RECRUITING

Quick Item: What Does Outsider Think Of USC Recruiting?

I have found it extremely odd that USC does not recruit some local products. Yesterday, I criticized USC for waiting so long it was the 37th school to offer four-star cornerback Clark Phillips of La Habra.

So I texted a Big 12 head coach and asked why USC is so late on prospects everyone else sees value in?

“No leadership,” was the quick response.

That is the perception nation-wide as schools like Florida, Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma have poached local recruits.

Now USC coaches told me Phillips did not have a strong performance at USC’s camp last summer. This is a fair reason to wait.

But . . . that is why you watch film of the actual season to see if 10-12 games with actual tackling are worth more than a couple days in T-shirts and shorts. If USC offered Phillips in November, December or January, I could maybe be more understanding. It did not.

Again, the recruiting director does not make the call on this. The defensive coordinator who hates to recruit should have made a decision on Phillips a lot quicker.

28 thoughts on “Quick Item: What Does Outsider Think Of USC Recruiting?”

  1. I don’t know why you’re surprised or disappointed in USC messing up in the recruitment of Clark Phillips, Scott. It’s been clear for years that USC doesn’t know how to evaluate football players. Helton went after Max Browne cuz he passed for a lot of yards in high school but, as a former quarterbacks coach, he should have been able to tell that Max had serious mobility problems and lacked zip on his passes….or that Fink, although a great athlete, would NEVER be an elite passer. On the defensive side, how could they not see that Jack Jones didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground? Even in high school he would cancel out every brilliant play with a boneheaded mistake.
    It takes winners to evaluate winners. And, excluding Graham Harrell, the top coaches at USC are obviously anything but winners. Other PAC 12 coaches are VERY aware of this.

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      1. 67 —Very funny. (Kansas is my bet—but, wherever it came from, it’s still a pretty damning quote).
        btw –Am I the only one who’s noticed that the photo that’s used for every story on KellyAnne Conway’s crazy husband looks EXACTLY like the closeup photo Scott keeps running of Helton looking bewildered during a game?
        #TheyBothLookSoButtHurt&Helpless

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      1. I wonder if Mason Fine, who was going for 4,000 yds passing on the season, pulling his hamstring and not being able to play the rest of the game might’ve had something to do with it? What was the score when Fine was in you ask? 7-7.
        Of course this useless troll won’t give anyone the whole story, might interfere with his agenda. What a piece.
        Hillbilly troll. 💋

        Liked by 1 person

      3. remember Tx A&M had a big lead on ucla,their q/b went out… bruins came back to win…without q/b A&M could not move at all…just facts please and the whole truth

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      4. Pudly —Some people have a very deep psychological need for Harrell to fail. [If Helton leaves him alone, I think he’ll do fine —-but I didn’t like the big drop in enthusiasm between his first post practice interview and his second one —he looked like a guy who wasn’t thrilled with the people the was working for]…..

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    3. true, except I think we would have won at least 3 more games if Matt had been the q/b…I think we still need him ,this ‘O’ line is a work in progress…even Sears would have given us 3 more wins.

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    4. Also Mike,
      The offensive line play at USC has been average for the most part with the exception of 2011’s line that gave up only 11 sacks all year second behind Stanford. Helton is soft off the field or on. It’s just him. Clancy is also soft and has been riding the efforts of Adoree Jackson and Cam Smith. I will say USC lost it’s way when defense became second to everything else. Reggie and Matt were the stars but we won games with defense. The Cal game at the Coliseum against Tedford and Aaron Rogers was all defense. We still have the athletes, but Helton is about scoring and must’ve lost the respect for being tough first on defense.

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  2. Wolf: “So I texted a Big 12 head coach and asked why USC is so late on prospects everyone else sees value in?”

    “No leadership,” was the quick response.

    No shit!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. No one can say those Big 12 coaches don’t know a thing or two. (Of course, you could text William Macy or Snoop Dog or the guy turned woman who leaked military secrets and get the same quick response)…..

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    2. Tebow to his mom after his first gym class: mom why do all the other boys’ hang?

      Twenty yrs later tebow’s momma repeating once more: patience little man, patience…

      Hillbilly troll. Hahahahaha

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      1. That’s the best you can come up with to counter the stupidity you displayed and were called out on…compounding even more of it.

        LOL!

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  3. Micael G.,
    I say it is Kansas St. Bruce Synder coached in the Palm Springs area a long time ago and is familiar on how good SC can be. It is just a guess though, if SCooter is telling the truth.

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    1. I hope it’s not Bruce Snyder, pt —- he would be a VERY “outside” voice —being how he died. I never forgave him for running up that score against USC while he was at Cal (I can’t remember who it was that ran back a kickoff for us to briefly tie the score but, when I saw him at Skyline High School later, I went up to him and gave him a hug). Maybe it WAS Bill Snyder—who just retired from his head coaching job but is still really running the show at Kansas State (he beat Pete Carroll twice —and I was always hoping that Pete would get another shot at him once the dynasty started).

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  4. Now we all know that is a bogus quote, because no sitting head coach would give a second rate blogger, not even a journalist, the time of day. Ain’t no way in hell, any Big12 coach is responding to gargamel in his st paul hoodie….

    MG – lastly, Clay did not recruit Max Browne. He was a Lane Kiffin recruit. Clay was the QB coach at the time, but Lane and Ed O were the lead men on the recruitment on Max…

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    1. Good call, trojanhead! I still have the April 2013 SCPlaybook proclaiming Max Browne and Kenny Bigelow “The Next Great Trojans!” [That article, by the way, is followed by one entitled “Can Kiffin Coach?” —it shoulda been entitled “Can Kiffin Recruit?”]……

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      2. Pudly thanks for posting. Anderson is all-city player of year. I believe he was on his way to UNLV before committing to SC. Enfield stay on the recruiting trail and leave the X’s and O’s and game-planning to assistants.

        Remember Enfields quote about recruiting?

        “What do you mean can I recruit? Have you guys seen my wife?”

        Liked by 2 people

  5. USC commit Bryce Young was at practice the other day and seems to be of the opinion that J.T. Daniels is not the guaranteed starter heading into the season.

    From 247Sports…

    Young is also watching the competition at quarterback closely. While JT Daniels is the returning full-time starter at USC, Harrell insists the job is up for grabs. 

    “I think it really is an open competition,” said Young. “It’s a new staff and they are evaluating a whole new team.”

    Listening to Harrell in a few interviews, he doesn’t seem to have the balls to go against Errand Boy and the commitment he made to Daniels father about having Daniels start.

    Bryce Young will be in for a rude awakening when two weeks after he’s enrolled at USC the coaching staff will come up to him and ask which position he would prefer to play at USC…DB or WR. No way in hell USC has any intention of allowing Young to play QB.

     

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    1. The question is whether H is going to allow Bryce Young to beat out Daniels or repeat picking Brown over Darnold? Young already looks like he can beat Daniels out next year but how can Helton’s picking pets be surmounted? And what if DJ Uiagelelei shows up? He would dwarf Daniels in every aspect of the game.

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  6. Helton recruited Sam Darnold. I think the strategy is get 3stars who are underrated and actually 4 stars who something to prove and will be great teamplayers. Mix in strong 4 star and 5 star players who can turn a games momentum around.

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  7. YO, Pusley does the Clown U excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses whine re: Harrel’s brutal, 2018 N. Tixas bowl game loss: Utah St. 52 – the mean green 13.

    “I wonder if Mason Fine, who was going for 4,000 yds passing on the season, pulling his hamstring and not being able to play the rest of the game might’ve had something to do with it? What was the score when Fine was in you ask? 7-7.
    Of course this useless troll won’t give anyone the whole story, might interfere with his agenda. What a piece.
    Hillbilly troll. 💋”
    ***********************************************************************************************

    Pusly, you dumb, F**K loser, injuries are part of the game. Remind us douchbag, at what point did Fine’s injury impact the useless mean green defense? Remind us douchbag, why was the N. Tixas # 2 QB so ill-prepared to replace Fine?

    bozo u is the Div 1 pinnacle of cry baby, excuses FB.

    #ClownUthemosttalentedpussyFBwhiners

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    1. You dumbass pos, maybe it was the four int’s his replacements threw. Maybe it was not sustaining drives wearing out the defense. You’d think a ruin wannabe who watched “his” ruins self destruct yr after yr when the rosen was injured would realize but in true form ……

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  8. Pingback: InsideUSC with Scott Wolf

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