Brice Butler reportedly set to transfer
According to his twitter account, @USCnumber19, USC sophomore wide receiver Brice Butler will transfer, citing playing time as the primary reason. Around 11 p.m. PST Wednesday Butler tweeted the following, “Always will be a part of trojan nation! No regrets, I just gotta go play fball, which isn’t happening here… I love all yall! Always will.”
Butler had not previously indicated he would transfer.
A native of Norcross, Georgia, Butler had a promising freshman year in 2009, totaling 20 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He played in all 12 games and started against Stanford, where he caught six passes for 96 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown grab. As a result, he was named to ESPN.com’s All Pac-10 freshman team.
However, those numbers failed to carry over to 2010, as he was lost amongst a new coaching staff. Despite playing in 12 of 13 games, he caught just nine passes for 112 yards and one touchdown, as he was behind the likes of fellow receivers Robert Woods, Ronald Johnson and Brandon Carswell and tight ends Jordan Cameron, Rhett Ellison and David Ausberry.
While Johnson, Ausberry and Cameron were all seniors, Butler would have faced stiff competition from redshirt freshman Kyle Prater, who was a highly rated recruit last year, as well as two incoming freshman. George Farmer, who is ranked the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 3 prospect overall nationally by Yahoo! Sports’ Rivals.com, and Victor Blackwell, who is ranked 18th nationally for wide receivers by Rivals, both have committed to USC.
“For the second straight year, USC Juniors and Seniors can transfer to another school without the normal penalty of sitting out a season.” Inaccurate, only seniors can transfer without penalty now. Only banned from a bowl for one more year, so only players w/ 1 year of eligibility left can transfer without penalty.