Clay Helton’s expertise is with quarterbacks. He played QB at Houston for his father. He has been a quarterbacks coach.
So let’s ponder his evaluation:
1.) Max Browne starts over Sam Darnold.
2.) JT Daniels continues to start over Jack Sears.
3.) Sears is the No. 3 quarterback to start the season, not even the backup. He is Matt Fink’s backup.
Does this guy really know what he is doing with quarterbacks?
What else? Didn’t Matt Barkey and Cody Kessler get worse by their senior seasons?
Note: The decision to start Daniels before the season was not out of line but it is unforgiveable to bench Sears after he looked better than Daniels in his only start against Arizona State.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Bonehead Coach and boneheaded lazy team. Just forfeit the last two games of the season and call it a day. This is so embarrassing. Most of this is Lynn Swann’s fault for tolerating this stuff. His silence is proof positive that he is unfit as Athletic Director. Time to clean house and get rid of these guys, especially Steve Lopes in the Athletic Department who is responsible for the season ticket re-allotment fiasco currently in place.
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I liked Sears’ performance, and in particular he generated a lot of energy among his teammates. Would be great to see him on the field.
What I don’t understand is how the “quality control assistant” from last year (Ellis) was promoted to be the QB coach.
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There was “quality” to “control” ? LOL These guys couldn’t find quality control if they put both their hands down the back of their pants and searched for it.
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He wasn’t a very good quarterback!!
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This stage is just too big for Helton. His inability to make tough decisions and changes will ultimately cost him his job (thank god). We unfortunately lost a great opportunity to compete for a championship when Darnold was here, but I’m confident the right coach will be brought in to lead us back to the top. Fight On!!
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I have never seen a defensive player come off the field and check a QB and no discipline action taken. Helton has lost all credibility and discipline with his team. It is only going to get worse against UCLA. Notre Dame is going to be really really bad.
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I thought the above coach makes the decision who starts. Helton is the head coach and should trust his assistants on who should start
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Here again, starting another QB now, validates his (CH’s) incompetence as a QB guru/head coach for the second time inasmuch as he screwed up the Browne vs Darnold decision two years ago. Hence, CH would be a fool to play Sears. No way will Sears play unless there’s some intervention from LSwann, and how likely is that? He the biggest part of the problem.
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Helton is a sucker for ‘paper’ talent. Inability to assess who can truly perform at this level is one of his many weaknesses. In hindsight, JT graduating early was the worst thing that could have happened for Helton. You’re right about Swann intervention, which is very sad.
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It’s highly probable SUCC guaranteed JT the starting bozo QB spot so Daniels would sign with SUCC.
Therefore, Helton has zero choices when it comes to starting JT regardless of JT’s previous week’s subpar performance.
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If anyone here can name the year in the past 30 years that was as horrible as this one, please tell us. I think the soon-to-be 5-7 record may be the worst in decades. The situation is more than embarrassing…it’s shameful. Where’s the leadership at SC? MIA.
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Helton does seem to be losing his grip, but you’ve lost yours, too. I’ll take this year over all three of Paul Hackett’s miserable seasons, any day. Those teams were absolutely helpless. Then there was Larry Smith’s 1991 team, which was profoundly devoid of talent. Lane Kiffin’s 2012 team just got worse and worse every weekend. Ted Tollner’s 1984 team got blown out every weekend. Learn some history and get some perspective. This is a talented team with holes and a lack of discipline. It could win pretty fast if the atmospherics around the program suddenly got a lot better.
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Paul Hackett’s last year in 2000 when we went 5-7, tied for last in the Pac10 and wasted a year of Carson Palmer’s talent.
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Well in one instance Helton was right. Fink was better than Sears but just slightly. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see him for very long Either would be more effective than our current not ready for college quarterback.
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I like the way Jack Sears handled himself especially it being a tough game and in tough circumstances- he played well.
I will give Helton this: In the long run, JT might have a higher ceiling than Sears. He is, after all, a True Freshman. This can’t be understated. He has had some terrific moments making some great throws. Throw in the moxy that he has exhibited and I can see why Helton chose him.
I still agree with Scott and think Sears is better right now, but then he should have started from the get- go.
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Hindsight is 20/20 of course. But having typed that, I think Daniels coming out of Mater Dei early was the worst thing to happen to him and USC. OF COURSE, this falls on Helton, for rushing him in to the starting position when he is CLEARLY not ready.
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On that note, WHO advised him to come out early?
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It was a “business decision” by his father.
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Clay Helton reminds me of Dr. Nikias because he always thinks that everything is fine. When was the last time USC didn’t make any of the top 25 lists of football programs? Clay Helton recruits playmakers but not five star linemen. When I look at Alabama’s defensive team, they usually resemble the previous year’s group. They always have giant defensive tackles with bad intentions and they seem to enjoy shutouts. The USC defense consists of a lot of nice kids from Orange County but no elite players at any position. We need more behemoths with bad attitudes. I say we bring in Jack Del Rio to be the head coach and start working on the defense immediately.
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