Wittek’s transfer derailed by ineligibility


By
 in ,

Redshirt junior quarterback Max Wittek intended to use his final two years of Football Bowl Subdivision eligibility as a college football player at a school other than USC, but failed to graduate this past spring, narrowing his window of opportunity to play in the fall.

After losing out to the Trojan’s current starting quarterback redshirt junior Cody Kessler in the Trojans’ 2013 campaign and not getting much playing time in 2014, Wittek made the decision to graduate with his degree and play his final two years of college football elsewhere.

Instead of graduating this past spring, however, Wittek will be graduating in December, which means that he will not be eligible to play in the fall at an FBS school and will be required to sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules. This will give Wittek only one year of remaining eligibility. Head coach Charlie Strong and Texas had halted their plans to bring in Wittek for an undisclosed reason earlier, though the reason can now be presumed to be Wittek’s eligibility to play in the fall.

If Wittek elected to drop down a level and transfer to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school, he would keep two years of eligibility.

The 6-foot-4, 235 pound quarterback got his first opportunity for a start when former USC quarterback Matt Barkley dislocated his shoulder in the penultimate regular season game against UCLA in 2012.

Wittek will be most widely remembered by fans for guaranteeing a victory in that first start against the then-No. 1 Fighting Irish, and his failure to lead an offense stocked with talented offensive weapons to victory against Georgia Tech in the 2012 Sun Bowl. Windy conditions prevailed in El Paso and the Trojan offense was impotent with Wittek under center, with the quarterback completing a mere 14 of his 37 passes for 107 yards, USC’s lone touchdown, and three interceptions.

Like Barkley, Wittek was highly recruited out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. The Contra Costa, California native grew up with former USC running back Silas Redd in Norwalk, Connecticut before moving back to California to play quarterback at Mater Dei. Other FBS schools who could potentially be in the market for Wittek’s services regardless of his lone year of remaining eligibility include Louisville and Pittsburgh.