Just wondering why Oregon football has been getting so many good commitments, they have only one good win and their Heisman QB has been regressing a lot, same for Washington and Stanford. Is it the coaching? or is the PAC-12 that tough of a league...LOL

Here's the news from Tuesday's practice:

Clay Helton was asked when he began considering staff changes and didn't answer the question directly, saying he didn't settle on making a change until Monday morning after a "sleepless" Sunday night.

"I didn't want to rush into an emotional decision. I wanted to make sure that everything was exactly right ... and it wasn't until Monday morning. I was like, you know what, I have to do this for our team. I think it's going to progress our team, it'll move it forward."

Then he says he met with AD Lynn Swann, who he says was supportive of the changes.

He had been asked about potential changes Sunday evening and said then he would wait until the end of the season to evaluate the team. Today he reiterated what he said earlier today in the Pac-12 conference call that he was itching to call plays and, as a third-year coach, he now felt more comfortable assuming that responsibility on top of everything else.

When asked how he differs as a playcaller from Tee Martin, Helton said, "The one thing about being the head coach is, there's no fear. ...

"Tee did a tremendous job. He won us a Rose Bowl, he won us a Pa-12 championship. I wish we had more wins right now and I wish we were just a little bit more productive."

Helton complimented Martin repeatedly, almost defensively at times, while stating that Martin has been his right-hand man and was "very supportive" of the decision. Martin said Monday wasn't the first time he and Helton discussed making this change, sounding resigned to the change.

"As a competitor, you've been doing the job and you feel like you've been doing a good job at what you've been doing and just having it taken away, thats tough," he said. "But I'm here for the team and what's best for the team and ultimately to support my head coach. He wanted to call the plays so I'll continue to do my job as coordinator and helping him coordinate everything and he'll call it on game day."

Martin provided a couple other interesting responses.

• When asked about scrubbing his Twitter profile of all USC references, including his bio: "Just changing my picture. Want to post about my family. Thats it."
• When asked if he wants to be back at USC next year: "I love USC." (That was the entire answer, given with a grin.)

Martin said Helton approached him after the Texas game about strictly focusing on the passing game while Helton would take over the running game (but didn't say whether that plan went into motion).

"He's been feeling this for a while."

Martin guessed play selection would probably be the biggest difference to manifest moving forward in the transition from him to Helton but that the system will remain unchanged.

I asked Helton what percentage of calls Martin was making this season and prior -- I have my suspicions Helton has been getting more and more involved -- and Helton again repeated what he said earlier today that he's been calling only 3-4 plays a game for the past three years.

"Usually it was red zone, usually it was a shot, usually it was a trick play," Helton said.

Regarding the release of OL coach Neil Callaway, Helton called it "probably one of the most hardest things I've ever had to do, because he's like family to me. ... But I knew that I needed to make a change and I just couldn't look Coach in the eye for four weeks and allow him to work and know that change was coming."

Finally, Helton was asked what his plans are in regards to playcalling in the future. He said it's something he'd like to do from here on out as the coach at USC.

"I'm going to take the next four games," Helton said. "I would like to do it. I'm going to make sure that I can do everything that encompasses the job. I truly believe I can. I'm going to see how it goes the next four games and would like to continue, but I'll always do what's best for the team."

Injury news:
QB JT Daniels (concussion), LB Cam Smith (knee, hamstring) and S Marvell Tell (neck) returned to practice and were full participants. Daniels took the lion's share of reps against the scout team.

CB Olaijah Griffin (shoulder) returned to practice and was limited.

OT Chuma Edoga (knee) practiced after missing a significant portion of the Arizona State game.

LB Levi Jones (hip) did not practice.

Though Tell returned to the lineup, Ajene Harris remained at safety with the first team, alongside the fellow senior. Jonathan Lockett was the primary nickel. Palaie Gaoteote worked at middle linebacker, behind Smith.

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... is Tom Herman no longer a good coach? Just wondering.

I'm as impressed as anybody with Sears after yesterday's game, and I think his performance makes Helton's comments earlier in the week about "preparing" him (lol...as if) even more laughable. That said, I'm reading a lot of posts here about how JT is/was overrated and is a statue and how you can't succeed without a mobile QB...and I think that's wrong.

As always, this comes down to coaching. JT could and would absolutely be successful and look much better on a team with a semblance of a working offensive gameplan. I bet he could even succeed in a scheme that requires the QB to run, even if he's not breaking 15 yard runs regularly. But a QB of his type who gets no protection from the OL or running game, and who consistently has to run plays that are predictable and have a low success rate...how could he look good in this offense?

Sears is a natural talent, that much is clear from yesterday. And he looks better because he has more improvisational skills and mobility, which given the other factors mentioned above are an absolute necessity in this "system" (in quotes cuz obviously Helton and Tee have no idea what they're doing). Actually, improvising from a broken play is probably even more successful than running the playcalls coming in.

The point is, both of these guys are good and could / should be successful. Think about how badly Helton mucked this up, going back to last year's recruiting class. Nobody was forcing JT to enroll early. Helton basically got his panties twisted because Darnold was leaving and he couldn't successfully recruit any of the top tier QBs in the 2018 class, so he panicked and had JT enroll a full year early so that USC would have sufficient depth at QB this year. Even this was a mistake because it then involved turning away Shea Patterson. Think about an alternate universe where Sears competed with Patterson for the starting job - both are mobile, both are plus talents, both would have made the most of this shit sandwich of an offense. JT would still be in HS. Now about that...

Once JT got to campus, Helton was basically forced to start him. JT could be a senior right now, easily mowing down the teams on MD's schedule again, and waltzing into the #1 overall spot in recruiting rankings everywhere (except for Rivals because we know how they like to do things here). You don't make a kid go through that immense sacrifice - basically giving up the most fun year of his life and enduring a crushing course load - to then sit him. On top of that, JT shows up to practices he doesn't even have to, and he's an immensely popular player who holds a lot of sway with recruits in this class and the future. All credibility would be lost with future recruiting classes. Even if Sears was better, he would basically have had to be Darnold 2.0 to allow for Helton to start him instead.

Tl;dr - both of these guys are good, but Helton messed this up just like everything else involving the football program. In one world, Jack Sears is starting all year or backing up Shea Patterson, who goes pro after this year. Either way, in 2019 Sears is then a RS Soph, who should clearly have a leg up in the QB competition vs. true freshman JT Daniels, making it easier to RS the latter. Instead USC has a QB controversy essentially because Helton couldn't sign Jack Tuttle / Corral / McKee / Martinez / you get the point.

What ya got for Yogi?

Here were USC AD Lynn Swann's full comments tonight on Trojans Live about Clay Helton and the staff shake-up this week:

On the staff changes announced Monday and his involvement ...
"Obviously, I knew these changes were coming. Clay and I talk every week on Mondays after games. We talk about a variety of different things, concerns. I ask a lot of questions, give a lot of information. This has been a concern a Clay as he was developing his staff, and we have to keep in mind that every head coach is always developing his staff. The head coach is responsible for making sure folks do it the right way, the way he wants it done, and so Clay and I talked about this and he told me the changes he wanted to make. I agreed with the changes he wanted to make, and we go from there."

On his assessment of the football program ...
"I think this program is in good shape. This may not be the best season in terms of wins, losses, but keep in mind, [with] Clay Helton as the head coach, we played in the Rose Bowl, won a great Rose Bowl there, had a great finish to the 2016 season, 2017 we won the Pac-12 championship and played in the Cotton Bowl. The last two years he's had top-five recruiting classes and we are rebuilding this program. And you don't get back into the hunt for the biggest prizes overnight -- it's a process. People want to believe that after our scholarship reductions and the sanctions and everything else, as soon as those things were up that suddenly [the] USC football team would be at the pinnacle of collegiate football. But the reality is it takes time and it's a process, and I think we're headed down the right track in this process."

On what weight he puts on Helton's 21 wins the last two years ...
"There are a lot of things that factor into it, and No. 1 is that I believe in Clay Helton, I like the position he takes. Clay is passionate about what he does, and Clay is honest and real about what he wants to accomplish and how he wants to accomplish [it]. There's no false chatter in Clay Helton. He is concerned about the welfare of the student-athletes, his football players, his teams, his coaches. He wants them to improve and get better. He wants to teach them, he wants them to grow up in the program and do things and win the right way. And so I stand solidly behind Clay to move those things forward.

"We talk about a variety of different things -- the development of players. We talk about the development of coordinators and coaches in the staff, how you continue to get better. So these are the kinds of conversations we have. My responsibility is to the entire athletic program, my responsibility is to try and help Clay be be the best head coach and manager of people he can be. So that's why we talk consistently, we talk openly, we communicate in terms of what's going on."

On the chatter and reaction from fans to the program's struggles ...
"You just go back a couple years ago when we were 1-3. We didn't look good against Alabama, we struggled. Sam Darnold came into his first ballgame against Utah, we lost that game. But we bounced back and won nine straight games and played hard. Clay did not give up on this team, this team did not give up on Clay. So if you're talking about evaluating a coach, look at the fact that you start off poorly, yet you maintain control of the team and players play for you. And this team put their back up against the wall and they came out fighting.

"So Clay has that ability to lead this team -- they believe in Clay. So that's an important part of how you evaluate a team. When recruits come in and Clay talks to the recruits, he talks to the parents, he talks to them openly and honestly about his expectations and what we want for the program. So everybody's aware. So those are important points in evaluating a coach.

"Are there going to be some bumps in the road, sure? Do we have some injuries we have to deal with -- the starting quarterback gets a concussion, your backup quarterback gets three broken ribs, OK, injuries are a part of what goes on. Jack Sears, whose going to be [in] your program later on, steps in and does a great job. They coached him up in one week to get him ready to start a game, and he hadn't started a football game since he played in high school. So yes, we lost the game, but I think if you look at the way Jack performed you saw a coaching staff and a team rally around him and play pretty darn hard to keep in that ballgame. So that's another evaluation point.

"We always evaluate across the board, but again, I have confidence in Clay. I think he'll keep this team on track, he'll get it back on track this week and we'll continue to progress. We have a chance to finish out our season strong. We don't control our own destiny. That's a disappointing thing at this point in time, but what we have to do, what our team has to do is to rally, play hard and show the courage, the Fight On courage to continue to move forward."

On the importance of continuity for a program ...
"It's hugely importantly. I believe every time you change a head coach that you start from the beginning, you start all over again. You've got different ideas, you've got a new system. A new coach is going to want maybe a different mix of personnel so they don't feel like they necessarily have the mix to execute whatever their strategy might be. And I think Clay can get this done. I believe it's important to have patience, I believe it's important to make sure that fundamentally you're doing the right things along the way to make sure you're making positive steps, knowing that they're going to be some setbacks, maybe beyond your control, maybe some things you can't control. But I certainly believe that Clay can assess those things and move it forward.

"But I think this is the time that we talk about the Trojan family, we talk about these young kids playing hard. I know JT Daniels earlier today talked about the fact that it's the players who have to execute. The coaches call plays, but they're the ones who have to execute. We need the Trojan family to stand behind this team, we need to stand behind them. It's easy to be a fan and come out to the games when the team is undefeated, when they're rolling, everything's looking good. But this is the moment, this is the time when the Trojan fans, or our students, our alumni need to be there to support these young men who give everything they have for the best football they can."

Had a good talk today with USC 3-star DB commit Trey Davis. He talked about the strength of his Trojans pledge, his plans for visits and how aggressively Washington State is coming after him.

Also, interestingly, he said he expects to play nickel or safety -- not corner, as he's listed in the database. That further underscores the need for USC to add some CBs this cycle in the wake of Chris Steele's de-commitment.

https://usc.rivals.com/news/trey-davis-discusses-his-usc-commitment-as-wsu-remains-in-pursuit-1

After Swann's probably not surprising yet still unbelievable statements last night, I was wondering if apathy turns to anger or can they co-exist.

Either Swann made the ultimate passive-aggressive statement telling Helton he is on notice and setting him up or this a major statement introducing the new era of USC football and the new standards accepted by the administration and AD.

So is the declining attendance a sign of apathy or anger or both. I suspect after last night both apathy and anger have reached levels not seen in a long time.

I think I know where he got it from:

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Clay, Tee Martin and players weigh in ...

https://usc.rivals.com/news/what-changes-as-clay-helton-takes-over-play-calling-duties-for-usc

We discuss USC's coaching staff shakeup, Lynn Swann's public address and why Clay Helton is at a crossroads.

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http://stats.ncaa.org/teams/449877

Read at your peril

He will be at Auburn this weekend, he has rescheduled his visit to UGA and he talks UM, OU and what others are in it.

link: HASELWOOD UPDATE

This is Oregon State, people! Pittman should have a big game against a terrible defense:

https://n.rivals.com/news/college-fantasy-football-wrs-to-watch-for-week-10

pretty simple. If the coliseum is empty the next two home games he’s gone. I’m not going in SUPPORT of usc since money is the only way to get their attention. This program is going down the drain and not supporting them now is supporting the program long term. Just my $0.02

finished. An interview with Coach Helton is up next.

The biggest question in the aftermath of USC's announcement that Clay Helton will take over playcalling duties from Tee Martin, and Neil Callaway has been relieved as the offensive line coach in favor of Tim Drevno, isn't how it impacts the Trojans moving forward but instead, why now?

Of course, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone not in favor of the shakeup. Play-calling and offensive line play have been the two most glaring issues since at least the beginning of last season. But the moves come less than 24 hours after Helton indirectly addressed staff changes, saying he'd wait until after the season to evaluate everything.

So, what changed?

It's doubtful Helton was hiding these decisions Sunday evening or had a sudden change of heart. Many of you are aware of the fact that he sits down with athletic director Lynn Swann every Monday morning/afternoon to discuss the game that was and the week ahead. The university's announcement just before 3 p.m. was borne out of that meeting. What isn't clear, and probably won't come out, is who decided what.

After checking with sources, here's what I believe went down:

Swann did not specify that Callaway had to go or Helton had to be the primary play caller. It's more likely that he challenged him to do whatever he needed to begin righting the ship immediately because Helton's status is, in fact, tenuous. While it runs counter to what Swann told me just 10 days ago, what transpired this past weekend on the heels of a humiliating blowout elicited a swift response. The impetus for change was initially set in motion in September when USC lost at Texas, a defeat that advisors to the AD estimated will cost the athletic program in the range of $6 million.

Attendance has been on the decline for a couple years, despite team success, but a 19-game home winning streak made it hard to point the finger at Helton. And then Saturday happened -- USC outplayed and ultimately falling to a middling division foe in front of the smallest Coliseum crowd in 17 years. Having to start Jack Sears, formerly third-string and making his college debut, would have been an easy scapegoat, only he posted arguably the best performance by a USC quarterback all season. How the Trojans lost -- initially trailing by 17, leading late in the third quarter, squandering an opportunity to pull ahead by two scores -- was heartbreaking for those directly involved but frustrating for Swann and his inner circle. USC has not looked like a well-coached team for some time and, unlike the past two years, the results finally reflect that.

What you saw Monday could prove to be a PR move as much as a spark for the team. The reality is these moves were going to transpire regardless. I was informed a few weeks back that Callaway planned to retire at the end of the season. Letting him go now means he'll collect his remaining salary without having to work for it. (I was asked not to report his intentions out of respect for the longtime coach and thus kept it to myself.)

Moreover, it's no secret that Martin has been pining for a head coaching job, and from what I understand, he has his fair share of offers. Therefore, this action, while unexpected with only four games remaining, isn't quite as bold as it's being made out to be. Drevno, after all, was a popular hire this past offseaon specifically because it was assumed he would eventually succeed Callaway. Helton, meanwhile, has likely been calling more plays throughout the year than he's let on. Making it public and full-time is a blow to Martin's ego, but it also means the beleaguered OC can wash his hands somewhat of USC's offensive failures before he soon departs.

Sources tell me staff upheaval is not done, though I wouldn't expect anything more to come down during the season. We'll probably see another round of changes once the regular season concludes. Still left to be determined is whether Helton will be calling those shots or moving on himself, making the next month crucial for the third-year coach. The plan is to give him another year with a few different coaches of his choosing. Most every assistant is on a one-year deal, so a staff makeover isn't as expensive as it might sound. But Helton first needs to win games and begin to win back a faction of the support that has been bleeding out of the program this fall.

Otherwise his days at USC are numbered. Sources tell me feelers have already been put out there and the names I've been given -- please respect that I cannot disclose who at this time -- are both intriguing and legitimate.

Here ya go ...

https://usc.rivals.com/news/watch-trojans-react-to-news-of-offensive-staff-shakeup

A day after saying he'd evaluate any potential need for changes after the season, USC head coach Clay Helton reversed course as the program announced Monday that Helton will take over play-calling duties and that offensive line coach Neil Callaway has been relieved of his duties.

Tee Martin will retain the title of offensive coordinator, assisting with the weekly organization of practice and game plans and assisting on game days, the press release stated. He will also continue as the Trojans' wide receivers coach.

Tim Drevno, who has been the team's running backs coach this season, will take over the offensive line while continuing to coach the running backs with assistance from USC's offensive graduate assistants. Drevno coached the USC offensive line in 2014 in a previous stint with the program before spending 2015-17 as Michigan's offensive coordinator and OL coach.

“I felt it was an appropriate time to become more involved in the offense as we continue to develop our team for the future,” Helton said in a statement. “Tee and I have had conversations about this decision and he was supportive. He has done a tremendous job here. He will stay involved with the offense as he remains the offensive coordinator, helps put together our practice and game plans and serves as my offensive eyes during games.

“I want to thank Neil for all his hard work at USC. He is an outstanding coach and a great friend. I wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

USC ranks 102nd nationally in total offense at 364.1 yards per game, 115th in rushing offense (120.9 YPG) and tied for 81st in scoring (27.1 point per game).

The offensive line has been a target of ire for fans all season for myriad reasons, including issues in run blocking for much of the season, troubles in protection at times and persistent struggles snapping the ball cleanly.

Helton had been asked during his Sunday conference call with reporters if it was time to consider changes, after a 38-35 loss to Arizona State dropped the Trojans to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12.

"You know, I think we're really close. We lost a close battle [with] depleted personnel, and right now I'm focusing on this game, how we get better this game. And when we get done with these last four games, I'll evaluate everything and see what we need to do," he said at the time. "But right now I'm more focused on trying to defeat Oregon State and helping our football team beat Oregon State."

Either he was not yet ready to announce the changes in progress, or his mind was swayed between 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday afternoon.

Helton has said before that he meets with USC athletic director Lynn Swann on Mondays, which may not be a coincidence.

Either way, Helton has acknowledged publicly for the first time during this wayward season that his program needed change. In so doing, he's put fixing the Trojans' offensive woes squarely on his back the rest of the way.

We have video interviews with Clay, Tee, Drevno, JT, Pittman, Chris Brown and Toa Lobendahn coming up, along with stories on Clay's latest comments, Tee's reaction to the news of the week, Drevno on taking over the OL and JT on his health and return.

Plus, whatever Lynn Swann says in 25 minutes.

So stay tuned.

But some quick notes, JT and Jack rotated in practice, but JT went through all the team activities and says he's totally fine.

Marvell Tell and Cam Smith were active in practice. Tell and Ajene Harris worked as the first-team safeties, with Jonathan Lockett at nickel.

Adam will have more notes up in his main report.

Freshman quarterback JT Daniels is back in as USC's starting quarterback this week, barring any unforeseen setback, after sitting out last Saturday following a concussion.

He indicated that he feels no lingering effects, and hasn't for some time now.

"I've felt fine for a little while," he said Tuesday after practice. "The trainers here obviously do their job to the highest level, and I felt like I could have been fine. But I didn't pass all the protocol. I felt fine for a little while, but the trainers did the right thing in helping me out."

While Daniels watched from the sideline, redshirt-freshman Jack Sears made his Trojans debut and completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (with a fumbled option pitch).

Sears opened a lot of eyes with his performance, but coach Clay Helton was assertive on Sunday night in stating that Daniels is his quarterback if healthy.

What did Daniels think of his teammate's performance, though?

"Jack was phenomenal, really," he said. "Obviously, whenever you go from not taking any reps in practice to being the starter within one week because two QBs go down and you're completing the ball -- he threw some great ones, some balls that some wideouts got to come down with -- yeah, I think Jack did more than his part to help the team win."

Daniels took the first reps Tuesday in practice, but he and Sears rotated throughout the session.

After missing a game for the first time in his young collegiate career, Daniels seemed happy to be active again. He was more relaxed and at ease with reporters than he has been during interviews in recent weeks, and he discussed the frustration of having to watch from the sidelines last Saturday.

"Oh yeah. Anytime you don't get to play, you only get so many football games in your life, and one that you have to miss is one less you get to play," he said.

Coaching is tough, anyone notice that Washington with Chris Peterson as coach and a Senior QB and running back was ranked #6 at the beginning of the season and is now out of the top 25.

For me it’s simple: Experienced