There has been a turn in the transfer story of Jordan Addison and it includes Alabama football quarterback, Bryce Young.
Addison was last season’s Biletnikoff winner who has entered the Transfer Portal to leave the Pittsburgh Panthers. Even before Addison had officially entered the Portal, widespread rumors were he was headed to the west coast to play for Lincoln Riley and USC.
Quickly things got ugly. Pitt accused Lincoln Riley of tampering. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
"A source within the Pitt program told the Post-Gazette on Friday that USC’s coaching staff illegally tampered with Addison, an action outlawed by NCAA rules as a player must officially be in the portal before coaches can contact them. Additionally, sources told the Post-Gazette, Addison is being offered a multi-million-dollar deal to suit up for the Trojans."
According to the Pittsburgh report, Panthers coach, Pat Narduzzi made multiple calls to Riley to “express his displeasure.” Riley, of course, denied any wrongdoing, and in the current ‘lawless era’ of college football, Riley’s denial could be, at least partially true.
Several media reports have said, Addison has not ruled out a return to the Panthers for a third season.
More recent chatter is an example of what we discussed in a recent post as college football’s silly season. The latest is news from credible sources that Addison has worked out with Bryce Young in California.
What does this mean for Alabama Football?
It may well mean nothing. There is nothing bizarre about the Heisman and Biletnikoff winners getting together for an offseason workout. If they were in the same area at the same time for other reasons, a workout is no big deal.
Not everybody in the college football world agrees. Fans of Southern Cal quickly jumped to two very different conclusions. The first was Lincoln Riley was about to lose Jordan Addison to Nick Saban. The other conclusion is where the story does become bizarre. Some Trojans fans claim the workout means not only will USC add Addison but that Bryce intends to join him.
That contention is so laughable it leads to a presumption those USC fans read our just-for-fun, April Fools’ post about Bryce Young entering the Transfer Portal. Maybe ‘April Fools’ is no longer a thing in California.
What can Crimson Tide fans expect?
If, and it feels like a big IF, Jordan Addison transfers to Alabama, the college football world will explode. Many will accuse Nick Saban of tampering. Lincoln Riley might accuse Nick as well, though if this were a legal matter, Riley would have no standing.
Also, Bryce Young’s next team will be in the NFL.
If not taken too seriously, the college football ‘silly season’ can be great fun. Though maybe not for Pittsburgh and USC fans.