Clay Helton delivered some shocking and unfortunate news right now.
An MRI revealed Cam Smith has a torn ACL and he'll be out for the season.
Lamar Dawson also injured his shoulder vs. Colorado and will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. This ends Dawson's USC career.
"I feel sad for both kids because they brought so much to the table for us this season," Helton said. "Lamar, he had success at an early age and he had some injuries, to come back and have an extremely solid year for his senior season. I'm just so proud of his play and being very unselfish. With some talent at the position, he was just a total team player and really was playing on a very high level. So obviously we're going to miss him.
"And Cam Smith has been a difference-maker in several games. The one that stands out to me is Utah. To lose his playmaking ability obviously is a blow for us. I had a chance to talk to Cam today and I think he's in a great frame of mind. He's in a situation where he's going to come back from this and I got no doubt in my mind he's going to be an All-American here one day, he's that talented. I feel sorry for them, I feel bad for our team because those are two exceptional players who have led us through the entire season."
Helton mentioned Olajuwon Tucker, Uchenna Nwosu and Michael Hutchings as likely replacements at inside linebacker. He noted that Jabari Ruffin could move back to strong-side linebacker from rush end. He didn't mention Osa Masina by name -- I'm guessing because he backs up Anthony Sarao -- but I expect he too will see an increase in his workload in light of these injuries.
Viane Talamaivao has a torn meniscus and is day-to-day. "It's something that you can play with, but we'll have to see where he's at, rehab-wise," Helton said. Helton said they'll get Chris Brown ready to play.
An MRI revealed Cam Smith has a torn ACL and he'll be out for the season.
Lamar Dawson also injured his shoulder vs. Colorado and will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. This ends Dawson's USC career.
"I feel sad for both kids because they brought so much to the table for us this season," Helton said. "Lamar, he had success at an early age and he had some injuries, to come back and have an extremely solid year for his senior season. I'm just so proud of his play and being very unselfish. With some talent at the position, he was just a total team player and really was playing on a very high level. So obviously we're going to miss him.
"And Cam Smith has been a difference-maker in several games. The one that stands out to me is Utah. To lose his playmaking ability obviously is a blow for us. I had a chance to talk to Cam today and I think he's in a great frame of mind. He's in a situation where he's going to come back from this and I got no doubt in my mind he's going to be an All-American here one day, he's that talented. I feel sorry for them, I feel bad for our team because those are two exceptional players who have led us through the entire season."
Helton mentioned Olajuwon Tucker, Uchenna Nwosu and Michael Hutchings as likely replacements at inside linebacker. He noted that Jabari Ruffin could move back to strong-side linebacker from rush end. He didn't mention Osa Masina by name -- I'm guessing because he backs up Anthony Sarao -- but I expect he too will see an increase in his workload in light of these injuries.
Viane Talamaivao has a torn meniscus and is day-to-day. "It's something that you can play with, but we'll have to see where he's at, rehab-wise," Helton said. Helton said they'll get Chris Brown ready to play.
