Quarterback Matt Fink decides against transferring, will remain with USC

Leaving the USC football program must be difficult. Lately, nobody can seem to pull it off.

On Thursday, redshirt junior quarterback Matt Fink became the latest player to hit rewind on a decision to transfer from USC, announcing on his Instagram account that he will stick with the Trojans through next season.

Fink’s father, Mike, told the Los Angeles Times in May that Matt Fink was headed to Illinois as a graduate transfer with the hope of winning the starting job in Champaign.

Less than a week later, Fink announced he had not committed anywhere. Now, he will likely step back into his former life as a backup quarterback for the Trojans.

He has two years of eligibility remaining.

“Thank you to all the coaches that have reached out to me and gave me an opportunity to continue my career elsewhere,” Fink wrote, “but after a long month of soul searching, I have decided that my football future will continue here at USC with this special ‘Band of Brothers.’ ”

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Fink became the third USC player this week to return to the program after considering transferring or actually transferring this offseason, following redshirt junior wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy, who signed with USC, transferred to Texas and is in the process of transferring back.

The Trojans enjoyed a similar reversal of fortune with freshman cornerback Chris Steele, a onetime USC commit who signed with Florida and spent the spring in Gainesville before deciding to transfer back to USC after one semester away.

McCoy and Steele will both have to circumvent NCAA transfer rules to be eligible to play in the fall. Each will file a request for a hardship waiver with the NCAA in the coming weeks aimed at showing that unique circumstances led to their transfer and asking to be immediately eligible.

brady.mccollough@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradyMcCollough