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USC Morning Buzz: A Spring Issue Becomes Clearer

One question during spring practice was going to be the role of Donte Williams.

When you go from high-profile interim coach to cornerbacks coach, it might be tough. Especially when it wasn’t a given he would be retained . . . although Mike Bohn fought to keep him around.

“He’s playing the role of loyal assistant coach,” a USC coach told me this week. “He doesn’t have the same high-profile role but that might be good for him.”

Williams benefits from this because he retains his high salary ($900,000) and still works for a marquee program. USC benefits because it can use Williams for recruiting. So in that sense, it’s a win-win.

A blip occurred last week when Williams openly criticized cornerback Ceyair Wright. It might have been done to motivate Wright. I’m told there’s been no backlash so far.

It’s also easier for Williams to be critical after USC’s brought in some transfer cornerbacks and five-star Domani Jackson.

Bottom line: Williams has a lesser role and will probably endure it while being paid handsomely.

69 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: A Spring Issue Becomes Clearer”

  1. A lot of Trojans love Donte so I want to tread lightly. It’s not only players who regress –it happens to coaches too. I watched lots of interviews done by Donte when Helton first announced he was coming. The young Oregon position coach was filled with enthusiasm. He was bright and focused. You could easily see why Oregon’s d-backs respected and liked him. [I urge people to go on YouTube and watch those interviews — he was a different man entirely, brimming with confidence and promise]. As happened with so many other players and coaches [Coach Baxter, Kedon Slovis, etc.,etc.], association with Carnival Huckster Helton and his Traveling Bullshit Show took a big toll on Donte.
    #HopefullyHeBouncesBack….
    #HisStoryDeservesAHappyEnding

    Liked by 7 people

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      1. Maybe we should go to court & get a writ of mandamus forcing Helton to come back for the last year on his contract…. and, then, let Donte fire him all over again….it would give Donte closure…..
        #AndMaybeLetOurPlayersStripClay&ParadeHimAroundCampus…
        #…SoTheyCouldGetSomeClosureToo

        Liked by 1 person

    2. The Clay Helton Effect will suck the life out of you. Comparable to a flesh eating bacteria or the effects of latent syphilis on the brain.

      Liked by 5 people

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      2. I’d be in favor of helltons return if he was in charge of cleaning all bathrooms with a tooth brush,except those any where near the athletic fields

        Liked by 3 people

      6. “I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.”

        Liked by 1 person

      7. I used to laugh at that line….
        #NowIThinkTheGeneralWasOnToSomething..
        #[MaybeHeSawFauciComing]

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    3. All you clowns keep saying what a great recruiter Donte Williams is, so where are all these great players that he recruited?

      Not a single player that Donte Williams has recruited has turned out to be worth a shit, not a single one.

      As for his coaching, he can’t coach worth a crap. How many games did he win last year as the interim, 3 games!

      USC is paying that clown Donte Williams $900,000 a year, what a damn joke!

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      2. teepee,

        I hate to say this, but I agree. Last year was a disastor for him. First he is learning about USC and how to coach the dbs. Then you add extra pressure and have him be the interm coach which he had no experience at being a head coach. At that point you could tell Bohn threw in the towel on the season.

        If he is such a great recuriter, why didn’t he land Conery the big olinemen from Oregon? Who has he recruited and have the kid come because they want to play for Williams? To me it seems the kids want to play for Riley.

        I hope he coaches the db’s better next year. They were getting toasted all game long for 12 games. Horrible.

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      3. You really cant fault Donte for the lack of development that occurred under Clay Helton.

        The core problem at USC last year was Graham Harrell’s air raid offense. When you practice the same 10 plays over and over, you really destroy both the offense and defense. The whole theory of Harrell’s offense has been discredited.

        Donte will do a great job under Grinch and Riley. After the horrible Helton experience, he deserves this opportunity to reinvigorate his skills.

        Liked by 1 person

    4. Thank you for that great post re Donte et al. I agree Donte has more potential that was exhibited under the fuhrer. I watched Coach Baxter when he was at Fresno and he was innovative and enthusiastic. Fresno always had great special teams. Yet, at USC, his talent was rarely on display. He was National Special Teams Coordinator of the Year (2011) and helton destroyed his creativity and enthusiasm with his control freak behavior.

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  2. Just because Donte Williams didn’t do well as an interim head coach doesn’t mean he can’t be a great position coach. And if Ceyair Wright can’t handle criticism from his coach, then he needs to go play for Clay Helton. Does anyone think that Nick Saban doesn’t openly correct his players ? 😂

    Liked by 5 people

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  4. Don’t know much about Williams, but the rumor has it that Josh Conerly was paid off by Oregon, and that is why he ducked out of the better SC program.

    Texas A&M raised a red flag with its No. 1 recruiting class, and the way it is being done is boosters or the like are setting up corporations or LLCs and funding it with money that is then used to form NIL agreements with the players that the school wants.

    It is legal, so welcome to the “Brave New World.’ As Wiley pointed out, nothing wrong with players getting paid, but some restrictions have to be put into place, or else you have a runaway train.

    Liked by 3 people

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    2. HEY LJ. YOU MEAN WE ARE NOT DOING THE SAME AS AGRICULTURE AND MINING ??? HEY IM DOING MY SHARE. YOU HAVE TO PART WITH SOME OF YOUR COIN AND LEGAL EXPERTISE JOHN. GOTTA SET UP MORE LLCs BRO !!!!!!!! YOU CAN SEND YOUR MONEY TO ME BRO AND I WILL FUNNEL IT ON IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. DEAL BRO ????

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. It was obvious Conerly got a larger NIL deal. You don’t take a last minute visit to a place youve been to 10 times without something to bring you back. That something was more cash.

    Also, not really a problem with Donte. Everyone knows LR runs the show. If DW keeps recruiting like he has and now sits under a winner for a few seasons, he will get another shot.

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  6. Here’s an old song for you Pasadena——— Well I’m gonna raise a fuss I’m a gonna raise a holler———-About a workin all day just to try to earn a dollar———- Well I called my CONGRESSMAN and he said quote——- I’d like to help you man but you’re too old to vote !!!!!!!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. George Tirebiter,

      Song’s title is, “Summer Time Blues”, originally sung by Eddie Cochran. Great song. A local band in Pasadena called Snotty Scotty and the Hankies played this all the time. They played the greatest songs from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Just an awesome band.

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  7. Michael Guarino reads every single post in between morning and evening walks through the dole pineapple fields of Maui, and afternoon rides on his boogie board in the heavy surf at Kanapali Beach.

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. Kaanapali Bay with its cliff divers. I did that dive right before the cliff diver came out, and my biased wife said my dive was better. I don’t know, I don’t remember it being 30 feet high, that is pretty high, but I do recall I was pretty drunk at the time.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Impressive. [I was scared to jump off that little bridge going into State Street on Balboa Island]…..
        #MyAltarBoyBrother&TheParishPriestDidIt,Though….
        #..WhileIWentForATaco

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Michael Guarino reads each and every post on this site in between morning and even walks through the Dole Pineapple fields of Maui, and afternoon rides on his “boogie” board through the tiger shark infested waters of Kanaapali Beach. In his spare time he is on the Committee to bring a Holiday College Bowl game to Hawaii called the ” Sheraton Maui Wowie” Bowl which will invite the 5th place teams from the Pac 12, and Mountain West conferences.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. …I have a feeling there would be a ton of delay of game penalties in the Maui Wowie Bowl….
      #”ICouldn’tGetThePlayOffCuzOneOfTheLinemenHadTheHeadOfAFly”

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. Hey So Cal. I have a personal question for you. Please feel free just to ignore it if you like. I have a hunch you were in the seminary ??????

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. I did feel myself being called. But I’ll never forget a dream I had, laying on a grassy knoll, holding up a toddler son and waking from that dream saying, “I’m sorry Lord, but I want a family.”

      Maybe that’s why He sent me an incredibly wonderful woman in so many ways, but one that did not want children. I won’t question Him. He knew what was best for me and I’ll never, ever doubt it.

      Darius Rucker (of Hootie & the Blowfish) has a great song called “This”, in which he gives thanks for every little thing that’s happened in his life, good & bad, cuz it led him here to “This”. And he’s pretty damn happy with it. So am I.

      Liked by 1 person

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    2. Though no longer active in the Church, I still consider myself a servant of the Lord and do my best to do His will whenever the opportunity presents itself.

      Though I admit I sometimes fall short of His expectations. I am FAR from perfect in more ways than I can count.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. So Cal — Here are the Rules For Idealness I gleaned from re-reading Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King” yesterday:
        -Never break the heart of a Maiden…
        -Never trade an act of chivalry for a lay….
        -Never allow your willpower to get overcome by a magic potion or bewitched ring…
        #HopeTheseHelp

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you for sharing So Cal. Those were two very moving posts. It’s obvious you remain a deeply spiritual person. It shows thru sometimes in your other posts and that’s why I had my hunch. I was close and I noticed your Latin expertise as well on Ash Wednesday

        Liked by 1 person

      3. So Cal,

        You can join my sinner’s club. Free admission. I do go to confession quite frequently though. It is because I don’t want to forget and I don’t want the sins to pile up. Every day I do enough sinning to last a life time. Not good but it makes me realize how short i fall each and every day.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. We all do, PT. Only through the grace of God do we have even a chance of being welcomed into His kingdom.

        George, I’ve had too many instances where I shouldn’t have walked away unscathed but did, not to know Someone is looking out for me. Just as Eli (Denzell) did, He has more work for me to do. That’s the only reason He’s kept me here.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. We were just talking about beach blanket movies. Turner Classic has been playing them since nine a m pdt. Lots of pretty girls but not as pretty as our SC song girls.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. G. T…
      Would you agree: Annette was never what you’d call pretty —but she came across as a nice, normal person?

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      3. So Cal —it was admittedly a long time ago —but check out Lopez in Out of Sight —nobody could’ve topped her in that role… the scene in the bar with Clooney [an asshole outside of film] is a classic….

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Smart observation about “real life”, btw. I remember someone telling me they weren’t voting for Bobby Kennedy cuz he was so “cold in person” (something they read in Time Magazine).
        #IHadToAsk,”HaveYouEverMETRobertKennedy?”

        Liked by 2 people

      5. Yeah, a shame that not only our country but the entire world is suffering right now because DT didn’t give people warm & fuzzy feelings. To Biden voters that was more important than human lives & suffering.

        End times are here, My Friend.

        P.S. Idiots calling it “Don’t Say Gay” bill? As if teachers should be having discussions with 4-8 year olds about gender identity! What person in their right mind would think that’s appropriate?!

        Liked by 2 people

      6. Yeah. For me she came across as the sweet sweet girl next door that you wanted to hold in your arms and kiss her gently at the start. My buddy went to all the Masses one Sunday at her parish trying to get a date with her. The last years of her life were brutal as she was ravaged by disease. Sad.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Yes there would alot of incomplete passes, fumbles, coaching errors but plenty of perks for the universities, and players. USC would be a perfect fit for the 1st game, and the Maui Wowi Bowl Committee would provide a special out of conference invite to Georgia Southern. Carol Folt, already has a special ” very short hula dress” on special order for both her, and Mike Bohn so they can attend all the luau’s being held in Kihei. This would not be the 1st bowl game for the island of Maui where other college all-star games have been played at the beautiful Kahalui High School. Lynn Swann will be the Grand Marshall for the Bowl Parade held the day before the game in Lahaina but will not begin until Lynn finishes up 18 holes of golf at the Kapalua Bay Golf Course in the morning of the parade.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Love it! My computer repair guy, Jake Manning, was a star high school QB here on Maui —watch him on YouTube –he was complete madman….
      #HeStillThrowsAPrettyPass[w/MaybeABitTooMuchHeatOnIt]

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  12. Dante had the misfortune of trying to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse last year. It was obvious usc wasn’t going to hire him to be HC, he was just there for a couple of months, and no way can anybody without the backing of the university make any real strides in that situation. Plus he was still dealing with the death of his dad on top of all that.

    But he is a heck of a recruiter. From Rivals:

    “Williams deserves a ton of credit for the work he did recruiting, He was an obvious choice for conference recruiter of the year after taking a closer look at the numbers. Williams was the lead recruiter for five-star Domani Jackson, one of only three five-stars that signed with a Pac-12 team, and more Rivals100 prospects than any other coach in the conference.”

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    3. Unfortunate Bohn dropped Donte in that cesspool of helton and left him to clean the mess with no real authority and he had the likes of harrell and orlando resisting him. Hard to be successful as a lameduck leader with no support from staff. In addition, too many “players” proved they were not loyal to USC, the lack of participation at Cal is a huge blemish on the team. I still believe Donte is a talented recruiter and with guidance and training from Riley could become special.

      Liked by 2 people

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  13. Ryno: Jamar Cain, the LSU DL coach who was set to be USC’s DL coach … until Brian Kelly swooped in with an $850k salary and the weight of the SEC behind him.

    Liked by 1 person

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