DeCarlos Nicholson speaks on staying with USC football for final year

A lot of pressure is on USC football athletes. The Trojans will be looking to turn some of those close games into wins from last year. Head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn will be happy to have a certain constant carryover on defense.

After a brief stint in the transfer portal, DeCarlos Nicholson will indeed stay in the Cardinal and Gold. He is able to benefit from a court ruling that went against the NCAA and have one year of eligibility. For coach Riley, this will mean having a key veteran with experience on the outside.

Reporters have to ask difficult questions. Following Thursday's practice, Nicholson must have known that he would be asked about changing his mind twice. Some may have elected to ignore the question or give a non-answer. Instead, the senior walked through some of what was going on through his mind during his spring decision-making process.

When asked about why he put his name in the portal, the CB responded:

"Just a lot of overthinking on my part, a lot of things, a lot of uncertainty at the end of last season with my year coming up. But, I mean, I'm here now; this place is home."

There is a lot that comes with deciding whether to stay or leave on a year-to-year basis. There aren't two situations that are the same between student-athletes. For Nicholson, a lot of what led to him choosing USC in the first place ended up being what helped him to reconsider leaving. Now working on his master's after earning a certificate from the school, having already earned his bachelor's at Mississippi State.

Larger concerns, beyond USC football

This brings up an overall encompassing aspect that is often the source of heated debate in collegiate sports. By all means, these are adults who have every right to take their education and career in whichever path they see best fit. Making what some would call an impulse decision is part of what being an adult means. How the consequences from there pan out, or potential upside, is for that individual to experience.

To have the ease and constant ability to remove oneself from the roster is an overall negative. Too often, coaches and players are looking too far ahead when a season has not even been completed yet. Nicholson changed his mind and hadn't done anything finite, which ultimately allowed him back without too much additional fanfare beyond the pair of questions for reporters.

Nor will there be anything more of it. The staff is glad to have Nicholson back for an additional season, and the secondary is enhanced with him being on the roster. Like the prodigal son, whatever caused him to consider leaving, USC football nation will be focused on and happy that he will stay.