USC Football: Raleek Brown, Former Five-Star Recruit, Opting for Redshirt Sophomore Year

Brown's father offers the scoop via this local newspaper...

The curious case of Raleek Brown has been a significant topic of conversation across the USC Football landscape since Week 0's win over San Jose St. 

Featuring sparingly in the game -- and evidently behind a plethora of true freshmen -- many were wondering what exactly was the cause for Brown's relative lack of involvement within the offense. 

The former big-time recruit out of Mater Dei High School had six touchdowns a year ago as a backup running back. Well, courtesy of Raleek's father, Roscoe, we got some answers. 

USC’s Raleek Brown plans to redshirt sophomore season, father says https://t.co/AaMllAEPSI

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) September 3, 2023

In a rather in-depth interview with Luca Evans of The Orange County Register/Southern California News Group, father Roscoe Brown spoke about his son's status with the team, as well as the plan moving forward: 

"Everybody's panicking, the truth not being out, 'Maybe he's falling on the depth chart'...Raleek just feel like he just wasn't 100 percent, and the opportunity got took from him because of his leg. We didn't want to burn a year, not knowing what's going on."

- Roscoe Brown via

The Orange County Register

Brown had moved from running back to slot receiver over the offseason. An electric player with the ball in his hands, the thought was that the 5-foot-8 dynamic athlete could make more plays in space from that spot. 

According to Brown's father, a meeting with Lincoln Riley indicated that his son would be used 60 percent in the slot and 40 percent as a running back. However, an ongoing hamstring injury seemed to plague Brown for the majority of the offseason. 

Brown further elaborated on the position switch:

"This is not just go out there and run a route to two, right, and this is not just go out there and learn to block this one thing. There's a lot more to it. So, he's had some really good patches, he's had some rough patches."

- Brown on his son

per

The Orange County Register

Riley has offered some glowing remarks about his sophomore receiver in the wake of Brown not being listed on recent depth charts. 

According to the article, Brown's father insists there's no plan for his son to enter the transfer portal. The parties involved are seemingly on the same page regarding Brown's future as a receiver. 

Still, USC fans must wonder if this is the second coming of the Gary Bryant Jr. saga. Once a fixture in USC's offense, Bryant Jr. seemingly fell out of favor with the new staff. While he redshirted last year, Bryant Jr. ultimately entered the transfer portal -- ending up with Oregon.