Offensive coordinator Clay Helton spoke at length about his new role as the primary play caller following Tuesday's practice. Here's the full transcript of his interview:
Coach Steve Sarkisian said you'll be calling plays.
CH: “Yeah, I (just) found that out. (Laughs) No, one, I’m really excited about the opportunity and, two, very appreciative for it to coach to have the trust to be able to do the job. And I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
So this transition began in spring?
CH: “Definitely. It’s been a year in development. Obviously when you’re a first year group and getting to know exactly what coach wants as an OC and as a play caller, it was really a great learning experience for me to see his play calling, seeing exactly what he wants. Then we went into the spring, obviously you saw us with the headsets on, you saw me calling plays a little bit more. The training had begun there. Always him giving me great insight of where to go to, what exactly he wants. That continued in fall camp and now we feel very comfortable being able to go to where I call the majority of the plays and he can still chime in on third down and red zone and be able to alert me when we’re in four down territory and making pivotal decisions like that. So we feel we’re comfortable with it now, it’s ready to go, so we’ve chosen to go that route.”
We'd heard it happened in the Notre Dame game.
CH: “It’s been a natural occurrence. Coach has always called plays. I've always gave him insight post series of what the defense was doing, where we might want to go to next after the series. And then Coach would call it during the series. Obviously he did a great job in that Notre Dame game. Last year was very valuable training for myself to be able to learn exactly what coach wants for this offense.”
Will there be any noticeable difference in play calling between last year and this year?
CH: “I think every play caller is a little bit different. Obviously, I understand what coach Sark wants. He feels comfortable enough to let me call it. So I understand what he wants for the offense but every play caller has his own idiosyncrasies, little characteristics that they have. So there may be little differences but we’ll try to stay within the format of the system.”
Will the terminology be different?
CH: “Well, one, coming down to the field, I’ve always liked being down there especially when you have a spotter like Tee Martin and you have four quarterbacks on staff that have great vision. It allows you to be able to talk to the players, so when you get in a critical situation, a la fourth-and-2 vs. Stanford, and you have to look at Marqise Lee in the eye and say, Hey the DB is going to play you in outside leverage for this motion, get ready to run this slant and you’re going to win with an inside release. You want to be down there to explain those things so you don’t have to be a third person. That, I think is going to be very valuable. And then I think to have Tee in the box like we had two years ago I think is invaluable. He just provides tremendous information that allows me to be very comfortable down on the field.”
Sark mentioned you had received other job offers. Was this added responsibility an incentive for you to stay at USC?
CH: “No, it was I’ve been with Cody Kessler for seven years, two years recruiting and five years as a player. I’ve been with this Trojan family and we’ve developed, we’ve finally made it through the sanctions. We finally got to a place where you think we could win a championship. Why would you leave? Whether it’s as an offensive coordinator helping do game plans or whether it’s as a play caller. You don’t leave that situation, you don’t leave USC for that. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I hope to stay here a long time.”
How hard was it to get USC to offer Kessler a scholarship, which happened just before he was set to commit to Washington?
CH: “I think what a great decision by Coach (Lane) Kiffin that year to take two quarterbacks, to have the foresight that Matt (Barkley) was an older player and we had to have, you have to always have a quarterback at this place. We were able to get two really talented kids in Max Wittek and Cody Kessler. Thank goodness that Cody chose to come here, never afraid of competition and look where he is today. That’s part of the reason he’s here, his ability to compete.”
How much easier will it be to call plays having Kessler?
CH: “It’s like we have a coach on the field, it’s like he’s reading my mind. He knows, whether it's myself or Coach Sark calling the play, he understands now exactly what we want and exactly why we’re calling the play. If we run a four vertical concept, it’s probably one high out there and we want to work certain individuals on that concept. Anytime you have a fifth-year senior, it's very beneficial for you as a play caller and an offensive coordinator.”
How much does the opportunity means to you and your career?
CH: “A lot. I thank Coach because he loves play calling. He loves to play call. But he also has a great vision for this university and for our football program. He wants to win a championship here. And to do that, he felt like he had to overview everything, not just scoring points and setting records. He had to look at the defense, special teams, look at personnel, make personnel changes, make in game adjustments when needed. And I think this is really going to help him and I’m glad that we’re going to it. I look forward to the opportunity and I’m really happy for him.”
Is there any thought to staying in the box?
CH: “If we were in a different situation and we didn’t have Tee Martin, we didn’t have Coach Tui (Marques Tuiasosopo), we didn’t have Coach Sark, you’re talking about four quarterbacks on a staff that have all seen and played the game. The information coming down is very simple. If we weren’t in that situation and I felt like I needed a better vision, I would be up. but I can’t tell you how valuable it is when you get in a critical situation at the end of the game when you can literally talk to the players and say this is exactly what I want you to do. That’s critical and thank goodness Tee, Tui and Coach Sark are here.”
How much communication do you think you'll have with Sark during the game?
CH: “We’ve always talked a bunch, even when Coach was calling the plays, and that will continue. It even happened in the mock game, just the alert that we’re on the thirty yard line, in four down territory on a third and five, it makes your mind shift to, hey we can run the ball here with Tre Madden rather than having to throw a pass and you hand it off and he gets the first down. Just that communication from him is invaluable plus he just has a sense too of when a shot should be taken. If he calls it, it’s geting called. So yes, we’ll be talking all the time.”
Was this scenario discussed when Sark got the job?
CH: “When he offered me the job, he goes, You know, going into year one I know how I want it called, Clay. I want you to learn how it goes, I want you to learn the exact system that I want, and I was fine with that. I wanted to be here and I wanted to be a part of the system. I wanted to see how he called plays. We’ve done that for a year now and he feels comfortable enough to move to the next step.”
Does anything change for you during the week?
CH: “Nothing changes during the week as far as the preparation. Just, you’re the play caller now and I’ve always treated it, for the five years I’ve been here and ever since I’ve been an offensive coach, is you prepare yourself like you’re going to call the game whether you’re going to call it or not.”
You were actually at Arkansas State for a brief time.
CH: “Fifty-seven days. I came on in December, Coach (Steve) Roberts hired me — wonderful place, wonderful town, really good town, really good people. But I got very fortunate and had the opportunity to come out to USC. They welcomed me with warm, open arms, we went through recruiting, signed a great class and then I got the opportunity to come out here and this is one of those great things you can’t pass up.”
Coach Steve Sarkisian said you'll be calling plays.
CH: “Yeah, I (just) found that out. (Laughs) No, one, I’m really excited about the opportunity and, two, very appreciative for it to coach to have the trust to be able to do the job. And I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
So this transition began in spring?
CH: “Definitely. It’s been a year in development. Obviously when you’re a first year group and getting to know exactly what coach wants as an OC and as a play caller, it was really a great learning experience for me to see his play calling, seeing exactly what he wants. Then we went into the spring, obviously you saw us with the headsets on, you saw me calling plays a little bit more. The training had begun there. Always him giving me great insight of where to go to, what exactly he wants. That continued in fall camp and now we feel very comfortable being able to go to where I call the majority of the plays and he can still chime in on third down and red zone and be able to alert me when we’re in four down territory and making pivotal decisions like that. So we feel we’re comfortable with it now, it’s ready to go, so we’ve chosen to go that route.”
We'd heard it happened in the Notre Dame game.
CH: “It’s been a natural occurrence. Coach has always called plays. I've always gave him insight post series of what the defense was doing, where we might want to go to next after the series. And then Coach would call it during the series. Obviously he did a great job in that Notre Dame game. Last year was very valuable training for myself to be able to learn exactly what coach wants for this offense.”
Will there be any noticeable difference in play calling between last year and this year?
CH: “I think every play caller is a little bit different. Obviously, I understand what coach Sark wants. He feels comfortable enough to let me call it. So I understand what he wants for the offense but every play caller has his own idiosyncrasies, little characteristics that they have. So there may be little differences but we’ll try to stay within the format of the system.”
Will the terminology be different?
CH: “Well, one, coming down to the field, I’ve always liked being down there especially when you have a spotter like Tee Martin and you have four quarterbacks on staff that have great vision. It allows you to be able to talk to the players, so when you get in a critical situation, a la fourth-and-2 vs. Stanford, and you have to look at Marqise Lee in the eye and say, Hey the DB is going to play you in outside leverage for this motion, get ready to run this slant and you’re going to win with an inside release. You want to be down there to explain those things so you don’t have to be a third person. That, I think is going to be very valuable. And then I think to have Tee in the box like we had two years ago I think is invaluable. He just provides tremendous information that allows me to be very comfortable down on the field.”
Sark mentioned you had received other job offers. Was this added responsibility an incentive for you to stay at USC?
CH: “No, it was I’ve been with Cody Kessler for seven years, two years recruiting and five years as a player. I’ve been with this Trojan family and we’ve developed, we’ve finally made it through the sanctions. We finally got to a place where you think we could win a championship. Why would you leave? Whether it’s as an offensive coordinator helping do game plans or whether it’s as a play caller. You don’t leave that situation, you don’t leave USC for that. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I hope to stay here a long time.”
How hard was it to get USC to offer Kessler a scholarship, which happened just before he was set to commit to Washington?
CH: “I think what a great decision by Coach (Lane) Kiffin that year to take two quarterbacks, to have the foresight that Matt (Barkley) was an older player and we had to have, you have to always have a quarterback at this place. We were able to get two really talented kids in Max Wittek and Cody Kessler. Thank goodness that Cody chose to come here, never afraid of competition and look where he is today. That’s part of the reason he’s here, his ability to compete.”
How much easier will it be to call plays having Kessler?
CH: “It’s like we have a coach on the field, it’s like he’s reading my mind. He knows, whether it's myself or Coach Sark calling the play, he understands now exactly what we want and exactly why we’re calling the play. If we run a four vertical concept, it’s probably one high out there and we want to work certain individuals on that concept. Anytime you have a fifth-year senior, it's very beneficial for you as a play caller and an offensive coordinator.”
How much does the opportunity means to you and your career?
CH: “A lot. I thank Coach because he loves play calling. He loves to play call. But he also has a great vision for this university and for our football program. He wants to win a championship here. And to do that, he felt like he had to overview everything, not just scoring points and setting records. He had to look at the defense, special teams, look at personnel, make personnel changes, make in game adjustments when needed. And I think this is really going to help him and I’m glad that we’re going to it. I look forward to the opportunity and I’m really happy for him.”
Is there any thought to staying in the box?
CH: “If we were in a different situation and we didn’t have Tee Martin, we didn’t have Coach Tui (Marques Tuiasosopo), we didn’t have Coach Sark, you’re talking about four quarterbacks on a staff that have all seen and played the game. The information coming down is very simple. If we weren’t in that situation and I felt like I needed a better vision, I would be up. but I can’t tell you how valuable it is when you get in a critical situation at the end of the game when you can literally talk to the players and say this is exactly what I want you to do. That’s critical and thank goodness Tee, Tui and Coach Sark are here.”
How much communication do you think you'll have with Sark during the game?
CH: “We’ve always talked a bunch, even when Coach was calling the plays, and that will continue. It even happened in the mock game, just the alert that we’re on the thirty yard line, in four down territory on a third and five, it makes your mind shift to, hey we can run the ball here with Tre Madden rather than having to throw a pass and you hand it off and he gets the first down. Just that communication from him is invaluable plus he just has a sense too of when a shot should be taken. If he calls it, it’s geting called. So yes, we’ll be talking all the time.”
Was this scenario discussed when Sark got the job?
CH: “When he offered me the job, he goes, You know, going into year one I know how I want it called, Clay. I want you to learn how it goes, I want you to learn the exact system that I want, and I was fine with that. I wanted to be here and I wanted to be a part of the system. I wanted to see how he called plays. We’ve done that for a year now and he feels comfortable enough to move to the next step.”
Does anything change for you during the week?
CH: “Nothing changes during the week as far as the preparation. Just, you’re the play caller now and I’ve always treated it, for the five years I’ve been here and ever since I’ve been an offensive coach, is you prepare yourself like you’re going to call the game whether you’re going to call it or not.”
You were actually at Arkansas State for a brief time.
CH: “Fifty-seven days. I came on in December, Coach (Steve) Roberts hired me — wonderful place, wonderful town, really good town, really good people. But I got very fortunate and had the opportunity to come out to USC. They welcomed me with warm, open arms, we went through recruiting, signed a great class and then I got the opportunity to come out here and this is one of those great things you can’t pass up.”
