Former USC safety Bubba Bolden announces commitment to transfer to Miami

Former USC safety Bubba Bolden announced his commitment to transfer to Miami on Wednesday, set to leave the Trojans officially after his case was reopened.

It appears that Bubba Bolden will not be returning to USC football.

The former Trojan safety announced his commitment to Miami on Wednesday night, posting his decision on social media via Twitter and Instagram.

Last week, the possibility of Bolden rejoining the Trojans was rekindled when it was revealed that USC had reopened his disciplinary hearing into a student conduct violation. Bolden had been suspended for 22 months and left the university as a result.

https://twitter.com/BubbBolden/status/1083215114470187008

Even though Bolden would have been allowed to reenroll at USC, there was no guarantee the reopened case would conclude with a different result. The university was prompted to take a second look because of recent court rulings which changed the procedures required for student conduct investigations.

If he had enrolled in classes this spring, Bolden would have had to wait for his case to once again resolve itself and if his suspension was no rescinded, he would have been back in the same spot, unable to suit up for the Trojans for two years.

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Considering that, it is not much of a surprise to hear that Bolden will be taking his talents to Miami, where he will not be bound by USC’s student disciplinary ruling.

This comes in the wake of an appellate court ruling which found USC’s Title IX investigation process to be “fundamentally flawed” in the case of former tight end Bryce Dixon. Dixon was accused of sexual misconduct. USC’s failure to allow him to cross-examine witnesses was at the heart of overturning the ruling that he had violated the university’s “affirmative consent” policy.

Unfortunately, that ruling will do little for Dixon, who is serving a jail sentence for an unrelated crime which occurred after his dismissal from USC.

Dixon’s case is potentially relevant to Bolden’s because it might have given Bolden added strength in challenging USC’s investigatory process in his own case.

With Bolden ready to head to Miami, however, there is likely no need for such a challenge.

Bolden was set to start the 2018 season for the Trojans before his suspension. His departure, along with transfers and a bevy of injuries, left USC with woefully thin depth at safety for much of the season.

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USC is currently set to go into the 2019 with just four scholarship safeties on the roster.