USCโs Clay Helton says new eligibility rules will help players and coaches
Ryan Kartje (LA Times)ย —ย If this were a normal college football season, Clay Heltonย would have his massive participation spreadsheet primed and ready by now.
Since the NCAA changed its redshirt rules in 2018 to allow players to take part in four games, the spreadsheet has been essential in informing theย USCย coach which of his players could still play and retain eligibility. But in a year unlike any other, Helton wonโt have the same need for that data this season.
With the NCAA offering relief ahead of a shortened conference-only campaign, USC players will retain a year of eligibility regardless of how many of this seasonโs seven games they play in. For Helton and his staff, that means a brief respite from redshirts.
โI think itโs a real advantageous period for not only staffs, but players right now,โ Helton said. โTo make the best out of this, itโs really the silver lining in this whole thing. One, the ability to play, but two, the ability to really develop kids and have this year where โ gosh almighty, hopefully it will never happen again in my career โ but it is something that, the benefit for these kids, you can see how itโs helping them.โ
How it might affect decisions on USCโs rotations remains to be seen, but Helton said he told his assistants this week to not be afraid to use their young players early on.
โYou could look up and three guys test positive or false positive [for COVID-19], and the next guyโs out there,โ Helton said. โSo to be able to get some of those experiences and get the jitters out before you may be called upon to be a starter will be helpful.โ
With that in mind, USC has offered ample practice work to its fleet of freshmen offensive linemen, many of whom Helton expects to contribute this season. Freshmenย Casey Collierย andย Jonah Monheimย have worked at left and right tackle, respectively. Courtland Fordย has spent most of his time at right guard, andย Andrew Milekย has impressed at center.
Just one week out from the start of theย Pac-12 season, most of USCโs starting spots have already been settled. The primary exception, Helton said, is along the defensive line, where the Trojansโ young players wouldnโt have been redshirted, regardless of this seasonโs circumstances.
Defensive tacklesย Marlon Tuipulotuย andย Brandon Piliย are expected to step into regular roles, but the rest of the line is still up in the air. Freshmanย Tuli Tuipulotu, Marlonโs brother, has been a standout upfront since the start of camp and should play a part this season. Others like Caleb Tremblay, Nick Figueroa,ย andย Connor Murphyย are expected to play major snaps early on.
โWe have the depth,โ Helton said, โbut thereโs going to be a lot of men walking into that battlefield for the first time, and how do they react to it? Thatโs going to be the biggest thing. I think weโll have to play some guys to kind of get a feel for whoโs ready for it, and whoโs not.โ
But without redshirts to worry about, Helton will have an entire season to feel out that rotation.
Stepp back
After months spent recovering from an ankle injury,ย Markese Steppย had to work through another injury.
Helton said that Stepp suffered a minor mid-foot sprain early in camp that kept him out of action until this week. But the redshirt sophomore running back โlooked phenomenal the last two days and really has gained confidence,โ Helton said.
USC seems determined to work Stepp back slowly, which could mean a limited role to start in the backfield rotation. Seniorย Vavae Malepeaiย has also been limited by a hamstring injury and just started doing individual drills this week.
Stephen Carr will likely open the season in a significant role. But Stepp seems sure to factor in sooner rather than later, health permitting.
โHeโs a rare commodity at 230 pounds with his athleticism, explosiveness, and just physicality,โ Helton said of Stepp. โHeโs a different back than the others.โ
Etc.
Edge rusherย Drake Jacksonย and inside linebackerย Kanaโi Mauga, both of whom were suffering from hamstring injuries, returned to practice, Helton said. โฆ Freshman receiver and returnerย Gary Bryant Jr. is expected to return to practice next week.
USC will head to the Coliseum on Saturday for its final scrimmage ahead of the Nov. 7 season opener against Arizona State.
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Will Cinn ever get to the #5 spot in the AP Poll this season ? ………Maybe yes ……….Maybe no .
TEXAS’ defense is on the line against OKS at the end here as the Longhorns lead 34-31 with 1:22 to go.
Have seen some conversations on internet of could some people convince NFL to adopt college overtime format…Not sure if that is a good thing .
We could end up with games that have 77-70 final scores in the NFL .
I think college football OT is pretty fair and fun to watch. These things can get wild. 34-34 and I’m still hoping the ‘Horns lose it. Such pain for the Burnt Orange if it happens.
Still can’t believe MICH ST beat MICH today in Ann Arbor. Spooky!
That game always makes me think of The Big Chill.
Called my brother to get a read on his mood ………(He is a Boston College fan ).
Better for the Pac12 for the Big12 to beat each other up don’t you think?
I’d rather see TEXAS lose, but alas, they pulled out an OT squeaker against OKS, which will lose soon to OU in Norman.
With the turnovers, OK St gave it away.
Rutgers just pulled off a 10 LATERAL PLAY FOR A TD …………..YES ……….A PLAY THAT HAD 10 LATERALS IN ONE PLAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Refs just did a very long review and found one lateral that was not legal so no TD …….Sorry !
Trevor Lawrence will miss the ND game. Wow. Irish could win that one now. Huge season monkey wrench.
cincinnati crushing memphis. the next SC coach – Fickell – is going to be offered lots of jobs after this season. the USC job is the prime job in the country for him to fill, but will it be open?
i either want SC to dominate this year, or just suck. if we lost both ASU and Utah I would actually be fine, because it would be the end of clay and beginning of Fickell as HC by the end of the year would be a done deal.
still wish we would go for the best availableโa proven winner wherever he goes: Coach Urban Meyer.
since that will never happen, i am focused on reality. fickell is an up and comer, so his contract would not be overly expensive and he would not be able to make as many demands on program control as an Urban Meyer. Folt does not want to lose control, and Fickell would be the perfect fit.
i really like that Fickell wins with defense and solid basics of football. his program gets better year over year.
Michigan going down to Mich State. That is another domino that SC needs to get into the CFP. So we assume that Penn State loses to Ohio State in regular season and then again in conference championship. We just need Wisconsin to go down to someone, maybe Michigan.
The goal for SC is 2 losses for every team outside of the big 3 – clemson, ohio state and alabama.
Let’s root for Oklahoma State to go down to Texas today.
Teams that need to lose – Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Wisconsin. Kansas State lost, so would be nice if they can beat Oklahoma State next week. I want to see all teams in Big 12 with 2 losses in regular season, same thing for the Big 10 (except for Ohio State). Notre Dame might be the one team that emerges with only one regular season loss, but the weak ACC might not look like a tougher schedule than USC with an win against Oregon. I see Oregon and SC moving rapidly up the charts if they win convincingly. Could… Read more ยป
I can’t help it. I always love seeing TEXAS lose because of the horrible wound they inflicted on us on Jan. 4, 2006.
OKS could still and probably will lose to OU on Nov. 21 in Norman, So I’m still rooting for Tom Herman to take it in the shorts today in Stillwater.
Be honest. We know you are wearing a Tom Herman costume for Halloween.
I do like to watch him deal with frustration on the field. But it’s all about TEXAS, more than the coach for me. I badly wanted Herman to coach USC. I really like Mack Brown too. He deserves a lot of credit for that 2006 Rose Bowl win IMO. Just hand it to Vince Young and pray Reggie Bush is on the sidelines. What a game. USC simply had it, until they didn’t. I’ve never seen in my life any player totally shred USC as Young did that day. It was an amazing thing to watch in real time.
It slipped under Mack at the end. But his successors have been ok at best. Apparently Texas politics are just hell to navigate. Lots of competing money/power players with their fingers in the pie. SC dynamic looks healthy in comparison.
Freshmen Linebackers and a lousy d-coordinator as I recall
I dare you to watch the last six minutes of the game DDS. I did just that about two years ago, for the final time I think, and it exorcised my ghosts from that game. USC simply couldn’t stop TEXAS even though everyone knew exactly what they (Vince Young) were going to do.
I used to think USC just gave that game away, for years. Now I think TEXAS just plain took it.
You forget Bush’es running down the field in the 3rd quarter where he abruptly lateraled the ball to an surprised backup WR who fumbled the ball and Texas recovered. If Bush had just gone down from the tackle with the ball on about the 10 yard line, points would have been scored and the longhorns would have been too many points behind to catch up. I say that play gave the Longhorns a gift they needed to come back as up to that point they couldn’t stop the Trojans from scoring.
Are you talking about the game the refs gave to TX? Three blown calls that led to points. (They even admitted as much)
No, I think TEXAS beat USC fair and square. USC lost because the Trojans made numerous major errors at the end that cost it the game. Vince Young simply ran around and through the Trojans like they were stuck in mud as I recall the Trojan collapse.
A shocker that won’t last: BC 21 CLEM 7 with 9:25 to go in the 2nd.
Update: BC 28 CLEM 10 1:02 to go in 2nd; BC now leads 28-13 at half.
CLEM has never lost a regular-season game while ranked #1.
i really would love to see clemson lose.
My favorite actor of my life passed away ……Sean Connery …..RIP Sean ……Thanx for the great movies you gave us…..Best Bond actor……..Again RIP !!!!!
My sisters-in-law used to say Sean could read from a phone book and they would still be enthralled.
They reportedly say no movie franchise has made more total Gross Money Profit EVER then the James Bond movie franchise ….(Of course it helps when you make 26 movies) .
Daniel Craig has become an awesome 007 IMO. The role has surely changed with time, becoming much more physical and action-oriented. I think Casino Real (2006) was the best James Bond movie I have ever seen.
I sure liked him in The Untouchables, The Hunt for Red October, Entrapment and Finding Forrester. What a commanding presence.
Hunt for red October is an awesome movie.
A long time ago I worked with a group of revolutionary war reenactment guys as their drummer. Alan Alda made a movie “Sweet Liberty” with Michael Caine. We were extras for the movie and were at the dinner after the premier. Sean Connery was one of the guests (Caine’s buddy) came through the line where we were stationed as honor guards. He leaned in close and said, ” It gets a bit tedious doesn’t it? ”
But he actually had a singing part in a Disney movie. I can’t think of a movie he did that I didn’t like.
If you want to see what the SC/AL could have looked like, I recommend tonight’s game between AL and Miss St. Miss. St runs basically the same O as SC and it has a better head coach than SC in Mike Leach. Leach’s D is most likely as good as SC could have put on the field that first game. I realize that Allen thinks Leach is weird, but I think the two programs track well as against an opponent like AL.
Not a good comparison. Significantly different level of talent. Miss ST is not Leachโs team yet. He didnโt recruit any of them. They are a total mess. With that said, we all know Alabama would beat USC.
RJJ conveniently overlooked the numerous reasons not to seriously compare the Bulldogs and the Trojans, as you point out. Gee, they both aren’t as good as ALA. He likes to strain to give credit to Leach, who’s eight year Pac-12 in-conference record was a deplorable 36-36 and he couldn’t beat mediocre UW if he tried. In the meantime, MISS ST has little to no tradition at all while USC has one of the top five traditions and recruiting bases in all of college football. MISS ST is off to another sterling 1-3, soon to be 1-4 start. USC sure won’t… Read more ยป
Allen, I know you hate my use of Leach as a model for GH. But, they do run the same offense type and Leach taught GH his system. But, I think the comparisons for this game are decent (obviously, not above that level). Look at what Lane Kiffin did with AL in his first season (with probably less talent than Leach has) and MS is off to a similar start as Miss St. Leach has an immobile QB with a ton of playing experience (granted Costello is not as talented as Kedon and Miss. St receivers are not on a… Read more ยป
@RJJ This is all about your basic dislike of the Air Raid offense, isn’t it? That’s how I always took it. ๏ปฟโ๏ปฟ
I don’t see the same offense from Harrell as I do from Leach. Same basic philosophy, but looking at how GH calls plays, there is a chance of getting yards by running. His history reflects that also. I keep saying if the O line can open a damn hole, Harrell will run the ball, it just helps the passing game.
I’ve never felt Harrell should be reduced by Leach’s always limited reach and have expressed this many times here. Lo and behold, Leach gets utterly shut down yesterday out by Saban 41-0. Harrell’s an excellent young OC as viewed by the college football world and he’s already vastly better than Helton ever was, or will be, as an offensive mind. He immediately improved USC in his first year and undoubtedly had a massive effect on Kedon Slovis’ quick development. However Harrell decides to develop USC’s offense is fine with me. I’m no offensive coordinator, but do recognize that before Graham… Read more ยป
i think harrell is a QB savant and that is his biggest strength. my main concern about the SC offense continues to be the offensive line, both in terms of talent and recruiting, but also in terms of the seemingly limited number of plays they execute and the wider spreads they use. this is something that is way beyond my understanding right now, but i do think that it heavily impacts the overall play of the offense and I think that it is fairly similar to Leach’s offense and is a reason that there is some basis for comparison. i… Read more ยป
Helton would never be able to hire two coordinators who could take them to the top. Bohn can. Helton can stand by and watch what happens.
GH immediately improved the offensive scoring partly by the fact he gave up on the rushing game being so pitiful when Tee Martin kept calling running plays throughout the games the year before, probably due to the insistence of Clay Helton. Tee was blamed for the poor playcalling. But I am not so sure it wasn’t Helton telling Tee what to call in his gameplanning. You listened to ‘Tee after the games and he couldn’t reveal much of anything in explaining his playcalling as he had to bite the bullet as it would be career suicide putting any blame on… Read more ยป
The Hollywood piece was pulled yesterday. Something about being in bad taste because no one was masked. “The times they are a’changin'”
….By the way, with SC recruiting in the dumps the past couple of years, the 2020 team will be the best Troy has to offer for years to come. I for one plan on living it up for the next couple of months. Wish I could be there (Coliseum and Rose Bowl)
BLVD studios is another win for Mike Bohn. We are getting out ahead of the crowd on this name, image, and likeness. It will be huge in recruiting-HUGE. There isnโt another school in the country that can match our resources in this. Bohn is really putting the pieces in place for us to be special again, now what does he do with Clay after we run the table this year with a crazy soft schedule?
agree that NIL is a huge advantage for SC recruiting in the future. i just worry that they will use this as another part of the program that creates sizzle, but with no real meat behind it. at the end of the day, if you recruit a bunch of wanna-be rappers and pseudo-celebs, you will not be recruiting players that want to be part of a team and do the disciplined hard work.
I think Helton has his job through Swann’s contract extension unless he bombs big-time this season and doesn’t even make the Pac-12 championship game. Folt really likes him and his school politics, and he’s got these hotshot coords and better assts now. Let’s face it. Helton’s a super expensive cheerleader and post-game presser guy. Bohn should have fired him after IOWA shoved USC around. But he didn’t and instead, he’s done whatever he could to make USC successful under Helton. As usual, at least historically speaking, everyone thinks USC will be one of the top teams in the Pac-12. USC… Read more ยป
bohn hadnt earned enough clout yet to fire helton but after the horrible recruiting and Iowa game, even Folt regretted standing in the way of a new coach, imo. so i ask you, what happens if either or both orlando and harrell leave at the end of the season? i keep coming back to the fact that media rights get renegotiated in 2023-24. so if SC needs a CFP contender program to give it negotiating leverage, does it keep helton through 2023 and then hire a new coach? if this is a long term strategic decision, then any coaching change… Read more ยป
I’m with Allen. I don’t think USC wants to do anything with Helton before his contract ends. I think they are kicking the can down the road in the hopes that Helton somehow regains favor with the fan base and they can just extend him again. My guess is that they are signing assistants contracts with Helton’s contract end date in mind.
Only problem is Helton is already history with the fan base, and they are not coming back.
@Steveg That’s an interesting issue. Would fans who have been very turned off by Helton come back over to his side if his teams started to actually play better, tougher and smarter football, while winning some very big games in the process?
Maybe that will never happen But if it somehow did, would USC’s large, disenchanted fan base get off his back and start rooting for him again?
I think you have two things to root for. Mainly it is USC football and we all do that. Secondly is rooting for the leadership. I just cannot come to terms that CH can become a major head coach, particularly at USC. Maybe at a smaller school one day, but he still has not shown that he has changed his ways of being a soft coach. Will he learn? Perhaps, but his past is going to haunt him for a long time, IMHO. So for that reason I cannot see the fan base changing their opinion, at least not quickly.… Read more ยป
@Steveg I don’t think Saban would ever pick up Helton to coach for him in a million years. He’s just not talented enough to coach any position for him, or be any coordinator either. Saban gets top-notch stuff, guys who jump off to head coach other teams while they’re still young. Helton, because of Nikias, landed the plum college coaching job in the West because he believed in “faith, family and football” and wouldn’t ever embarrass USC off the field, so Nikias could get his only real strength, fundraising, back on track. Real head coaching abilities not required. The story’s… Read more ยป
Allen, about CH and Saban, it was a little tongue in cheek. I know why CH was hired and I used to defend him because of it, bringing back some sanity out of the chaos that existed. I know Saban would never hire CH, but it is exactly what he needs, someone who is competent to show him how it is done. Perhaps these assistants can show him the way, but that remains to be seen, he seems awfully stubborn and set in his ways. As far as running the table this season, if they do it, I believe all… Read more ยป
Steve, Clay is simply not very talented as a coach. His primary talents are in relationships. Saban hires coaches, not camp counselors.
Gosh guys, I was only joking about CH working for Saban. CH has never worked under a good HC, part of the reason for all the on the job training at USC’s and our expense.
I donโt see keeping him through 2023, at least I hope not. Someone needs to pony up the cash for his buyout.
This is NOT an endorsement of CH. But I seem to remember some fellow TDB friends talking up P J Fleck a few tears ago. Looks like his boat has sprung a leak.
Is it Fleck or the talent he has to work with at Minnesota? I see Herman is the one in a sinking boat, especially is OK St wins today.
I think Fleck is better than Herman. IMHO the bigger point is that the flavor of the month, sure fire game changer are anything but guaranteed to be successful. There are not a lot of Urbans, Dabos and Nicks out there. Lots of Jimbos, Jimโs and P Jโs. And even more Heltonโs or Ron Zooks.
I truly agree. When I look at some of the guys still in coaching I am amazed. They bounce around like a golf ball. Nick, Swinney, and Urban are in a class of their own. I would love to see Fleck at a top school like Texas and see what his results would be. Herman should have lost against OK St, but they gave the game away.
I think that is what Bohn is counting on. But, we have no idea how this new management structure will work out; our view of it is that Clay has effectively been removed as Head Coach and retains the position in name only. That may or may not be what has happened. We really will not know how this works out until the season starts. What we do know is Clay is a total incompetent at coaching football but a star (near the level of Larry Scott) at playing the game of institutional politics. Never underestimate the capacity of Clay… Read more ยป
True, the Pac-12 finally acted responsibly and scheduled a modified slate designed not to intentionally hamper the progression of a western title-holder to the playoff. I was a little shocked, actually, to see the conference try to play with the big boys from afar.
Perhaps another factor in SC’s 2011-2019 decade of average play is that they have not had the horses to do much better. NFL drafting is way down, and Troy has lost a lot of potential talent to other schools.
agree that recruiting is the life-blood of the SC program and they have still not fully “taken back the west”. but i really like two offers they made to 3 star candidates recently – joseph manjack as a receiver is highly undervalued. he is 6′ 4″ and runs 10.80 100 in track. his rating is low because he plays at multiple positions, as QB and is the main rusher and also catches passes for his high school team. This guy has upside. I also really like jaxson dart as a 2nd QB commit if Jake Garcia splits. i think that… Read more ยป
John, To accept your thesis, one would have to think the high school evaluations were totally wrong. My guess is that, particularly for those playing under Helton, they were simply not developed. They came in thinking they were gifted athletes and never learned how to develop either emotionally or physically. I am one who believes the reason SC recruiting fell off the cliff last year was it was obvious to all that Helton was incompetent at developing talent. I think it has picked up because it is clear that SC is changing that culture.
Glad Stepp is close to being ready to play. GH needs to rush the ball more, call more running plays and demand Drevno & his linemen to open holes. You have to keep the defense honest enough in worrying about the run. Keep the backers & linemen from trying to take out Slovis most of the game or Kedon will only follow Darnold out the door at the first opportunity to escape a serious injury.
Kessler & Barkley did stay their last 2-years knowing they would benefit from it and not worry about injuries hurting their chances in the NFL.
But Kessler and Barkley did not have First-Round NFL talent such as Sanchez, Darnold and the next year’s departing Slovis had. Otherwise, they probably would have left early as well.
Reading this above article and what Helton says, you really wonder, after 5-plus years, if he finally has a clue about seriously developing players, when you know his program literally ignored most backup players, the way they played (and even if they did get some coaching, you wonder what they got) you have to shake your head in what he is saying now. Don’t take my word on this, use what recruits have said, what football analysts have said repeatedly as a source. Yeah, I know, this is a new season with almost an entirely new staff of coaches (… Read more ยป
The new Galen Center weight room paid for by former Trojan, DeMar DeRozan.
Anybody have a link to the new USC football hype video that came out yesterday?
Helton — “This is the mountaintop. You’re at it. Everything else is downhill, after this.”
Some very strange phraseology there.
John, didn’t see a link here.
I posted a video, was that not the one you were looking for?
I ask myself what kind of the shape will USC be in for running back if Carr goes down. It leaves Criston and perhaps what plays they can get out of the injured stable of backs. You cannot have enough running backs, they take the most punishment of any position on the team. CH should have known that years ago as the shortage continues to threaten the offense it seems annually. Because he ignores it or just simply cannot recruit running backs has been a glaring shortcoming.