rogers along with three verbal commits at wide receiver from the class of 2013 — Sebastian Larue, Eldridge Massington and Steven Mitchell. All three verbal commits are considered four-star players by Rivals.com.