USC coach Clay Helton said he and his staff have made one decision on having a veteran player take a redshirt season and it sounds like another will eventually be following suit as well.
Junior right guard Andrew Vorhees, who played in the first two games before being sidelined by a foot injury, will have season-ending surgery to "clean up" cartilage in that injured foot and will still have two years of eligibility remaining.
Meanwhile, senior linebacker Jordan Iosefa, who is still working his way back from August knee surgery, could play in up to four games later this season and still take a redshirt as he has not previously used one.
"We went ahead and made that determination this week just based on the foot not getting better, he has a redshirt year available and it's about a three-month rehab," Helton said of Vorhees. "We don't want to put him in harm's way. It hasn't improved so we're going to go ahead and make the investment and do that."
Vorhees started 20 games over the last two seasons for the Trojans but was rotating in behind Jalen McKenzie at right guard to open this season. That position has been inconsistent for USC, so it's very likely Vorhees would have been a significant factor there the rest of the season if healthy, but the foot injury makes this decision clear.
"Foot surgeries are a little bit different than knees. It takes a little longer to get back, from what they tell me," Helton said. "I'm not a doctor, but from what they tell me it's a little bit longer -- they told me it's going to be about three months. To be able to have a kid that now will be a redshirt junior with his experience and his maturity, that's an advantage to have a kid who will be able to have two years left with that type of experience."
That means redshirt junior Liam Jimmons, who made the switch from defensive line to O-line back in the spring, will be the Trojans' sixth offensive lineman the rest of the way. He got his first action on the offensive line last game vs. Washington, playing 10 snaps at right guard.
As for Iosefa, he sustained a dislocated patella (kneecap) early in preseason camp and was supposed to be out four to six weeks. That time table has come and gone. Iosefa is making the trip to South Bend, Ind., this week for USC's game at Notre Dame, but Helton said he's probably still a week or two away from playing.
With only six games left in the regular season after this one, and Iosefa projected as an option off the bench even before the injury, it doesn't make a ton of sense to burn his final year of eligibility when he can play in a max of four games and still come back next season. Helton strongly insinuated that was the likely plan.
"We have talked about it already, just not knowing how [it would go]. It's a little bit more significant knee than the other one that he had, but he does have a redshirt year available and he still has four games left to play. Like I told him, there's no sense of urgency right now if it's not ready," Helton said. "The availability to play in four games in November and help your football team down a stretch run to win a Pac-12 championship is an important thing too.
"I think it's one of the things that he and I have talked about it, just seeing the future and given the trust that we have in both John [Houston] and Ralen [Goforth]. We want Jordan to have a great last year, and if it's going to be one of those years where you just get limited play I don't want that for him, he doesn't want it for himself. But our plan right now is to get the knee healthy, to have the availability to play four games, see where it lies there. Obviously we're not going to burn a kid's year when he's got the opportunity to come back and help us next year."
