USC Football: Safety John Plattenburg Reportedly Retires

USC safety John Plattenburg has decided to retire from football due to health concerns, according to a report by TrojanSports.com.

USC football will be without senior John Plattenburg in 2017 after the senior opted to retire from football, per Adam Maya of TrojanSports.com.

Head coach Clay Helton did not list Plattenburg among the players with injury concerns this spring, but Maya reports that concussion concerns have prompted the medical retirement.

Plattenburg missed the first half of USC’s 2016 season due to a concussion he suffered during fall camp.

The first day of spring camp may have carried a hint of Plattenburg’s status as cornerback Isaiah Langley is now listed as No. 24 on the roster.

The senior started his career brightly, earning a starting job at the tail end of USC’s 2014 season as a freshman. He started the 2015 season where he left off, but lost his starting job in the latter half of the campaign.

He was set to compete for a starting job in 2016 but the concussion limited his play.

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With the graduation of Leon McQuay, Plattenburg might have had an opportunity to break back into the rotation as a senior.

What’s next for Plattenburg? Perhaps more charity work. He’s been involved in multiple projects within the community, as highlighted by the National Football Foundation last year.

However, the Trojans remain set at safety even with Plattenburg’s reported departure. Starter Marvell Tell returns for his junior season while redshirt senior Chris Hawkins also opted to return and is likely to grab the other starting job at safety.

In addition to those veterans, USC has highly-touted prospects progressing through the ranks including redshirt sophomore Ykili Ross and redshirt freshmen Jamel Cook and C.J. Pollard.

The Trojans also added two well-regarded talents to the group in this years recruiting class with Bubba Bolden and Isaiah Pola-Mao due to arrive in the fall.