FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: Clay Helton Says USC Will Win Pac-12

Clay Helton told the Pac-12 Network on Wednesday, “We put a lot of work into this offseason. It’s work I know is going to help pay off for us in a Pac-12 title.”

Time will tell. But in the meantime, I’ve heard Helton is closing practices because he is sensitive over media criticism that they are not physical enough.

So he is thin-skinned and doesn’t want to be questioned over his workouts but believes USC will win a Pac-12 title. But it appears to be paying off because I haven’t seen any media complaints over the closing of practices. Just fawning predictions.

36 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: Clay Helton Says USC Will Win Pac-12”

  1. “Morning Buzz: Clay Helton Says USC Will Win Pac-12”

    Helton must have gotten word that his ass us about to be fired and Urban Meyer is about to be hired…by USC!

    Fight On!

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    1. Helton will say anything to keep his job. Let’s remember his mantra that USC was going to be run-first and own the trenches. Here we are going full air raid with the weakest OL in football.

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  3. What else is he going to say ?

    If he is right, then he stays, if he’s wrong and they look like last year’s mess, then one would hope he’s shown the door.

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    1. pt –I believe it’s better that Helton limit his press time — I don’t think it helps him or the team when he talks. Scott pointed out that Helton’s rationale for not addressing the press —“I don’t want to interfere with the team’s concentration” —was absurd and dishonest. I know Clay thinks he’s being so clever when he deflects questioners this way —but, in reality, it just makes USC look silly [and we have Swann for that]……

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  5. What is Helton talking about? Last year he threw the season away by starting a QB with no experience and sticking with him all year; starting a center who cost them at least 2 games with bad snaps and countless other low snaps; and the team played lackadaisical all year until his crony coaches were fired before the Notre Dame game. He already has sent a message that he wasn’t about winning but sticking with pet players. How is he going to turn that perception around? Once I was a camp counselor to 8 year old boys in their first experience away from home for a week. I learned the hard way: either exert your authority the first 15 minutes you meet each kid and during the first night or you lose it for the rest of the week irretrievably. Same with Helton. It’s too late because the players don’t fear him and he only wants them to love him. Can’t unwind that. Helton should have been reassigned to the recruiting staff and an interim coach brought in. Helton wasted all the social capital that SC generated over the years (“SC recruits itself”). Now they are looking at 2* and 3* players. Working hard won’t cut it. And it is better to do your talking on the field than making promises of championships.

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      1. Suffice it to say, I was expecting stronger supporting evidence from Wayne than the Camp Story…… however, I’ve been wondering the same thing: If Helton lost the players last year, can he FULLY get them back this year by putting on the tough act? I think his new demeanor is a definite step in the right direction —-but Whittingham, Shaw and Petersen have been doing the tough “thing” their whole careers & have way more credibility with their players.
        [Helton understands football, he knows the strengths & weaknesses of every Pac 12 team —-if he acts as a mentor to Graham Harrell and stays away from the players, we may have success this year]…..

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      2. You’re right Micheal, in the history of mankind (women included), no one has ever changed their management style successfully! People can’t change it’s not in out DNA…

        I suppose the season is lost before it’s started and we should just quit any hope or support of the team before the first bad snap! After all, isn’t that the inherent meaning of “Fight On”?

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      3. Pudly — I get it. And I admire your loyalty to the team and their coach. And I’m torn between wanting to fully support Helton’s sincere efforts to turn things around (which is a possibility) and my own experience with folks who aren’t dynamic leaders in leadership positions. Helton is somewhere in between Ted Tollner and Pete Carroll when it comes to leadership DNA (but closer to the Tollner side of the graph). I think the players like Helton and to a certain extent respect him. But —without wanting to see anyone undermine the Coach’s chances of turning things around this season — I don’t think a single player will listen to Helton talk tougher at practice this Fall and think, “I was wrong —this man IS a world beater!”
        #IHopeHeltonLetsTheCoordinatorsRunTheShow

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yeah, I get it. Sort of why those two (Bru & Chris) cake back. Seems to be a sliding slope. It keeps moving, now it’s the kids who won’t be able to change, like those eight yr olds.

        I had a friend once who hated to take sides and straddled the fence on most occasions. Trouble was, he usually ended up with that fence between his cheeks.

        As is customary this time of year, the sky is falling…and for some has already fallen.

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      5. Ha! If I catch your drift, pardner, that’s the first time I’ve ever been accused of fence straddling….
        #….LongHistoryOfTellingBossesExactlyWhatIThoughtOf’Em…
        #..[WhichGenerallyWasn’tMuch]…..
        P. S.
        Hoping for the best this season —-like I said before, if we beat Utah, watch out!

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  6. Isn’t practice open by invitation? After all that’s what the original announcement stated. I’m sure your invite is already in the mail. Hahahahaha!

    Which power5 team has a more liberal practice policy? None. This is standard practice across the board, which leads me to ask again, how does anyone know what other teams do?? Y’all are funny.

    So now scottie’s little sources will be even more important than ever!!

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    1. The local paper, the one for which Scott no longer writes, listed dates and times which practices were open to the public. The only thing limited is Clay’s after practice babble session. I am sure he will answer questions with select reporters named Dan, but why would anyone as deserving as Clay Helton want to be criticized daily?
      Being honest I don’t know anyone who appears here regularly who wouldn’t open with a question about the expectation of Clay’s tenure. (well maybe Owns would ask if he could stay a few more years)

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      1. Some of fall camp will be open…not in-season practices. They usually start two weeks before the first game.

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  7. More: Would Helton be willing (or even capable) of starting Jack Sears just to show that he means business and no longer is starting his pet players? That would shake up the team. No way, he’s too stubborn. And he’s deluded that his coddling of his team is a winning formula after SC won a Rose Bowl with players who came to SC based on its legacy and that he has squandered. How is he going to prove to Bru McCoy, who single handedly but unintentionally changed the team culture by splitting for Texas, that the team culture has changed? Think about it: SC has to win at least two or the big five games (Notre Dame, UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Utah) and prove it can win on the road at BYU or Washington to turn the program around. Helton can’t even make changes during the second half of games; can’t even bring in different players. At least Harrell offers some hope but Helton is the game manager even though he has a new offense manager.

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    2. If he loses to Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA again this year, he has to be fired. Those are the 3 big rivals. Also, a 9-3 record is a must to show that he has turned around the program, the coaching staff, and his style of coaching.

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      1. Coach Helton’s contract runs through 2023, Alv…..
        #SwannExtendedItInFebOf2018……

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  8. Breaking News From Maui: https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/07/25/tulsi-gabbard-sues-google-for-censorship-of-ads/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=daily&utm_campaign=20190725&utm_content=A%3Chttps://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Ftech%2F2019%2F07%2F25%2Ftulsi-gabbard-sues-google-for-censorship-of-ads%2F%3Futm_source%3Dnewsletter%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_term%3Ddaily%26utm_campaign%3D20190725%26utm_content%3DA&data=02%7C01%7Cmagcaoil%40lausd.net%7C2439181bd3e742472d9308d711533590%7C042a40a1b1284ac48648016ffa121487%7C0%7C0%7C636996921441253511&sdata=fZYP3jLkVGBDI%2FUzXZVB%2B5PJEJcNU%2BLYCCaUlOGUe5I%3D&reserved=0

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. No, gt —Google was only trying to HELP Tulsi. See, here’s how it works: if a candidate for President of the United States gets too much traffic after a presidential debate, then Google HELPS them by removing them from sight……
      #GoogleWasOnlyTryingToHELP

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      1. Thanks Mike for the ‘headsup’ per Helton’s deal. My gosh on the hook for four more years – yikes! At least the LSAA can jettison Albert Pujols end of 2021.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Helton thinks he’s in a Pop Warner league South Division with his winning statement.
    He should be coaching there and have Swann as the league Commissioner!
    Helton has his head in the Sand!
    That way he can’t hear the criticisms from Ex USC players like me!!

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  10. You can’t coach what you don’t know, and Clay Helton has never coached physical football, and neither has his coaching staff. The only coach who’s familiar with it, is Tim Drevno. So look for the same patsy, finesse Trojans, that we’ve seen under Bozo Helton, since he’s been running the show 😂😂

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    1. Only a person who KNOWS that the bar has ALREADY been set there by those above him (and probably been told so explicitly) would make the comment that Helton made…..
      #Pac12Title…OrBust
      P. S.
      Only downside to this approach is if you drop a game early & team gets
      demoralized…..

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  13. Well rah-rah Helton haters, nothing has changed today based on the litter of comments in ref. to Wolf’s “Morning Buzz: Clay Helton Says USC Will Win Pac-12,” thread.

    I really feel sorry for Helton; I just don’t understand his insatiable need to absorb the constant abuse he’s endured. I’m sorry Felony U’ers, bozo FB is just not that important in the scheme of things.

    Were I Helton, I would hire a mean, tough, wily female divorce attorney and let her negotiate i. e. squeeze Swann’s nuts until he agrees to a fair Helton resigns compensation pkg.

    Then I would set sail to the south sea islands and let a soft, young ( 19+), amply endowed, beautiful female, to sit on my face for at least 6 mos. Personally, I prefer stately nipples to FB.

    Lastly, anti-Gomer’s, If Meyer wishes to die on the sidelines (Hollywood style!) during incompetent bozo FB performance, he can knock himself out.

    Just think rah-rah’s Meyer’s sideline demise would add a brand new bozo loses another FB game excuse.

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  14. Pingback: Let’s Check In On USC Recruiting – InsideUSC with Scott Wolf

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