Lincoln Riley told the media that USC Football WR Gary Bryant Jr. is planning to redshirt this season. Bryant has played in all three games this season, but has only caught a pass in two of them.
He's a very talented receiver who had four stars next to his name in high school (all recruiting ratings and rankings in article are as of 247Sports). There's just so many weapons in this offense that he's only received two passes all year. Neither of those passes were touchdowns, and they were only for 15 total yards.
He hasn't had the best luck in the return game either, returning two kicks for an average of 15 yards per return. He's returned two punts for an average of two yards per return. It's too early, however, for where he should decide to redshirt and look to transfer. That's exactly what he's expected to do: Transfer once he can hit the transfer portal. It appears that's why he's opting to redshirt already.
Gary Bryant Jr. should be staying with the USC football program, and not transferring.
Again, Gary Bryant Jr. has only touched the ball twice on offense this year for USC football, but that's simply because there are so many other options in the offense. It doesn't mean that he will continue to not be a major factor in the offense. There's a lot of targets to go around, and deciding that he can't be a factor in the offense because of three games is far too quick of a judgement.
Also, Bryant still has two years left of eligibility after this year if he doesn't redshirt, meaning that there's plenty of time to develop. No. 1 WR for USC, Jordan Addison, will probably be gone next year and off to the NFL.
That means that Bryant will likely be the No. 4 receiver, and if Brenden Rice or Tahj Washington (or even maybe both) go to the Draft as well, he has even more opportunity to move up the depth chart. And again, he even has a year after that to get satisfactory targets.
It would be wise of Bryant to stay the course, and play for the best offensive coach in the country for these next three years (including this one). An intriguing threat who is coming off of a season last year where he caught seven touchdown passes as just a sophomore, though, he'll have a lot of other interest too.
It's tough to see Bryant go, as he was the No. 7 WR in the 2020 recruiting class. He was the No. 46 overall player, and the No. 5 player in the state of California. He was noticeably utilized terribly in Graham Harrell's offense, though.
Perhaps it's cost him opportunity with the new coaching staff as well. USC fans will of course be wishing him the best in his upcoming efforts to find the best possible home.