The second trip for former USC Trojans quarterback Max Wittek is completed now after journeying to Hawaii last weekend and according to one report, one school is no longer in contention and another school is still at the top of his list.
According to a beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News, the TCU Horned Frogs are now out of the running:
#USC QB Max Wittek is no longer considering #TCU because the Horned Frogs want him to decide now where he will transfer
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) March 6, 2014
In a brief blog post, the author of the above tweet, Scott Wolf, reports that the Texas Longhorns are still the leader for Wittek, who decided to keep taking visits after all.
The 6'4, 230-pound quarterback visited Texas in mid-February and told Orangebloods at the time that his visit "exceeded" his expectations, citing a strong connection with the coaches and players. At that time, Wittek was not sure if he would continue taking visits.
He decided a free trip to Hawaii was too good to turn down, but there hasn't been any information to emerge publicly about how the visit went.
The list of programs Wittek was considering once included Virginia Tech along with Hawaii and Louisville, but the Hokies have secured the transfer of former Texas Tech quarterback Michael Brewer, who was outspoken about his disagreement with Tech's decision to keep him from transferring to a Big 12 program in the state of Texas. The Longhorns were thought to be a possible destination had he not been barred from transferring to Texas because his father played quarterback for the Longhorns.
Both Hawaii and Louisville present more open depth charts for Wittek, who will have two seasons of eligibility remaining when he graduates from USC in May with a degree in Psychology. After graduating, he will enroll at the school of his choice in June.
Wolf believes that Wittek should go to Hawaii because of the opportunity for early playing time, but says that Wittek believes he can win the starting job at Texas and that the prestige of the program appeals to him.
Based on the way that Wittek performed as a Trojan, the odds of him unseating David Ash for the starting job without the benefit of spring practice seem pretty low as long as Ash can stay healthy.
In 2012, Wittek had his chance to replace Matt Barkley due to injury, throwing for 186 yards on 14-of-23 passing against Notre Dame in a losing effort that also included one touchdown pass and two interceptions. His subsequent showing against Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl was less promising, however, featuring three interceptions, a 37.8% completion percentage and only 107 yards on 14 attempts.
Appearances in the first three games of 2013 were not enough to land Wittek the job over Cody Kessler, who went on to turn in a solid season with an adjusted QBR of 66.7, right about what Case McCoy managed.
However, a little bit of perhaps irrational confidence on the part of Wittek regarding his abilities may be the final consideration that results in the Mater Dei product choosing the Longhorns over his other remaining choices.