USC is also an option, considering he signed with them originally.
"I am not really good at talking anybody out of staying with a football team," Kelly said. "I just have never been down that road. I'll point out some things that I think it's important to point out, but I don't know my role really is to talk somebody out of quitting.
"I always will say, ‘Have you talked to your family? What are your family's thoughts about this? Have you clearly talked to them?' Because if they haven't talked to their family, that's a red flag for me. He said he's talked to his family about it, and that's why we wish him the best.
"Sometimes those decisions are ones that we really won't be able to understand. And maybe in five or 10 years, you look back on it and go, ‘That was a great decision, that was a poor decision.' I've been doing it for 20 years, and anytime a player leaves, it's disappointing."
Some people would prefer to have spots handed to them instead of being patient. Kelly said he was one of the hardest workers on the team, but he was at a spot where he wasn't the best fit. He would have seen significant playing time this year and was one play away from starting considering Riddick is coming off of shoulder surgery and isn't the biggest player on the team.
