"Amir really felt Stanford was the best fit for him athletically, academically, spiritually and every way you can think of," Carlisle's father Duane said. "When he committed to Stanford, he always said there were two schools he would open things up for, USC and Notre Dame.
"All three programs are incredible schools and Amir loved all three a lot. When he took his official visit to USC, during the season my wife and I weren't able to go. Amir really wanted us to see the place and basically pleaded with me and said, 'dad, please come and check this place out.' He wanted to get our opinion on it and wanted us to see it first hand and it was definitely impressive for sure."
Carlisle said there were a number of factors that went into his son's decision.
"Academically, Amir wants to double major in theater and business and USC is ranked No. 1 in both," Duane Carlisle said. "He wants to go into acting when football is over and there really isn't a better place you can go than USC for that. We sat down, my wife and I, and had a great talk with the academic people, with Lane Kiffin and with Pat Haden and felt very comfortable with Amir attending USC.
"Coach Kiffin and Kennedy Pola, the running backs coach, are great people and we're excited how they want to use Amir. They want to use him the same way they used Reggie Bush, meaning he'll run the ball, play some slot, and return some kicks. Amir is very excited and we are too. Like I said, these are three great schools and he really couldn't go wrong but he just felt most comfortable at USC."
