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Paolo UggettiESPN
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Wide receiver Jordan Addison on Saturday described his decision to transfer from Pittsburgh to USC as a personal “gut move.”
Speaking for the first time since his decision to pick USC over Texas and Alabama, Addison, who was at Steve Clarkson’s quarterback retreat on Saturday, said he first started thinking about transferring once the Panthers underwent coaching changes. In December, offensive coordinator Mark Whipple resigned and was replaced by Frank Cignetti Jr. while wide receivers coach Brennan Marion was hired away by Texas at the end of the season.
“I was looking for a great coach and a good football opportunity,” said Addison, who moved in this week and is already taking summer classes. “I’m still figuring myself out and what I want to do and I feel like I have a great opportunity to do that where I’m at now.”
Addison was asked if Caleb Williams, whom he knows from high school, was a factor in his decision.
“Caleb is Caleb,” Addison said of the quarterback, who followed coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC. “You don’t have to say much more than that. But just where USC is at, everything around it and with Lincoln here now, there’s a lot of great things I feel like I can do in his offense.”
The Biletnikoff Award winner said USC’s pitch to him included showing him the potential for more explosive plays in Riley’s offense.
“A lot of people think like, you won a Biletnikoff, so how much can you get better?” Addison said. “But they showed me that I got a lot of improvements to do within my game, how I need to get better and how to maximize my game.”
Despite the public reaction to his decision Addison said he has nothing but love for Pittsburgh and hopes they “win every game.”
“You can’t get everybody to agree with me,” Addison said. “So I just had to figure out what I wanted to do and do it.”