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Tee Martin and Clancy Pendergast receive contract extensions

--USC FOOTBALL COORDINATORS TEE MARTIN, CLANCY PENDERGAST RECEIVE CONTRACT EXTENSIONS


LOS ANGELES-USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast have received contract extensions, Trojan head coach Clay Helton announced today (Feb. 12). Terms and length of the extensions were not announced.


Martin, who has been at USC since 2012 coaching the wide receivers, has served as the offensive coordinator the past 2 seasons, while Pendergast has been the defensive coordinator for 3 years during 2 stints at Troy (2013, 2016-17).


“To have two of the best coordinators in the industry back for their third consecutive seasons is a critical piece for our team’s growth and our opportunity for success next season,” said Helton. “Consistency and stability are so important in improving your program every year. Clancy and Tee are a huge reason why, in our first two seasons, we have won a Rose Bowl and Pac-12 Championship. Having both back will help us to our goal of having national championship-caliber seasons.”


This past season, Pac-12 champion USC’s offense averaged 484.1 total yards (its highest average since 2005 and that was on the heels of 2016’s 477.1, the previous high since 2005), while defense tied for the national lead in sacks (46). The Trojans had at least 600 yards of total offense 3 times in 2017 (the other Pac-12 teams combined had 6).


In 2016 when USC won the Rose Bowl, its offense had at least 400 total yards in its last 10 games, while its defense held 7 opponents to season lows in points.


In 2013, Pendergast helped the Trojan defense rank in the national Top 25 in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense, sacks, interceptions, red zone scoring defense, third down conversion defense and fourth down conversion defense.


Martin, 39, who quarterbacked Tennessee to the 1998 national championship and then played 3 seasons in the NFL, has 12 years of coaching experience. Pendergast, 50, has coached for 26 years, including 16 in the NFL (he spent 6 of those seasons as defensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs, including in 2008 when the Cardinals played in the Super Bowl).

QB Jayden Daniels..

On Saturday he called USC his dream school and he landed an offer from the Trojans in the last few days.

It will be interesting to see how the 2019 QB class looks at USC. JT Daniels is coming in and then I'd imagine either 2020 QB Bryce Young or D.J. Uiagalelei ends up at USC. So do 2019 QBs think they will get squeezed or do they come to USC anyway?

https://n.rivals.com/news/recruiting-notebook-king-of-the-ie-7-on-7-tournament

Schools participating in 2018 NFL Combine

  1. Alabama - 14 players
  2. Ohio State - 11 players
  3. Georgia - 10 players
  4. LSU - 10 players
  5. Florida State - 9 players
  6. Miami - 9 players
  7. Penn State - 8 players
  8. Auburn - 7 players
  9. Virginia Tech - 7 players
  10. Washington - 7 players
  11. NC State - 7 players
  12. Pittsburgh - 7 players
  13. Texas - 6 players, Florida - 6 players, USC - 6 players, Oklahoma - 6 players, Stanford - 6 players, Wisconsin - 6 players, UCLA - 6 players
The USC (tied for #13) 6 players are:
  1. Sam Darnold
  2. Deontay Burnett
  3. Rasheem Green
  4. Ronald Jones
  5. Steven Mitchell
  6. Uchenna Nwosu
Note that Notre Dame & Clemson only have 5 players competing in the 2018 combine.

Other Pac-12 notable teams: Washington State & Utah have 4 players competing in the 2018 combine. Arizona State has 5 players.
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Debate of the Day (2/9)

"This is my last job."

The words cut through the room during Wednesday's Signing Day press conference as Clay Helton spoke earnestly about his new extension. Ever since he became the interim head coach in October of 2015, I've surmised that Helton would prefer coaching at USC over anywhere else, college or pro, and that the only way he would leave is if he retired or were fired. Of course, for the 45-year-old Helton to remain at USC long-term, he'll have to win. Specifically, he'll have to win a national championship.

That had me thinking about the Trojans' Mount Rushmore of coaches -- Jones, McKay, Robinson, Carroll. I quickly discovered a common thread in their success: They all won a national title within their first four years at USC.

In fact, McKay, Robinson and Carroll did it in Year 3, with Jones needing an extra season. (However, Jones won a national title in just his second overall season as a head coach, at Yale.) Only three other USC head coaches stuck around longer than four years, and like Clay, they all won a Rose Bowl within their first three seasons.

Technically, this is Year 3 for Helton, even though he was the head coach for the majority of the 2015 season. His extension essentially guarantees he'll have a fourth season (2019) and could keep him at the helm through 2023.

So I ask you this: Do you believe (not hope or wish, but actually expect) he will win a national title in the next two seasons? Do you believe he'll win one before his extension ends? By what year would he need to win a title before you'd want to move on?

My personal opinion: No, maybe, and, by 2021. What do you think?

Judging in Sports & College Football

Watching the Winter games, I can’t imagine what it must be like to care intensely about the outcome of a competition decided by judges. The athletes are amazing, but the competition just isn’t that entertaining to me.

But then instant replay and the endless delays takes Football in this direction. Many times trained judges can’t know the correct call using super slo-mo butthis activity is having an increased impact on the games.

It also got me thinking about significant moments in Trojan Football history that involved close calls by officials:

* Sam Dickerson vs UCLA in 1969
* Erik Affholter vs UCLA in 1988
* Charles White vs Michigan in the 1979 Rose Bowl
* Michael Harper vs ND in 1982
* Matt Leinart fumble out of bounds before the Bush Push in 2005
* “The Spot” in South Bend, can’t remember the year (but still mad about it)

(What other moments have I left out?)

Can you imagine if these calls had been reviewed and overturned? Does everyone else think we are better off and that it’s just so important that we “get it right?” This isn’t Progress in my mind.

Lakers Trade

So they give up Clarkson and Nance for Thomas, Frye and a first. With Thomas and Frye free agents at the end of the year, it looks like Magic is going all in for Bron/George etc. I'm bummed to see Nance go because I liked his energy. I've never been a huge Clarkson guy.
The interesting thing here is that the Cavs may have just given the Lakers the cap space they needed to get James.
Where you at @CaBriLLo JaGuAr ?
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