Ashburn, Va. – For Washington Redskins’ running back Silas Redd, the past two years have been ones filled with subplots and ironies.
Redd was once the future star-in-waiting at Penn State University. Blair Thomas, who is considered by many as the greatest back in the history of Penn State Football (former Redskins running back Evan Royster is the school’s all-time leading rusher) said that: “Silas was going to be the best back ever to come out of Happy Valley had he not transferred to Southern California.”
But the young man ended up transferring to the University of Southern California (USC) because of the 2012 NCAA (unprecedented) sanctions against his school — and its storied football program — for its alleged involvement in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.
Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator, wound up convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse against minors and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. He will likely spend the rest of his life there.
Legendary head coach Joe Paterno would be fired by the university after 60 years of service. As well, he would have his NCAA record for wins (409) by a Division 1 football coach removed from the time period of the alleged incidents involving Sandusky (1999). In all 111 wins were removed from his record.
School president Graham Spanier and school vice president Gary Schultz were both fired and are currently awaiting trial on several federal charges involving the case.
For Redd, that time frame is still fresh in his mind as he remembers what he was doing when the sanctions were handed down.
“We were all watching it in the lounge,” he said this week, “and when the first [sanction of no Bowl eligibility for four years] one was handed down, I just left and went to the locker room and sat at my locker and everything just sank in.”
He, like many, feel as if the sanctions should have never happened in the first place.
“No. It shouldn’t have happened at all,” Redd said from his new domain inside the Washington Redskins locker room in Ashburn, Va. “I feel — and I’m sure a lot of people feel — it didn’t need to happen.”
He seemed at ease and happy with where he is today as opposed to where he was a few years ago. Over the past few years he has felt like a person without a place to call home. Washington is a place however, where he feels there are no questions about his allegiance or questions about injuries and on-the-field play.
“I’m just so happy that I found a place,” he said. “I’m so grateful the Redskins picked me up and I plan on leaving it all out there for them and do whatever I got to do to contribute to this team and help us win games. At times I did feel like a person without a true home and now I feel like I can exhale a bit and have a home.”
Nothing has come easy for the running back. All the way to final cut day in the NFL, he mentioned how he didn’t know if he made the Redskins final 53-man roster because no one ever called to tell him whether he did or didn’t.
“I just came in [that final cut day] and made it to the locker room and didn’t get stopped,” he explained, “so I kind of had a sense of what was going on. I went to talk to coach Gruden and thank him and he kind of confirmed it there. So I went to go thank my position coach.”
He doesn’t have to worry now. He has certainly made an impact, beginning with Rookie Minicamp until today. As he and his teammates prepare for this weekend’s pivotal division game in Philadelphia against the Eagles, he’s had a chance to reflect on the ironies regarding where his career came from to where it is now.
His first NFL game ever was played against the very coach who he left behind at Penn State – Bill O’Brien (head coach of the Houston Texans). O’Brien was picked by Penn State to lead the football program in the post-Sandusky scandal-era. He had the dubious task of keeping the program afloat in light of the bowl bans and scholarship reductions as well as replacing the iconic Paterno. In his two seasons at PSU, he compiled a record of 15-9 against incredible odds. He would take the Texans’ head coaching position this past offseason in move that surprised no one because of the success he had at Penn State.
Redd — who would make the decision to transfer to USC with a tremendous amount of backlash from Penn State supporters and NCAA critics who felt the NCAA had overstepped its legal boundaries in the whole affair — never found a home on the field at USC.
Upon his arrival in southern California, USC had been the consensus pre-season number-one-ranked-team with stars such as quarterback Matt Barkley (currently with the Philadelphia Eagles); and wide receivers Marqise Lee (with the Jacksonville Jaguars) and Robert Woods (now with the Buffalo Bills). Redd should have been the final piece to the puzzle that would make USC almost unstoppable. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t happen because of nagging injuries that derailed his USC campaign.
Although he did not get a chance to speak with O’Brien after the Redskins game against Houston in Week One, he did speak to his Penn State position coach Stan Hixon and strength coach Craig Fitzgerald, who are part of O’Brien’s staff in Texas. They spoke, were happy for each other’s successes and wished each other well.
In the second game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Redd scored his first NFL touchdown. This game would have additional special meaning for him because two of his former college teammates now play for the Florida team: wide outs Marqise Lee (who also happens to be the godfather of Redd’s child) and Allen Robinson played with Redd at USC and Penn State respectively.
When Redd scored that first ever touchdown he left the ball on the field as he celebrated with teammates. Redskins’ star receiver Pierre Garçon picked the ball up and walked it over to the sidelines as if he knew the rookie was so excited he forgot about the important souvenir. Redd acknowledged that this is exactly what happened.
“P[ierre Garçon] had my back and knew I would probably want it and grabbed it for me,” Redd acknowledged. “My mom was at the game so I was able to give it to her.”
This weekend’s game against the Eagles returns Redd to the state that was once home. He has not lost sight of this. His current teammate receiver DeSean Jackson will also make a highly anticipated return to Philadelphia where he was a three-time Pro Bowler. How will both be received? Only time will tell.
Next week Redd will play against his childhood team (the New York Giants) in another divisional game. The rookie, who grew up in Connecticut, rooted for the G-Men so the irony of playing against them in a longtime rivalry game is big.
“I was a Giants fan,” he said. “That’s an irony right? Playing the Giants will definitely be fun.”
No matter how you look at it, Redd is living out his dream and finally feeling like he is healthy and home.