USC analyst Adrian Klemm is the frontrunner to become offensive line coach at Alabama. Did you forget Klemm works at USC? He’s been everywhere: UCLA, Oregon, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots. Naturally at USC he coached on the defensive side despite always being an offensive line coach. I guess USC thought the offensive line was so well coached it didn’t need his help. Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: An Assistant Off To Alabama

Former Stanford and San Francisco 49ers star QB John Brodie died yesterday at age 90. And there was plenty of USC connections. His brother, Bill Brodie, was a quarterback on the USC freshman team in 1956, graduated from USC and was also an apartment manager just off campus in 1959. John Brodie’s daughter, Diane, was a tennis player at USC and a membere of the 1985 … Continue reading Saturday Buzz: There Are Always USC Connections

If nothing else, Gary Patterson could always take over the program if Lincoln Riley got fired. Not that I’m saying USC has the courage to do that. But it’s an easy transition in an emergency situation. I’m sure Chad “Charmin” Bowden has thought that, if only for a fleeting moment. Continue reading USC Notes: Emergency Plan B Is In Place

The USC defensive staff has become a hodgepodge but at least now we know what we are getting. There is the new coodinator (Gary Patterson); the holdovers (Eric Henderson, Trovon Reed); the shoehorned addition (Mike Ekeler) and the yet-to-be-hired safeties coach. Now what about Rob Ryan. He will be an analyst, which seems like an unwieldy role given his presence. Why did Ryan stay? Well, … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: The Puzzle Finally Comes Together

The reason Mike Ekeler left Nebraska is because USC is also letting him coach linebackers. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Rob Ryan is out. Ekeler will likely assist Ryan unless a new defensive coordinator makes a strong push to replace Ryan. I remember Ekeler from his lone season at USC under Lane Kiffin (2013). It was unremarkable. Let’s face it: He’s being brought to USC … Continue reading USC Notes: Coach Juggling Continues

There is no way who makes excuses more than Lincoln Riley defenders. One excuses getting a lot of play is that Indiana won the national title because it has old players. Does anyone remember that Chad “Charmin” Bowman made a big point after he got hired about signing the biggest freshman class ever and the importance of high school recruits over the transfer portal? So … Continue reading USC Notes: Do You Want An Old Or Young Team?

Can we learn anything from Indiana winning the national championship? Curt Cignetti is a leader of men. Lincoln Riley is not. Systems are nothing vs. culture. USC used to succeed because of an unmistakenly strong and defined culture of rugged football. It imposed its will on the other team. Now? It tries to be operate a fancy-pants offense with sand-castle defending. Who would you want … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: What Can We Learn From Indiana?

Curt Cignetti: National title in Year 2 Kalen DeBoer: National title game in Year 2 Lincoln Riley defenders: But, but, but Where is Sean McDonough? Indiana leads 10-0 at halftime. Can Miami come back? Nick Saban and Marcus Freeman picked the Hurricanes. Continue reading Who Is Watching Indiana-Miami?

Here’s what a coach who worked with Gary Patterson said about the idea of him becoming defensive coordinator. “It will be a good hire if they get the old Gary Patterson and not old Gary Patterson,” he said. Here’s a current view: Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: A View On Gary Patterson

Well, look what’s coming in early March: According to the publisher’s website, American Trojan is about “a visionary technologist who transformed the University of Southern California into one of the nation’s most prestigious private research universities. “At a time when many universities have succumbed to ideology over truth, under (Max) Nikias’s leadership, USC retained its academic integrity in the face of high-stakes negotiations, high-rolling donors, … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Lincoln Riley is finally going to hire a veteran special teams coach . . . after four years. Mike Ekeler, who was USC’s linebackers coach in 2013, is being hired from Nebraska to coach special teams according to CBS Sports. Before Nebraska, Ekeler was outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Tennessee. So this should be a step up for the special teams. Hopefully … Continue reading Lincoln Riley Finally Hires A Special Teams Coach

Here is what has been sent out to season-ticket holders: Two things: Of course no mention of who USC will replace Notre Dame with. And note the line, “our playoff run.” Is USC going to make a playoff run? Lincoln Riley said the window is open after the Alamo Bowl. Lol. Continue reading Are You Ready For The Playoff Run?

Here’s a pretty good reason the search for a defensive coordinator seems to have dragged on this long: Someone involved has told me that USC has told candidates they must keep the entire defensive staff. That would mean keeping four assistant coaches. It’s quite a condition because most self-respecting coordinators want to bring at least 1-2 guys with them. It will really be interesting to … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: One Reason For Dragged Out Coaching Search

Husan Longstreet has signed with LSU, according to CBS Sports. He will be expected to play behind Sam Leavitt, unless Leavitt cannot recover in time from a foot injury. But LSU also has Elon transfer Landen Clark, so Longstreet might be No. 3. It’s a big win for Lane Kiffin. Personally, I would have gone to a smaller school for a year and played. Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Husan Longstreet To LSU

First, a little news. USC’s Board of Trustees are expected to vote next month on a new president. They were supposed to vote this month but could not get a quorum. There are still teams that need quarterbacks. Like Miami, for instance. Also, would it terrible if Longstreet went to a non-blue blood and played every snap next season? Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Quarterbacks Shaking Up Transfer Portal

I will say it again: Why does anyone listen to this guy? It’s now a question whether they make the NCAA Tournament. Continue reading USC Notes: Where Are The Caleb Williams Critics?

So Stanford interviewed Kris Richard in the middle of the week and a day later Coach Tavita Pritchard offered him the job. What’s USC’s excuse for taking so long? The fact Stanford hired Richard highlights another issue: There are no Trojans on the coaching staff. Mike Williams works as a support staffer but he is not one of the position coaches. This is one reason … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: Where Are The Trojans?

Stanford is in the process of hiring former USC player Kris Richard as defensive coordinator. Richard was previously defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. This means Pete Kwiatkowski, who had been considered a strong candidate at Stanford, is not taking the job. Does this put him back in play for USC? Stanford was going to let Kwiatkowski bring in coaches to join the … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: At Least One School Is Hiring A Defensive Coordinator

Curt Cignetti is in the national-title game in Year 2. For those who think this is simply because Cignetti brought some James Madison players with him to Indiana, consider this: He went 53-17 at Indiana University in Pennsylvania; he went 14-9 at Elon; he went 52-9 at James Madison. He’s not doing something unusual for himself at Indiana. He’s just doing what he has always … Continue reading Curt Cignetti Makes National Title Game In Year 2

Heading into today, Notre Dame has had 19 players enter the transfer portal. You know how many transfers the Irish signed? 0. Maybe someone can tell Lincoln Riley. He might want to play Notre Dame next season. But I doubt it. Continue reading A USC-Notre Dame Stat Of The Day

You probably saw former USC defensive lineman Devan Thompkins is transferring to Alabama. My question is whether he has a break out season like Romello Height did at Texas Tech? Height had 10 sacks for Texas Tech this season. He was the fourth-highest graded defensive players in the nation acccording to PFF Focus. Think about that. Fourth-highest overall. Not fourth-highest at his position. Have you … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Did You Hear About This Impact Player?

I think Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward got some bad advice withdrawing from the USC search for a defensive coordinator. Sources at USC tell me Ward thought Pete Kwiatkowski would get the job. But here we are several days later and Kwiatkowski still is getting mentioned for USC and Stanford openings. A lot of times, the first time choice doesn’t get the job. D’Anton … Continue reading The Never-Ending Search Continues

Should Husan Longstreet’s agent call Washington today? Is the game officially gone after Huskies QB Demond Williams entered the transfer portal less than a week after signing a contract with Washington? How many of you have even heard of some of the USC players that have been announced as “re-signing” with the Trojans? Quite a few of them never played and spent exactly one semester … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Should Husan Longstreet’s Reps Call Washington?

There’s no issue with USC re-signing Jayden Maiava for next season. If he went into the transfer portal, he would be highly pursued. But I’m tired of hearing that he led the nation in QBR this season. Stats are always the refuge of the spin masters. Are you going to tell me if you watched the Alamo Bowl that Maiava is the best QB in … Continue reading USC Notes: Stats Are Not How You Determine Value

Before he got fired by the Raiders yesterday, Pete Carroll was recently asked about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry ending. “I have no space to think of why somebody would want to do that,” Carroll said. “I hope that doesn’t carry over to other matchups that have been so important to people over the years and so much fun, not so much the teams. It’s for … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: A Tale Of Two Coaches And Tradition

Here’s something to consider in the defensive coordinator search: Maybe the new DC won’t mind keeping current assistants. But does he want to keep assistant coaches who want the job and probably won’t be happy if they don’t get it? It’s not a great situation at the moment. Here’s about the one millionith example of how being nothing more than a USC homer ruins your … Continue reading USC Notes: Something Looks A Little Messy At Moment

Even within the USC football program, there are those wondering why a defensive coordinator hasn’t been hired yet. Jen Cohen’s preferred choice, Pete Kwiatkowski, is also talking to Stanford. Why would he take Stanford over USC? Because Stanford will probably give him more authority in hiring other members of the defensive coaching staff. That’s going to be a sticking point with any self-respecting defensive coordinator. … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Defensive Coordinator Search Continues

USC picked up two commitments in the transfer portal today: Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams and Washington linebacker Deven Bryant. Williams was rated the No. 1 cornerback in the transfer portal per On3 but . . . did you know he tore his ACL and played only five games this season? Bryant had 62 tackles for Washington and went to St. John Bosco. Continue reading USC Adds Two Defensive Players In Transfer Portal

It sounds like Pete Kwiatkowski is currently the frontrunner to become USC’s defensive coordinator. So why hasn’t it happened yet? It could be a question of whether he gets to bring any of his own people with him. USC still has all its defensive assistant other than D’Anton Lynn. So someone would need to leave or be fired for Kwiatkowski to bring any assistants. It will be … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: One Possible Reason For Defensive Delay

Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward and former Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski have been contacted by USC for the vacant defensive coordinator position. Ward was previously defensive coordinator at Washington State, Syracuse and Bowling Green. Kwiatkowski is believed to be the preferred choice of USC athletic director Jen Cohen, because they worked together at Washington. The search is being run by general manager Chad … Continue reading At Least Two Coaches Contacted For USC Defensive Coordinator Job

Did Jayden Maiava get worse as the season progressed? His two worst games (Nebraska, TCU) were in the second half of the season and he was hardly at his best in losses to Notre Dame and Oregon. Did USC just play better teams? Nebraska wasn’t a great team. Neither was TCU but I can already hear the excuse-makers saying that Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: Is QB Play An Issue?

Before USC played TCU in the Alamo Bowl, it announced the game would be broadcast on KNX-1070 AM instead of its regular station (710). But during the game, multiple USC fans contacted me to tell me the game was not on 1070. “I was driving and the game wasn’t on any of the stations I tried,” a fan said. “I got in my car at … Continue reading The Sound Of Silence From Texas

Did you see former USC players who got better playing yesterday in the College Football Playoff? Zacariah Branch showed he regained his speed last night against Mississippi. Something happened to him in 2024 because he was noticeably slower. Has a player from Georgia ever transferred to USC and got better? His brother, Zion, had five tackles for Georgia too and made a big hit late … Continue reading Morning Buzz: The College Football Playoff Had A USC Flavor