USC goes Greene

Kevin McCarthy
 

It came down to a pair of colleges and family was the reason that Kevin Greene ultimately decided to stay close to home for his next destination as a student-athlete. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound defensive end from Sacred Heart Cathedral will remain on the west coast to suit up for a PAC-10 powerhouse next fall.

Greene hopes to inspire others

The dealmaker (or breaker depending upon your point of view) was that a brief plane ride or somewhat longer drive could bring his family to see him play college football for the Trojans. That was versus a longer flight and much lengthier drive to reach Pullman, Washington.

"What it boiled down to is what was in my heart," Greene said, humbly offering, "this is a blessing, a true honor and I feel very fortunate for the opportunity."

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Greene, whose background story includes having played high school football for just two years, received input from many sources. Family friend and fellow Sacred Heart senior KiKi Moore is headed to Washington State to play for the women’s basketball team in 2009-2010. She certainly wouldn’t have minded Greene accompanying her on the trip north.

Greene will be tried at both standup defensive end and outside linebacker at USC

Other friends were extolling the virtues of USC.

Working in Pete Carroll’s favor was that USC, like Sacred Heart, is a relatively small private school offering solid academics. Peripherally, SHC is located in San Francisco, a cosmopolitan setting with more similarities to Los Angeles than small town Pullman.

Having made and announced his decision is "a real stress reliever and I want to thank all the coaches who showed interest in me," Greene said.

He will be heading to Los Angeles three weeks after his high school graduation, entering the USC Summer Bridge Program for an introduction to college academics.

Curiously, USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel was Greene’s primary recruiter. But newly appointed USC defensive line mentor Jethro Franklin, boasting a lengthy resume of both collegiate and National Football League coaching experience, is Greene’s position coach. Greene will be tried at standup defensive end and also outside linebacker.

Asked whether he would try to be a two sport athlete at USC, Greene said, "It’s a possibility to try and make into a reality but that will depend on the coaches and if my body could take another sports season."

Plus, Greene has no faulty impressions of what he faces come the fall. "I’m new to the sport and a work-in-progress on the gridiron and it’s going to be very competitive and hard work," he offered. "But my whole life I’ve wanted to play against the best." He especially credits Lou Richie, his trainer and coach with the Drew Gooden Soldiers club basketball team, for pushing him and with the adoption of a warrior attitude during competition.

"The moment I stepped on campus [during his January 16 USC visit] I knew it would be the one," Greene said. "When I was younger, I never imagined this would happen. All the work plus all the help that everyone gave me has paid off. I have friends who don’t know where they will be next year or who don’t have all the support I do so it’s important to be a role model for others and for me to understand what a great opportunity I have in attending USC. I want people to know that something like this can be done."