The thing that bothers me about USC’s whole fervor with the name, image and likeness issue is that the athletic dept. is using it more to mask deficiencies than enhance the actual experience of being a Trojan. Forget about being coached up, prepared for the NFL and actually performing on the field. I’m not even discussing winning a national championship. USC doesn’t prioritize that anyways. … Continue reading Morning Buzz: USC Uses NIL To Mask Weaknesses

USC athletic director Mike Bohn was asked by Jon Wilner what his vision was for USC “To be the most student athlete-centered program in the country.” This is USC in a nutshell: It’s all about an athlete’s hype, image and anything else that will help in recruiting. The superficial reigns supreme. Things like player development and coaching are secondary; old fashioned and out of touch. Continue reading Mike Bohn’s Vision For USC

Here’s a recruiting story that won’t make the rounds. Is this real below? These logos are terrible. And didn’t Noah Baumann transfer? I guess it’s just important to create hype instead. Ahead of college athletes being able to cash in, some college athletic departments are helping design logos for their athletes. Here’s @USC_Hoops pic.twitter.com/1hQFXmA52H — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 29, 2021 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Continue reading USC Notes: Recruiting And Bad Logos

Remember a couple years ago when USC signed six offensive linemen? A source tells me that at the time Clay Helton said that only three would ever end up playing at USC. A 50 percent success rate? Sounds about right for Helton. Actually, it’s not entirely unreasonable to “figure” that only 50 percent of offensive linemen will pan out but it’s a little different when … Continue reading Morning Buzz: Is 50 Percent Success Rate Good Enough For USC?

I repeatedly make references to people being disgruntled within the football program, mainly because there are some difficult personalities to deal with in the McKay Center. Now I hear there’s been another departure because of the frustration of dealing with some power-hungry egos. To be clear, this starts with Clay Helton, who tends to enable those who least deserve it. That’s one reason there seems … Continue reading Who’s Coming And Going? You Need A Scorecard

WINNERS USC football The entire month of June was nothing but breathless reports of recruiting visits to campus from top prospects. Now they just need to commit . . . and be coached! Isaiah Mobley The USC forward raised his stock at the NBA Combine but was it enough to actually go pro? Evan Mobley The NBA Draft lottery last week ended up giving the … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Winners And Losers Of The Week