After that column appeared, the Trojans lost by 20 points to OR and those words were questioned.
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USC will face Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
Rogers, who was sidelined or slowed because of a hamstring injury for part of the season, also made a leaping touchdown catch against Oregon. Haden insisted after the hire was announced that Helton did not get the job exclusively for beating UCLA, but the win certainly had to have some factor in getting the full-time gig.
“I’ll have the opportunity to look at a lot of options”, he said.
“Then it’s time to put the blinders back on and be all ball all the time”, Helton said on Tuesday’s Pac-12 coaches conference call.
“I totally understand that I am not a flashy name”, Helton said Monday.
Helton lacks drama, works well with others and will not have off-the-field issues. He pointed out having six-year relationships with the program’s redshirt seniors, like Kessler, who played their last games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this past month.
“Toward the beginning of the season, I felt like we really didn’t have an identity as a team”, Davis said. “He changed the culture of the team to family first, team first”. Clay is a leader of young men.
With a current record of 5-2 this season, he more than deserves a crack at the official head coaching job for the rejuvenated team.
Another distinct quality of Helton, which sometimes is mistaken to be a weakness, is that he isn’t as assertive and charismatic when compared to previous USC coaches. “I’m not ready to say what I’m going to do yet …”
There had been rumors and speculation that USC would make an attempt to lure Eagles coach Chip Kelly back to the Pac-12.
The decision will probably receive mixed reviews from fans because many wanted a big-name coach.
Offensive line coach Bob Connelly also backed the move, even though Helton said he will evaluate the coaching staff after the season.
“Obviously”, Helton said, “McCaffrey is as special as there is out there”.
Although Helton’s demeanor is easygoing, he has been aggressive as an interim coach, ordering Wilcox to have his defense man-to-man, including against UCLA.
But is Helton the right guy?
“(McCaffrey) has done something no one in the conference has done”, Shaw said, “and potentially no one in college football has done”.
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Alongside some student reaction on the hiring, Jackson and Connor tell you all you need to know about Helton’s contract and his past experience as a coach.
