USC Football: How Should Trojan Fans Feel About Vanderdoes to UCLA?

The proverbial shoe has finally dropped, and Trojan fans have now learned that onetime USC verbal commit Eddie Vanderdoes has jilted the team's longtime rival, Notre Dame, for another rival, UCLA, according to ESPN's Joe Schad.

For USC fans, this is double vexing, as many hoped that Vanderdoes—a talented defensive tackle—would wind up back with the Trojans, a team he gave his verbal pledge to early in the process.

But for those who follow college football recruiting, there was little doubt that Vanderdoes would wind up sporting the powder blue and gold of USC's crosstown rival.

And so it has come to pass, and Vanderdoes will be playing for USC's suddenly relevant Pac-12 South foes.

So, how should Trojan fans feel about Vanderdoes?

Is he just a big, confused kid who is trying to find his way through the recruiting process and who simply just made a mistake by choosing Notre Dame when his heart was on the West Coast?

Or is he another immature, selfish athlete whose ego is so large that he simply doesn't understand the value of giving your word to somebody and then keeping it?

Maybe he is somewhere in between.

Whatever he is, he is now Jim Mora's problem—or, some may say, "gift."

What is for certain is that there is far too much drama associated with this person for a guy who has yet to play a down at the college level.

Of course, there is a silver lining to all of this if you are either a Trojan or Notre Dame fan. At least Vanderdoes won't be able to play football this year for the Bruins, as Notre Dame has refused to let him out of his National Letter of Intent.

Good for the Irish.

But back to how a Trojan fan should feel about Vanderdoes.

Well, if you are a good USC fan, you hope that Vanderdoes falls flat on his face as a football player for UCLA.

But that is how you should feel about anyone who plays for your crosstown rival. The question is, should you hope for greater failure for Vanderdoes than any other Bruin?

That, ultimately, is a personal decision, and while I know exactly how I feel, I will keep that to myself. But if I were a Notre Dame fan, I would be screaming from the mountaintop for him to fail.

Who knew that USC fans could feel a kindred spirit for a Golden Domer?

I guess there is a first for everything, eh?