Reign of Troy
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Former USC Wide Receiver Vidal Hazelton Tearing Up CFL

By Hank Shaw

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Ask any USC football fan about Vidal Hazelton, and you’ll hear of his talent, the drama in which the Trojans were able to sign him over Penn State and then the sudden transfer to Cincinnati. From then on, everything about him has been hazy.

RELATED: 5 Past USC Football Recruits With Signing Day Drama

He didn’t have a strong end to his college career in the Big East, and the Virginia native bounced around NFL practice squads since going undrafted in 2011.

Hazelton then wound up playing for the Boston Brawlers in 2014 of the Fall Experimental Football League, alongside former USC teammate Emmanuel Moody.

But nearly decade after he first got to USC, the former five-star wide receiver is finally making a name for himself on the football field on a consistent basis for the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

So far through eight games of his first season north of the border, Hazelton has 38 receptions for 501 yards, both good for third among all receivers throughout the CFL.

On Sunday night, he had a sensational diving touchdown catch in the back of the end zone to the tie the game with the Ottawa REDBLACKS at 24-24, early in the fourth quarter. The Argos would go on to win 30-24, with Hazelton having four catches for 55 yards and the score.

For a guy who has always had so much potential, it’s good to see it all come together.

While at USC, Hazelton had a solid sophomore season as a starting wide receiver in 2007, making 50 catches for 540 yards before an injury-riddled junior season saw him slide down the depth chart.

He announced that he’d be transferring in 2009 and finished his college career with a six-catch senior season at Cincinnati.

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