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Silas Redd just made it official in a text message to the press: he is transferring to USC.

Here is the statement he sent out:

This has obviously been a very busy, emotionally draining week for me and my family. As many of you know, playing football at Penn State has been a dream of mine since I was seven years old, and I will be forever grateful that this dream became a reality. This is the reason that the decision I have made is so difficult for me: I will transfer to USC to complete my education and my college football career, beginning in the 2012-2013 year. Penn State gave me a phenomenal opportunity to become part of a legendary football program. My teammates, my coaches – past and present – and the staff have provided me with a tremendous amount of guidance and support since I arrived on campus, and I can’t thank them enough for their time, their advice, and their friendship. They have given me such a strong foundation from which I can continue to grow.

The Penn State community – including the Nittany Lions’ unbelievable fan base – has also been a huge part of my incredible experience over the past two years. I have grown tremendously as a person and a player at Penn State, and the support of the community and our fans has been a big part of the reason why. I also want to extend my thanks to the media, who have embraced me and my family over my entire football career, even before I began at the college level. I think it is important to say that this situation is not something that I wished for myself, but it has happened, nonetheless. My family and I have spent many hours in recent days trying to decide what will be best for me as I look to the future – both personally and professionally.

We have weighed the pros and cons of staying at Penn State and leaving Penn State, attending USC and not attending USC, and I can honestly say that, ultimately, this decision is about so much more than football. I continue to have aspirations for my life, and as my family and I considered the bigger picture – both on and off the field – it became clearer to me that USC will be the best fit for my academic, athletic, and personal needs over the next two years. I look forward to future successes, and to the continued support of everyone around me.

Silas Redd Jr.

Here is the link for my Advocate story on Redd transferring, which will be updated throughout the night.

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Khairi Fortt makes a tackle in a game against Temple. (AP photo)

Khairi Fortt’s father Guy just confirmed that his son has narrowed his choices down to staying at Penn State or transferring to California. Guy Fortt said the intention is to meet with Penn State coach Bill O’Brien either Thursday or Friday and then make an announcement afterward.

“There’s been no final decision,” said Guy Fortt, refuting a report that Khairi had already decided on transferring to California.

Guy Fortt said Khairi has been contacted by over 30 schools, including from the SEC, ACC, Pac-12, Big East, Big 10 and Big 12.

“Khairi has grown up as a young man and he’s going to go wherever he wants to go,” Guy Fortt said. “In his mind he will come up with a decision and then we will talk.”

Fortt, a 6-foot-2, 238-pound junior linebacker, played in every game for the Nittany Lions last year. He finished with six tackled for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

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Khairi Fortt announcing his decision to attend Penn State. His decision this week remains uncertain.

UConn fans hoping that former Stamford High School star Khairi Fortt will return to play in his home state will not get their wish.

Guy Fortt, the father of the Penn State linebacker, said that Khairi has ruled out transferring to UConn.

“He just doesn’t want to be home,” Guy Fortt said. “He just doesn’t want to do it. He probably doesn’t want to be around me and my wife.”

Khairi visited California over the weekend and returned to the Penn State campus on Sunday. He was busy studying today for exams, Guy Fortt said.

Guy Fortt said that he thinks a decision about whether Khairi will remain at Penn State or head elsewhere should come by midweek. Guy has stressed throughout the process that his son is very much enamored with the Nittany Lions’ new coaching staff. Khairi reportedly liked his visit to California but there is some trepidation about moving to the West Coast. It is believed Baylor also remains in the mix.

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(Emma Oyomba, who is going to be a senior at Norwalk High School, has attracted interest from colleges to play basketball and lacrosse. It is both a great and confusing situation, made more so because Emma is uncertain if she even wants to play a sport in college. Emma has agreed to write Emma’s Dilemma for Overtime so we can follow her along on the process to her ultimate decision.)

Since my last post a lot has happened. I went from playing AAU basketball to attending my first lacrosse camp. Trying to enjoy my summer is starting to fall last on my list. I could write a novel on just these two events so I decided to split them up. For this post I am going to talk about basketball.

During the last few weeks of school, I got an email from a college basketball coach. She wanted to check in and see what my plans were for the summer. And by plans she meant what AAU team I was playing for and when she could see me play.

I was freaking out because AAU was not what I had planned for my summer. I hadn’t played on an AAU team since the summer going into my sophomore year, and due to my injury I couldn’t play last summer. So, there I was staring at my iPhone trying to figure out what I could do about this situation. Eventually, I found a coach who also worked at my school. He is the head coach of CBC (Connecticut Basketball Club) for my age group.

After a couple practices, I was geared up for my first non-high school basketball tournament since the summer of 2010. I was a little rusty considering I had joined the team mid-season and only went to a few practices. I drove up to Pace University in New York by myself and it was so surreal. The last time I went to an AAU tournament my mom was driving and I was sitting in the passenger seat with my earphones in ignoring anything she was saying to me. I didn’t know anyone on the team because we all went to different schools as opposed to my previous AAU teams.

Things were definitely different this time around. When I stepped into the multi-court gym and saw all of these girls judging every other team that walked by, I was feeling a little nostalgic. Actually, nostalgic isn’t the word to describe it seeing as how I didn’t have a “sentimental longing” for that period in my life. All it did was bring back the memories of ridiculous refs, rowdy parents, obnoxious coaches and girls with attitudes. I mean, when you put girls filled with hormones in a gym, challenging each other, all of that should be expected. Nonetheless, I felt right at home.

That weekend we went 3-1, which is pretty good. But I couldn’t help but dread it a little. When I was on the bench I was thinking about what I was having for dinner or when I could go to the mall. Clearly those things shouldn’t be on my mind, but they were. My head wasn’t in the game and when coach took me out and asked, “Do you want to play?” I forced myself to say yes.

I knew it was a rhetorical question but answering in anything other than the affirmative wouldn’t suffice. I soon realized I wasn’t playing for myself, I was playing for the coach who emailed me. If my head or heart wasn’t in it, then I was of no use to that team or anyone else for that matter. I talked to coach and he was more than understanding. I don’t like to waste my time, so I would not waste someone else’s.

At the end of the day, AAU just wasn’t for me this summer. Maybe it’s because things have changed or I have grown up or it’s simply not something I want to do at the moment. I love basketball, I really do. I have been playing since 5th grade. I don’t know if it’s because of lacrosse or because of my lack of interest this summer, but basketball is just not one of my top priorities. Come to think of it, I just want to play for the sake of playing. Not play to showcase my talents to college coaches. But, this post is not necessarily an inclination of ruling out basketball as an option for college. I just think I need some time to relax my body, think about what I want to do and where I want to be.

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Norwalk's Tomar Joseph carries against Trinity Catholic last year.

(This is the last in a 5-part series this week of video interviews with top returning FCIAC football players, shot Saturday at New Canaan’s Grip It and Rip It passing camp.)

Last year was a dream season for the Norwalk High School football team, which went 8-1 during the regular season and then beat Conard for its first-ever state playoff win. The Bears were defeated by eventual champion Xavier in the semifinals.

All this took place in Sean Ireland’s first season as head coach.

The Bears were hit hard by graduation losses, and many are predicting a drop back in the pack this fall. One of the players hoping to ensure that does not happen is Tomar Joseph.

A power back built low to the ground, Joseph rushed for 430 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns in 2011.

I caught up with Joseph on Saturday and discussed last year and the expectations for this year.

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Peter Gesualdi breaks a run last season against Trumbull.

(This is the fourth in a 5-part series this week of video interviews with top returning FCIAC football players, shot Saturday at New Canaan’s Grip It and Rip It passing camp.)

There were few players in the FCIAC last season as versatile as Darien’s Peter Gesualdi. He was first on the team in receiving, second in rushing and among the state leaders with eight interceptions.

After a 6-0 start, the Blue Wave finished 2-2 the rest of the way, with losses to eventual league champion Staples and state finalist New Canaan denying them a postseason berth.

Darien has a strong nucleus returning, led by Gesualdi, and will enter this season as one of the contenders in both the FCIAC and state.

I caught up with Gesualdi on Saturday as he discussed the Blue Wave’s high hopes for 2012.

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(This is the third in a 5-part series this week of video interviews with top returning FCIAC football players, shot Saturday at New Canaan’s Rip It and Grip It passing camp.)

They say if you have two quarterbacks you really don’t have one, but that is not the way the New Canaan football team is looking at its current situation. With record-breaking passer Matt Milano graduated, the battle for the starting job will come down to Teddy Bossidy and Nick Cascione.

Each player saw some time in reserve a year ago, and both are outstanding athletes and can play in the backfield. In fact, Lou Marinelli said the person not at quarterback will still see a lot of time at another spot on offense.

Don’t expect this to be a contentious or divisive battle. Bossidy and Cascione are close friends, and however this plays out, there will be no ill feelings.

I caught up with Bossidy and Cascione on Saturday and discussed their relationship and what will be a closely watched competition.

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Kelly and Craig Austrie

Kelly Austrie said she has been a life-long UConn basketball fan. Even before her brother, Craig, started as a freshman on the 2005-06 team and as a senior played in a Final Four for the Huskies.

When it was time for Kelly to start looking at colleges, she did not have to search far.

“I always wanted to come to UConn,” Kelly said. “It’s a good school, and especially because my brother went here.”

Once Kelly made it to Storrs, she decided to be a part of Craig’s former team in the only way possible. Kelly, now a sophomore, is one of the Huskies’ team managers. She started off last year, and her responsibilities included everything from rebounding for players during shootarounds and charting stats during drills.

In her own way, Kelly has made as much as an impact as Craig did when he started the first 24 games as a freshman. Kelly this year was asked if she wanted to work in the basketball office.

“I started out as a manager, and when they asked me to do this in was such a huge opportunity,” Kelly said. “I was so excited. They knew I was Craig’s sister. I’ve been following UConn basketball for a long time.”

Unlike her brother, who attended Trinity Catholic, Kelly is a graduate of Stamford High School. She said her basketball career ended in middle school.

“I like watching it, not playing it,” she said.

Kelly was a captain of the Stamford girls track team, specializing in sprints and the long jump.

Kelly’s job with the basketball team is a career path rather than following in her brother’s footsteps. She is a psychology major, and said she is considering careers in either sports psychology or sports management.

“This has been so much fun, especially working for the basketball program,” she said. “There are so many lessons learned. Whether it is time management, or doing things the right way. I’m getting a lot out of it.”

And Kelly’s name does have some brand recognition.

“They always ask me about Craig and how he is doing,” she said. “And a lot of people find out who I am and are shocked.”