No regrets for Cody Kessler

MOBILE, Ala. – Cody Kessler was close, so close, to committing to Washington in the spring before his senior season of high school.

He visited Washington. He loved Washington. He wanted to play for the Washington coaching staff.

“It was really close,” Kessler said this week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

“Because of (then-Washington) coach (Steve Sarkisian) and coach (Doug) Nussmeier, they were really good to me. I went out there and visited and it was awesome. I enjoyed it. The community around there and the fans I got to meet, it was just really cool and really welcoming.”

And then – close to the last minute, literally – USC coaches called the former four-star from Bakersfield (Calif.) Centennial to say the Trojans wanted to offer.

Suddenly, Kessler wasn’t so sure about his pending pledge.

“I mean SC, it’s so close to home,” Kessler said. “I went and visited and it’s one of those schools where you can’t say no to them. I was definitely very, very close, considering it and I almost did commit (to Washington).

“I was about to pick up the phone and I got a call from Lane (Kiffin) and coach (Clay) Helton and they decided to offer me. At that point, I had to take a step back. It made me think twice and I knew then that I wasn’t 100 percent sure with Washington because of that. I knew I had to evaluate both schools again, and it ended up working out.”

The USC offer was thrilling to Kessler, rated as the second-best quarterback in the 2011 class, but it was also a difficult time. He had thoroughly liked everything about Washington and was quite sure that was the right fit.

But… USC offered.

“It was confusing,” Kessler said. “It was definitely difficult for me because for a couple days I was sure.

“I wanted to sleep on it a couple nights to see if (a Washington commitment) felt good and it still did. At the last second (the USC offer) happened and it threw me off. I was really confused and then that day I went to the Elite 11 so it was everything at once.”

Looking back, his decision to pick USC could not have gone much better. Kessler beat out Max Wittek for the starting job, he was a three-year starter for the Trojans and finished his career with more than 10,000 passing yards with 88 touchdowns and 19 picks.

That’s not to say his time there was drama-free. There was all the Kiffin stuff and then all the Sarkisian stuff and so much in between. Enough drama for TMZ. Hey, this is Los Angeles, right?

But Kessler said he would not have traded any of it because of how things turned out.

“There were obviously a lot of things going on, a lot of drama, a lot of adversity, but I enjoyed it,” Kessler said. “I really did. It made me, and the guys who played around me, better, especially now heading to the NFL. It’s a lot more of a business than college but in a lot of ways they’re similar. You’re not always going to have the same coach. Things change and happen.

“Coach Kiffin, coach (Ed Orgeron), coach Helton, coach Sark, they were all good to me. I respected every one of them and they always had the players’ best interests in mind. They were good to us and even though things didn’t work out because of personal issues or here or there, I was thankful.”

And thankful he picked up the phone when USC came calling.