- Jan 22, 2010
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When did West Virginia get so bad?
OFFICIAL 2020 COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFSEASON THREAD
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by Bobby Layne,
- Start date
- Jul 11, 2006
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When all their grand transfers graduated and Holgorseb left the cupboard absolutely bare. They’ve had fight in them in a few games this year though, they’re just 2 years away like Baylor was. Neal Brown is a good coach.
- Apr 24, 2005
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I hate that I actually want UF to win this game.Only because the UGA fanbase meltdown would be 100Xs bigger.
- Aug 22, 2013
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Holgo knew what he was walking away from. They would have gotten rid of him this season if he stayed.
I don’t think u can win at WVU without taking a boatload of JCs and other transfers. WPA ain’t pumping them out like they used to, it’s the reason why Pitt is never going to be Pitt again either.
From what I’ve heard Rhule has done a good job making inroads in the state with HS coaches. Neal Brown is not going to have the same luxury.
I don’t think u can win at WVU without taking a boatload of JCs and other transfers. WPA ain’t pumping them out like they used to, it’s the reason why Pitt is never going to be Pitt again either.
From what I’ve heard Rhule has done a good job making inroads in the state with HS coaches. Neal Brown is not going to have the same luxury.
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- Feb 8, 2009
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- May 30, 2006
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All that hype about dudes with ties to Urban only to end up with a guy who has none... Uh oh.
- Jul 11, 2006
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SC boards are on fire with “who?!” Gifs. To make matters worse James Franklin is back-channeling with people about mutual interest which is making everyone nervous Urban isn’t coming.
dacomeup
Supporter
- Jan 20, 2006
- 26,588
- 37,535
Bohn is a really good AD from all accounts.
- Jul 11, 2006
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Yeah, neither I nor the people complaining are qualified to know either way so I’ll trust Folt’s judgment. He does have Ohio ties... ?
- May 1, 2011
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technically, Urban does have ties to Bohn. Both he and his wife are alumni's of UC. Urbans kid plays baseball at UC.
Urban is a wealthy alumni with ties to the current athletic department (his son) and I'm sure Urban has spoken to this guy many times about making a donation to his alma mater and has some familiarity with the guy.
Let me live. Lets just go with my narrative, please.
Urban is a wealthy alumni with ties to the current athletic department (his son) and I'm sure Urban has spoken to this guy many times about making a donation to his alma mater and has some familiarity with the guy.
Let me live. Lets just go with my narrative, please.
dacomeup
Supporter
- Jan 20, 2006
- 26,588
- 37,535
Get your fan-fiction on, go ahead.I'm not sure that Bohn is that connected to Urban, if, at all. But he made excellent football and basketball hires at UC. That alone should have y'all encouraged.
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- Jul 11, 2006
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He hired Fickell at Urban's urging. Make of that what you will, good or bad
It's being said the conversations with Urban are independent of the AD hiring, Urban just made it known who his preferred AD would be. Urban's people are said to have concerns with SC's finances and have suggested some hires that the athletics department as currently constituted is balking at. There are people worried Urban wants to come in as essentially the shadow-AD and as a result don't want him hired.
It's being said the conversations with Urban are independent of the AD hiring, Urban just made it known who his preferred AD would be. Urban's people are said to have concerns with SC's finances and have suggested some hires that the athletics department as currently constituted is balking at. There are people worried Urban wants to come in as essentially the shadow-AD and as a result don't want him hired.
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- Jul 11, 2006
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Somewhat off topic: I wonder what other schools use analytics to project coaching hires:
https://gobearcats.com/news/2016/12/14/KOCH_Inside_the_Search_Which_Brought_Luke_Fickell_To_UC.aspx
The meeting occurred last Thursday, December 8, two days before UC announced that Fickell, 43, had been hired to replace Tommy Tuberville, who resigned on Dec. 4 after four years as the Bearcats' head coach.
But long before Bohn interviewed Fickell, he and his staff had done extensive research on Fickell, including the use of data analytics to vet all 12 of the candidates on Bohn's original list. Bohn said he had never used such research before during a coaching search, but he decided to tap into the expertise of a UC graduate who had a past relationship with the athletic department and expressed a desire to help in the search.
"Having a University of Cincinnati graduate expressing a desire to help us was intriguing," Bohn said.
According to Brandon Sosna, Bohn's chief of staff, a simulation on each candidate starting with the personnel on the current UC roster was run 100,000 times to produce a four-year projection of how the team would perform.
"There are a few characteristics of coaches that are consistent no matter where they go or what they do," Sosna said. "Things like turnover margin tend to follow coaches. Penalties per game tends to follow coaches, and tempo. You're either an up-tempo coach or you slow down but you don't tend to change over time."
Naturally, since Fickell is a defensive coach, "We were able to assess the defense a lot better than we would his offense," Sosna said. "But there were some core assumptions based on what we knew we could assess, that we would be running a version of an up-tempo spread offense."
The computer analysis projected UC's win-loss record, points for and against, and where the Bearcats would finish in conference play based on what is currently known about UC's schedules during the next four years. Sosna said Fickell gave the Bearcats their best chance over a four-year period to win a conference championship at about an 80 percent probability.
Bohn's early conversations with Fickell included assurance from him that he would run an up-tempo, spread offense.
"The very first question we asked him was, we know all about you defensively, but we want to talk about offense," Bohn said. "He was excited to talk about that. That excited us that he understood he wanted to be up-tempo, spread."
https://gobearcats.com/news/2016/12/14/KOCH_Inside_the_Search_Which_Brought_Luke_Fickell_To_UC.aspx
The meeting occurred last Thursday, December 8, two days before UC announced that Fickell, 43, had been hired to replace Tommy Tuberville, who resigned on Dec. 4 after four years as the Bearcats' head coach.
But long before Bohn interviewed Fickell, he and his staff had done extensive research on Fickell, including the use of data analytics to vet all 12 of the candidates on Bohn's original list. Bohn said he had never used such research before during a coaching search, but he decided to tap into the expertise of a UC graduate who had a past relationship with the athletic department and expressed a desire to help in the search.
"Having a University of Cincinnati graduate expressing a desire to help us was intriguing," Bohn said.
According to Brandon Sosna, Bohn's chief of staff, a simulation on each candidate starting with the personnel on the current UC roster was run 100,000 times to produce a four-year projection of how the team would perform.
"There are a few characteristics of coaches that are consistent no matter where they go or what they do," Sosna said. "Things like turnover margin tend to follow coaches. Penalties per game tends to follow coaches, and tempo. You're either an up-tempo coach or you slow down but you don't tend to change over time."
Naturally, since Fickell is a defensive coach, "We were able to assess the defense a lot better than we would his offense," Sosna said. "But there were some core assumptions based on what we knew we could assess, that we would be running a version of an up-tempo spread offense."
The computer analysis projected UC's win-loss record, points for and against, and where the Bearcats would finish in conference play based on what is currently known about UC's schedules during the next four years. Sosna said Fickell gave the Bearcats their best chance over a four-year period to win a conference championship at about an 80 percent probability.
Bohn's early conversations with Fickell included assurance from him that he would run an up-tempo, spread offense.
"The very first question we asked him was, we know all about you defensively, but we want to talk about offense," Bohn said. "He was excited to talk about that. That excited us that he understood he wanted to be up-tempo, spread."
- Jan 18, 2006
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I want Urban...
But as long as Helton isn't the coach anymore I'm good.
But as long as Helton isn't the coach anymore I'm good.
- May 1, 2011
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I'll take Lisa Leslie if it means Helton is gone
langfor5
Supporter
- Nov 24, 2006
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Not to break the SC talk in here...first time since probably 2008-09 that at least the state of KS has seen interest in a KU vs KSU game. They could potentially sell out Memorial Stadium, or at least have 45k+ since 2011.
Thank you for the break. Now back to your regular CF talk.
Thank you for the break. Now back to your regular CF talk.
- Jan 22, 2010
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bump
- Jul 11, 2006
- 33,459
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- May 1, 2011
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lets us live man. We've been punished far too long.
- Jan 18, 2006
- 40,371
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Ok
- Feb 12, 2005
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Wrong thread...
- Jan 18, 2006
- 40,371
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Anybody got access to this? Anything worth a damn here?
The War Room - Inside the USC Trojan football program
247sports.com
dacomeup
Supporter
- Jan 20, 2006
- 26,588
- 37,535
Yea, y'all should be excited about this one. Urban or not.
.
Official Visitor
USC had two official visitors lined up for this weekend, but as reported by 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG five-star cornerback Elias Ricks canceled his trip just a week after scheduling it with the Trojans' coaching staff. We will get more into that below, but Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne four-star cornerback Darion Green-Warren is still scheduled to officially visit USC this weekend.
USC has been the perceived leader for the All-American cornerback since a huge unofficial visit in the summer. The Trojans will have a great chance to add to their lead this weekend with the official. But programs like Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State have been pressing hard for Green-Warren and should not be ignored, especially the Wolverines.
Green-Warren will be joined by a host of local recruits. Corona (Calif.) Centennial four-star wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. will be in attendance for another game, and there is a chance Upland (Calif.) five-star linebacker Justin Flowe shows up as well, but that is not set in stone.
Don't call it a comeback
So the news dropped last Friday that Ricks was canceling his USC official visit for the Oregon weekend. We added in our addendum that the decision matched our intel that the visit was on life support a week out. But a source informed us that Ricks is expected to be flying back to Los Angeles this weekend because he is so homesick, which we reported in the War Room last Friday.
So no official? What about an unofficial visit? Well, as we noted there is a rift in the Ricks' camp, so at this point, we don't expect Ricks to be in attendance for the Trojans' game against Oregon. If he does show for the game, he will be doing it against a direct order to not attend. As we noted, the family has invested a lot in the cornerback's commitment to LSU, from enrolling him at IMG in Florida and purchasing a house in Louisiana, which has been confirmed by multiple sources.
Urban and then everyone else
Projecting a recruiting class based on hypothetical head coaching hires is almost impossible. First, Clay Helton is the head football coach at USC, and with respect to that, asking about hypothetical replacements to recruits is disrespectful to the current staff. Second, most recruits do no follow coaching moves nearly as close as the fan bases do. For instance, there are recruits in Southern California that have very little reference for James Franklin, who recruits the East Coast and Midwest for Penn State.
However, there is one name that truly does defy such hypothetical uncertainties. In the past two months, Urban Meyer’s name is the only one that parents of recruits and recruits themselves approach us about. When top players locally say USC is in the “wait and see” category of their recruitment, they often follow up off record with questions about Meyer.
As one five-star recruit said recently, “Yeah, Urban Meyer at USC is a whole different rodeo.” That pretty much sums up how a handful of the top recruits in Southern California feel. More importantly, that is how their parents feel. Whether it be Justin Flowe, Johnny Wilson, Bryce Young, Bijan Robinson or Gary Bryant Jr., the families of these recruits want to have USC as a viable option. Many of them have diehard Trojan fans in their families.
The real question is; if USC does not hire Meyer, what is the potential upside for the 2020 recruiting class? Again, pretty hard to speculate. In the case of someone like James Franklin, who only has two commits at Penn State from west of the Mississippi, not nearly as high. Franklin is noted as a good recruiter by many, and PSU has the nation’s No. 11 recruiting class nationally with 27 commits. However, Dec. 18 comes quickly when you have almost no West Coast ties. In the grand scheme of things, the 2020 class shouldn’t be a determining factor when it comes to who USC hires, if President Carol Folt does fire Helton. At the same time, expectations have to be held in check.
Is USC going Greene?
For an AD search that had absolutely no leaks for weeks, the dam burst Thursday with rumors inside and outside of USC all saying the same thing. “USC has its athletic director . . . and it’s [Auburn’s] Allen Greene.”
Last week, BRO publisher Tracy Pierson reported that Greene was a candidate for the job. However, when we reached out to sources at USC about Greene, that name was more or less shot down as one being floated around the administration as a possibility. Now, there is a strange coincidence here worth noting. Allen Greene is the current Auburn Athletic Director, while USC also has an Alan Green serving on the search committee for a new athletic director.
If Greene is indeed the choice as the Trojans' next athletic director, it's a bit alarming that word would leak across town before folks in the USC administration knew anything about it. As we said last week, possible, but not probable. What makes it possible is that UCLA is also looking for an athletic director to replace Dan Guerrero. Word leaking through the UCLA administration would suggest Greene tipped the Bruin search committee off about his interest in the USC job, while discussing the opening in Westwood.
Our sources have indicated that Greene does not have the decision-making power at Auburn he would like to have, which is the main reason why his name is floating around for other AD jobs. And there is a specific connection to USC and new President Carol Folt.
For those wanting to connect the dots through Ohio State to Urban Meyer, there might have been an even stronger connection that we didn’t think of – from Notre Dame through North Carolina. Because UNC is where Folt worked closely with AD Bubba Cunningham, who would have had a shared time in South Bend with the former Irish baseball player Greene.
So were we looking in the wrong place if all the tipsters have it right and Allen Greene is the guy for USC? Or is there more to a USC/Cunningham/Meyer/Greene connection than we realized? Well, just maybe there is. Here’s a 2004 New York Times story when it looked like Meyer was about to leave Utah, where he went 21-2 in two seasons, for a return to Notre Dame – or maybe Florida.
Here’s what 18-year Notre Dame athletic staffer Bubba Cunningham, then the AD at Ball State, had to say about one Urban Meyer, whose family he said he’d got to know well: "I think Urban fit in well at Notre Dame. He and his family liked South Bend. He's very personable. He's intense and he's competitive. I think he's demonstrated success wherever he's been. He was always innovative and had a vision for where we were headed."
So if it is Greene to USC, what we’re being told is that it will have no impact on the Urban Meyer decision. That was made long ago. And from the above quote, we’re guessing with Bubba’s blessing. So everywhere you look, there’s an Urban Meyer “connect-the-dot” moment. Maybe more than one. While Greene, an outfielder, was playing baseball at Notre Dame, Meyer was an assistant football coach there. And the two share a baseball connection. Greene, a ninth-round Yankees draft pick, played four years in the minors. Meyer, a shortstop drafted in the 13th round by the Braves, played two years in the minors. So there’s that.
There’s also this. Greene, if he is USC’s next AD, could be the fastest-rising AD maybe ever. He was named Buffalo’s AD in 2015, Auburn’s in 2018 and potentially USC’s in 2019. Three jobs, two of them major, in less than five years for the 42-year-old Seattle native who grew up in Bellevue (Wash.) and is an alum of Seattle’s Bishop O’Dea High School. With a degree in finance from Notre Dame, he spent two years fundraising for Athletics and five years in Compliance. He then did business development and fundraising for Ole Miss before moving on to Buffalo as Deputy AD as the program jumped to the top of the Mid-American Conference heap in football and basketball.
Something in the air
After nearly two years of waiting for significant changes in the USC athletic department and Trojan football program, it appears that something significant is finally on the horizon. We’ve talked to numerous sources over the past several months and most of what we have heard was simply “business as usual.” Now, that tune is starting to change.
There have been a few signs that hinted at change like the football awards dinner being moved up to right after the UCLA game or Clay Helton’s Twitter account going dormant for the past couple of weeks. But now we are starting to hear things from within the John McKay Center that are indicating that changes are actually coming. Things like holding regularly scheduled meetings excluding certain people that typically haven’t been excluded or changes in the ways prospects have been contacted over social media.
What has hurt USC athletics the most has been the concept of “business as usual” and the good thing is that it appears that concept is starting to change.
Playing the replacement game
Clay Helton is the head football coach of the USC Trojans, but as we’ve mentioned before here in the War Room, there is constant talk about his job being in jeopardy. No trusted sources have given a certain number of games lost or won that would guarantee a move by the university, but most have acknowledged that Helton is not as safe as he was a year ago at this time.
While many Trojan fans hold out hope that USC will make a pitch to Meyer, there is another name floating around with sources outside the university. More than a month ago, a good source at another Pac-12 school mentioned that Penn State's James Franklin was a serious candidate for the head coaching job at USC. Now, with such information, we have to be careful floating names along that may have no traction in reality. Coaches often use job openings at other schools to get raises from their current employer. See Jim Mora for example.
However, the talk that Franklin is both interested in the USC job and being seriously considered by USC has gained traction with more than one source now. There are still a myriad of rumors involving Meyer, but right now, Franklin’s name is getting a lot of mention from some solid sources. In fact, Franklin’s name has even got around to some USC recruiting targets. One target’s father asked Franklin directly about pursuing the head coaching job at USC if it became vacant a few weeks ago. According to this source, Franklin laughed off the idea, but also did not deny having an interest in coaching at USC outright. Take that for what it’s worth.
Checking out this week’s poll-vaulters
It’s the oddest thing how the two polls treat this USC football team that has won a couple of games in a row, almost caught Notre Dame at the wire three games ago on the road and has the lone win in the Pac-12 over a Utah team ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll. Speaking of the AP Poll, USC has been noticed again this week, accumulating 11 points and joining the “among others” category at No. 31 behind Texas, Navy, UCF, Washington, Texas A&M, and ahead of Louisiana Tech – no, really, Louisiana Tech, Indiana – no, really, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
And yeah, it’s hard to imagine USC in the same paragraph with those teams much less behind ranked teams this week like Baylor, Minnesota, SMU, Cincinnati, Appalachian State, Boise State, Kansas State, Wake Forest, Memphis and San Diego State? How USC has fallen that it's thrilling to be included in the “others getting votes” that a program with USC’s history, geography, tradition and resources is below those folks.
But at least USC earns a mention in the AP’s media poll. The Coaches Poll is far worse. From this year’s panel of 65 coaches that range from the just-fired Chris Ash of Rutgers to Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, USC earned zero votes this week. Six Pac-12 coaches are among the voters that shut the Trojans out including USC’s own Clay Helton. And Clay isn’t the only Helton on the panel. His brother and former USC assistant Tyson, now the head coach at Western Kentucky, is also among the voters.
And even though Clay has been saying that there’s “something special” in store for this USC team that has “control of its own destiny” which not only includes a Pac-12 South title but a Pac-12 championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl, not a single vote from the Helton brothers, or any of their Pac-12 brothers, including Whittingham, whose Utes lost to the Trojans. So when we scan the “others” receiving votes from the coaches but not in the Top 25, we see a longer list than the AP offers. We see San Diego State, Navy, Central Florida, Louisiana Tech, Indiana, Texas A&M, Washington, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, UAB, Iowa State, Arizona State, Air Force, Wyoming and Virginia.
Again, not one program there that should be in the same breath with USC. Maybe not even according to this year’s records despite the Trojans’ ugly losses to BYU and Washington. But there it is, a shutout from the coaches – including the Heltons. Not exactly a vote of confidence for where this program seems to be headed this season. Although every other team in America that has even a hint of hope seems to make the list. “Our goals are not to be ranked,” Clay said Thursday.
But give the Trojans “another Top 10 win” and he’s there. “If we win this game, I kinda’ like us . . . I like us a lot,” Clay said.
SoCal’s migrating Ducks
Several lists here for your perusal that could be of interest for the Oregon game. Which will matter more Saturday? Let’s start with the 21 Oregon players from Fresno south. Here they are: Mykael Wright, Antelope Valley; Thomas Graham Jr., Rancho Cucamonga: Mycah Pittman, Calabasas; Sean Dollars, Rancho Cucamonga; Kayvon Thibodeaux, South Central Los Angeles; Deommodore Lenoir, Los Angeles; CJ Verdell, Chula Vista; Steve Stephens, Fresno; Jayvaun Wilson, Valencia; Kyle Buckner, Eastvale; Travis Dye, Norco; Jacob Breeland, Trabuco Hills; Jaylon Redd, Rancho Cucamonga; Jordan Adeyemi-John, Valencia HS; Troy Dye, Norco; Henry Katleman, Topanga; KJ Maduike, Santa Clarita; Blake Maimone, Thousand Oaks; Mase Funa, Anaheim; Gary Baker, Upland; Andrew Faoliu, Santa Ana.
Here’s USC’s long list that matters
From this week’s USC Media Notes, here’s the list of “Injuries” for the Trojans with games missed in parentheses: INJURIES: Jordan Iosefa, knee (
; Solomon Tuliaupupu, foot (; Jacob Lichtenstein, knee/calf (: Clayton Bradley, hand (; JT Daniels, knee (7); Eli’jah Winston, ankle (6); Andrew Vorhees, ankle (6); Abdul-Malik McClain, knee/shoulder (4/1); Christian Rector, ankle (3); Olaijah Griffin, back (2); Josh Falo, ankle (2); Max Williams, knee (2); Talanoa Hufanga, concussion/shoulder (1/1); Vavae Malepeai, knee (2); Palaie Gaoteote, ankle (2); Kedon Slovis, concussion (1); Greg Johnson, shoulder (1); Isaac Taylor-Stuart, concussion (1); Markese Stepp, ankle (1); Stephen Carr, hamstring (1); Munir McClain, knee (1); Drake Jackson, ankle (1); Liam Jimmons, concussion (1) and CB Chris Steele (1), knee. By our count, that’s 24 injured Trojans who have missed a total of 80 games this season. So by the numbers, is that advantage USC?
And now a bonus list for Saturday
Just because we want to be thorough here, we have another list just for this game and courtesy of USC’s Media Notes: From the last time these two teams played each other, in 2016, there are just 20 Trojans left on the roster from that squad – and just four coaches – Clay Helton and assistants John Baxter, Clancy Pendergast and Johnny Nansen. A lot of stuff has happened at both programs since 2016.
The 20 surviving Trojans: Matt Bayle, Clayton Bradley, Michael Brown, Jacob Daniel, Dominic Davis, Chris Edmondson, Matt Fink, Thomas Fitts, Richard Hagestad, John Houston Jr., Jordan Iosefa, Liam Jimmons, Velus Jones Jr., Vavae Malepeai, Frank Martin II, Connor Murphy, Michael Pittman Jr., C.J. Pollard, Christian Rector and WR Tyler Vaughns.
Of those, Daniel, Davis (28 rush yards, two catches), Houston (two tackles), Iosefa, Murphy, Pittman (four catches, one punt return) and Rector (one tackle) saw action. But there is an add-on here since three current USC graduate assistants -- Chris Hawkins, Michael Hutchings and Viane Talamaivao -- were all on that Trojan roster, as was defensive intern Christian Herrera.
New running back for Saturday?
Don't be surprised if you see Velus Jones Jr. get some work on the backfield against the Ducks. We spotted Jones Jr. doing the fumble recovery punishment drill with none other than Mike Jinks. Jones Jr. played a bit of running back during his high school days at Saraland.
Surprise surprise
When USC won the coin toss and elected to receive the kick, offensive line coach Tim Drevno looked around and realized he was still missing one of his starters. Drew Richmond was in the locker room with the doctors and did not take the field until just about the same time the game was beginning. So Drevno told veteran offensive tackle Austin Jackson to inform Liam Jimmons he was entering the game to make his first career start and to tell Jalen McKenzie he was bumping out to right tackle in place of Richmond.
After USC’s three-play jolt of an opening drive, Jimmons and McKenzie came to the sideline telling Drevno they didn’t know they were going to move spots.
“I said, ‘I didn’t know either. It’s a dang mystery!” Drevno said with a chuckle this week. “It was fun that we had success in that drive and it was neat what they did [making the last second adjustment].”
Productive Jimminator
Richmond was back in the lineup the next three drives before it was decided the illness he was dealing with was too much for him to try to play through. Richmond’s three drives were three of of USC’s worst of the night. There’s not necessarily a direct correlation, but the Trojans threw an interception and had back-to-back three and outs. During the three drives, USC averaged 4.2 yards per play. When Jimmons was in the game the Trojans more than doubled that output, gaining 8.9 yards per play.
Because of the small sample size, it would be unwise to draw any specific conclusions from that data, but when we decided to dig into the data a little bit, we found that the offense has been at its best this season when Jimmons has been on the field, averaging 8.7 yards per play on his 96 offensive snaps (which could still be considered a small sample size).
Here’s a look at how productive/unproductive the team has been on offense and defense when each individual has been on the field (with the obvious caveat that the more snaps a player has, the more likely he is to regress/progress toward the mean):
Snaps YPP
71 - Liam Jimmons 96 8.7
23 - Kenan Christon 66 8.4
1 - Velus Jones Jr. 32 7.8
2 - Devon Williams 10 7.7
27 - Quincy Jountti 16 7.5
82 - Jude Wolfe 15 7.5
15 - Drake London 212 7.1
21 - Tyler Vaughns 513 6.9
6 - Michael Pittman 520 6.8
8 - Amon-Ra St. Brown 486 6.8
9 - Kedon Slovis 364 6.8
62 - Brett Neilon 535 6.8
73 - Austin Jackson 535 6.8
75 - Alijah Vera-Tucker 535 6.8
19 - Matt Fink 127 6.6
70 - Jalen McKenzie 476 6.6
83 - Josh Falo 48 6.6
13 - Munir McClain 19 6.5
30 - Markese Stepp 79 6.5
53 - Drew Richmond 452 6.5
84 - Erik Krommenhoek 284 6.4
7 - Stephen Carr 156 6.2
18 - JT Daniels 50 6.2
29 - Vavae Malepeai 219 6.2
80 - John Jackson III 26 5.5
72 - Andrew Vorhees 52 4.8
52 - Jacob Daniel 6 4.6
57 - Justin Dedich 6 4.6
65 - Frank Martin II 6 4.6
68 - Liam Douglass 6 4.6
17 - Zach Wilson 3 3.5
Defense:
Snaps YPP
42 - Abdul-Malik McClain 3 0.0
24 - Max Williams 83 3.9
34 - Eli'jah Winston 16 3.9
91 - Brandon Pili 260 4.6
26 - Kana'i Mauga 198 5.0
90 - Connor Murphy 106 5.1
96 - Caleb Tremblay 187 5.3
25 - Briton Allen 25 5.5
15 - Talanoa Hufanga 369 5.6
22 - Dorian Hewett 53 5.6
7 - Chase Williams 287 5.7
8 - Chris Steele 301 5.7
10 - John Houston Jr. 561 5.7
21 - Isaiah Pola-Mao 546 5.7
31 - Hunter Echols 216 5.7
99 - Drake Jackson 359 5.7
1 - Palaie Gaoteote 414 5.8
2 - Olaijah Griffin 369 5.8
6 - Isaac Taylor-Stuart 379 5.9
51 - Marlon Tuipulotu 348 5.9
50 - Nick Figueroa 109 6.0
78 - Jay Tufele 397 6.5
9 - Greg Johnson 348 6.6
23 - Kaulana Makaula 59 6.8
89 - Christian Rector 274 6.9
41 - Juliano Falaniko 54 7.5
13 - Adonis Otey 19 7.8
30 - Jordan McMillan 16 8.0
28 - C.J. Pollard 37 8.1
45 - Maninoa Tufono 15 8.5
19 - Ralen Goforth 30 8.6
79 - De'jon Benton 17 9.7
14 - Jayden Williams 22 9.9
47 - Stanley Ta'ufo'ou 12 9.9
95 - Trevor Trout 5 10.6
18 - Raymond Scott 7 14.0
Official Visitor
USC had two official visitors lined up for this weekend, but as reported by 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG five-star cornerback Elias Ricks canceled his trip just a week after scheduling it with the Trojans' coaching staff. We will get more into that below, but Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne four-star cornerback Darion Green-Warren is still scheduled to officially visit USC this weekend.
USC has been the perceived leader for the All-American cornerback since a huge unofficial visit in the summer. The Trojans will have a great chance to add to their lead this weekend with the official. But programs like Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State have been pressing hard for Green-Warren and should not be ignored, especially the Wolverines.
Green-Warren will be joined by a host of local recruits. Corona (Calif.) Centennial four-star wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. will be in attendance for another game, and there is a chance Upland (Calif.) five-star linebacker Justin Flowe shows up as well, but that is not set in stone.
Don't call it a comeback
So the news dropped last Friday that Ricks was canceling his USC official visit for the Oregon weekend. We added in our addendum that the decision matched our intel that the visit was on life support a week out. But a source informed us that Ricks is expected to be flying back to Los Angeles this weekend because he is so homesick, which we reported in the War Room last Friday.
So no official? What about an unofficial visit? Well, as we noted there is a rift in the Ricks' camp, so at this point, we don't expect Ricks to be in attendance for the Trojans' game against Oregon. If he does show for the game, he will be doing it against a direct order to not attend. As we noted, the family has invested a lot in the cornerback's commitment to LSU, from enrolling him at IMG in Florida and purchasing a house in Louisiana, which has been confirmed by multiple sources.
Urban and then everyone else
Projecting a recruiting class based on hypothetical head coaching hires is almost impossible. First, Clay Helton is the head football coach at USC, and with respect to that, asking about hypothetical replacements to recruits is disrespectful to the current staff. Second, most recruits do no follow coaching moves nearly as close as the fan bases do. For instance, there are recruits in Southern California that have very little reference for James Franklin, who recruits the East Coast and Midwest for Penn State.
However, there is one name that truly does defy such hypothetical uncertainties. In the past two months, Urban Meyer’s name is the only one that parents of recruits and recruits themselves approach us about. When top players locally say USC is in the “wait and see” category of their recruitment, they often follow up off record with questions about Meyer.
As one five-star recruit said recently, “Yeah, Urban Meyer at USC is a whole different rodeo.” That pretty much sums up how a handful of the top recruits in Southern California feel. More importantly, that is how their parents feel. Whether it be Justin Flowe, Johnny Wilson, Bryce Young, Bijan Robinson or Gary Bryant Jr., the families of these recruits want to have USC as a viable option. Many of them have diehard Trojan fans in their families.
The real question is; if USC does not hire Meyer, what is the potential upside for the 2020 recruiting class? Again, pretty hard to speculate. In the case of someone like James Franklin, who only has two commits at Penn State from west of the Mississippi, not nearly as high. Franklin is noted as a good recruiter by many, and PSU has the nation’s No. 11 recruiting class nationally with 27 commits. However, Dec. 18 comes quickly when you have almost no West Coast ties. In the grand scheme of things, the 2020 class shouldn’t be a determining factor when it comes to who USC hires, if President Carol Folt does fire Helton. At the same time, expectations have to be held in check.
Is USC going Greene?
For an AD search that had absolutely no leaks for weeks, the dam burst Thursday with rumors inside and outside of USC all saying the same thing. “USC has its athletic director . . . and it’s [Auburn’s] Allen Greene.”
Last week, BRO publisher Tracy Pierson reported that Greene was a candidate for the job. However, when we reached out to sources at USC about Greene, that name was more or less shot down as one being floated around the administration as a possibility. Now, there is a strange coincidence here worth noting. Allen Greene is the current Auburn Athletic Director, while USC also has an Alan Green serving on the search committee for a new athletic director.
If Greene is indeed the choice as the Trojans' next athletic director, it's a bit alarming that word would leak across town before folks in the USC administration knew anything about it. As we said last week, possible, but not probable. What makes it possible is that UCLA is also looking for an athletic director to replace Dan Guerrero. Word leaking through the UCLA administration would suggest Greene tipped the Bruin search committee off about his interest in the USC job, while discussing the opening in Westwood.
Our sources have indicated that Greene does not have the decision-making power at Auburn he would like to have, which is the main reason why his name is floating around for other AD jobs. And there is a specific connection to USC and new President Carol Folt.
For those wanting to connect the dots through Ohio State to Urban Meyer, there might have been an even stronger connection that we didn’t think of – from Notre Dame through North Carolina. Because UNC is where Folt worked closely with AD Bubba Cunningham, who would have had a shared time in South Bend with the former Irish baseball player Greene.
So were we looking in the wrong place if all the tipsters have it right and Allen Greene is the guy for USC? Or is there more to a USC/Cunningham/Meyer/Greene connection than we realized? Well, just maybe there is. Here’s a 2004 New York Times story when it looked like Meyer was about to leave Utah, where he went 21-2 in two seasons, for a return to Notre Dame – or maybe Florida.
Here’s what 18-year Notre Dame athletic staffer Bubba Cunningham, then the AD at Ball State, had to say about one Urban Meyer, whose family he said he’d got to know well: "I think Urban fit in well at Notre Dame. He and his family liked South Bend. He's very personable. He's intense and he's competitive. I think he's demonstrated success wherever he's been. He was always innovative and had a vision for where we were headed."
So if it is Greene to USC, what we’re being told is that it will have no impact on the Urban Meyer decision. That was made long ago. And from the above quote, we’re guessing with Bubba’s blessing. So everywhere you look, there’s an Urban Meyer “connect-the-dot” moment. Maybe more than one. While Greene, an outfielder, was playing baseball at Notre Dame, Meyer was an assistant football coach there. And the two share a baseball connection. Greene, a ninth-round Yankees draft pick, played four years in the minors. Meyer, a shortstop drafted in the 13th round by the Braves, played two years in the minors. So there’s that.
There’s also this. Greene, if he is USC’s next AD, could be the fastest-rising AD maybe ever. He was named Buffalo’s AD in 2015, Auburn’s in 2018 and potentially USC’s in 2019. Three jobs, two of them major, in less than five years for the 42-year-old Seattle native who grew up in Bellevue (Wash.) and is an alum of Seattle’s Bishop O’Dea High School. With a degree in finance from Notre Dame, he spent two years fundraising for Athletics and five years in Compliance. He then did business development and fundraising for Ole Miss before moving on to Buffalo as Deputy AD as the program jumped to the top of the Mid-American Conference heap in football and basketball.
Something in the air
After nearly two years of waiting for significant changes in the USC athletic department and Trojan football program, it appears that something significant is finally on the horizon. We’ve talked to numerous sources over the past several months and most of what we have heard was simply “business as usual.” Now, that tune is starting to change.
There have been a few signs that hinted at change like the football awards dinner being moved up to right after the UCLA game or Clay Helton’s Twitter account going dormant for the past couple of weeks. But now we are starting to hear things from within the John McKay Center that are indicating that changes are actually coming. Things like holding regularly scheduled meetings excluding certain people that typically haven’t been excluded or changes in the ways prospects have been contacted over social media.
What has hurt USC athletics the most has been the concept of “business as usual” and the good thing is that it appears that concept is starting to change.
Playing the replacement game
Clay Helton is the head football coach of the USC Trojans, but as we’ve mentioned before here in the War Room, there is constant talk about his job being in jeopardy. No trusted sources have given a certain number of games lost or won that would guarantee a move by the university, but most have acknowledged that Helton is not as safe as he was a year ago at this time.
While many Trojan fans hold out hope that USC will make a pitch to Meyer, there is another name floating around with sources outside the university. More than a month ago, a good source at another Pac-12 school mentioned that Penn State's James Franklin was a serious candidate for the head coaching job at USC. Now, with such information, we have to be careful floating names along that may have no traction in reality. Coaches often use job openings at other schools to get raises from their current employer. See Jim Mora for example.
However, the talk that Franklin is both interested in the USC job and being seriously considered by USC has gained traction with more than one source now. There are still a myriad of rumors involving Meyer, but right now, Franklin’s name is getting a lot of mention from some solid sources. In fact, Franklin’s name has even got around to some USC recruiting targets. One target’s father asked Franklin directly about pursuing the head coaching job at USC if it became vacant a few weeks ago. According to this source, Franklin laughed off the idea, but also did not deny having an interest in coaching at USC outright. Take that for what it’s worth.
Checking out this week’s poll-vaulters
It’s the oddest thing how the two polls treat this USC football team that has won a couple of games in a row, almost caught Notre Dame at the wire three games ago on the road and has the lone win in the Pac-12 over a Utah team ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll. Speaking of the AP Poll, USC has been noticed again this week, accumulating 11 points and joining the “among others” category at No. 31 behind Texas, Navy, UCF, Washington, Texas A&M, and ahead of Louisiana Tech – no, really, Louisiana Tech, Indiana – no, really, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
And yeah, it’s hard to imagine USC in the same paragraph with those teams much less behind ranked teams this week like Baylor, Minnesota, SMU, Cincinnati, Appalachian State, Boise State, Kansas State, Wake Forest, Memphis and San Diego State? How USC has fallen that it's thrilling to be included in the “others getting votes” that a program with USC’s history, geography, tradition and resources is below those folks.
But at least USC earns a mention in the AP’s media poll. The Coaches Poll is far worse. From this year’s panel of 65 coaches that range from the just-fired Chris Ash of Rutgers to Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, USC earned zero votes this week. Six Pac-12 coaches are among the voters that shut the Trojans out including USC’s own Clay Helton. And Clay isn’t the only Helton on the panel. His brother and former USC assistant Tyson, now the head coach at Western Kentucky, is also among the voters.
And even though Clay has been saying that there’s “something special” in store for this USC team that has “control of its own destiny” which not only includes a Pac-12 South title but a Pac-12 championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl, not a single vote from the Helton brothers, or any of their Pac-12 brothers, including Whittingham, whose Utes lost to the Trojans. So when we scan the “others” receiving votes from the coaches but not in the Top 25, we see a longer list than the AP offers. We see San Diego State, Navy, Central Florida, Louisiana Tech, Indiana, Texas A&M, Washington, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, UAB, Iowa State, Arizona State, Air Force, Wyoming and Virginia.
Again, not one program there that should be in the same breath with USC. Maybe not even according to this year’s records despite the Trojans’ ugly losses to BYU and Washington. But there it is, a shutout from the coaches – including the Heltons. Not exactly a vote of confidence for where this program seems to be headed this season. Although every other team in America that has even a hint of hope seems to make the list. “Our goals are not to be ranked,” Clay said Thursday.
But give the Trojans “another Top 10 win” and he’s there. “If we win this game, I kinda’ like us . . . I like us a lot,” Clay said.
SoCal’s migrating Ducks
Several lists here for your perusal that could be of interest for the Oregon game. Which will matter more Saturday? Let’s start with the 21 Oregon players from Fresno south. Here they are: Mykael Wright, Antelope Valley; Thomas Graham Jr., Rancho Cucamonga: Mycah Pittman, Calabasas; Sean Dollars, Rancho Cucamonga; Kayvon Thibodeaux, South Central Los Angeles; Deommodore Lenoir, Los Angeles; CJ Verdell, Chula Vista; Steve Stephens, Fresno; Jayvaun Wilson, Valencia; Kyle Buckner, Eastvale; Travis Dye, Norco; Jacob Breeland, Trabuco Hills; Jaylon Redd, Rancho Cucamonga; Jordan Adeyemi-John, Valencia HS; Troy Dye, Norco; Henry Katleman, Topanga; KJ Maduike, Santa Clarita; Blake Maimone, Thousand Oaks; Mase Funa, Anaheim; Gary Baker, Upland; Andrew Faoliu, Santa Ana.
Here’s USC’s long list that matters
From this week’s USC Media Notes, here’s the list of “Injuries” for the Trojans with games missed in parentheses: INJURIES: Jordan Iosefa, knee (
; Solomon Tuliaupupu, foot (; Jacob Lichtenstein, knee/calf (: Clayton Bradley, hand (; JT Daniels, knee (7); Eli’jah Winston, ankle (6); Andrew Vorhees, ankle (6); Abdul-Malik McClain, knee/shoulder (4/1); Christian Rector, ankle (3); Olaijah Griffin, back (2); Josh Falo, ankle (2); Max Williams, knee (2); Talanoa Hufanga, concussion/shoulder (1/1); Vavae Malepeai, knee (2); Palaie Gaoteote, ankle (2); Kedon Slovis, concussion (1); Greg Johnson, shoulder (1); Isaac Taylor-Stuart, concussion (1); Markese Stepp, ankle (1); Stephen Carr, hamstring (1); Munir McClain, knee (1); Drake Jackson, ankle (1); Liam Jimmons, concussion (1) and CB Chris Steele (1), knee. By our count, that’s 24 injured Trojans who have missed a total of 80 games this season. So by the numbers, is that advantage USC?And now a bonus list for Saturday
Just because we want to be thorough here, we have another list just for this game and courtesy of USC’s Media Notes: From the last time these two teams played each other, in 2016, there are just 20 Trojans left on the roster from that squad – and just four coaches – Clay Helton and assistants John Baxter, Clancy Pendergast and Johnny Nansen. A lot of stuff has happened at both programs since 2016.
The 20 surviving Trojans: Matt Bayle, Clayton Bradley, Michael Brown, Jacob Daniel, Dominic Davis, Chris Edmondson, Matt Fink, Thomas Fitts, Richard Hagestad, John Houston Jr., Jordan Iosefa, Liam Jimmons, Velus Jones Jr., Vavae Malepeai, Frank Martin II, Connor Murphy, Michael Pittman Jr., C.J. Pollard, Christian Rector and WR Tyler Vaughns.
Of those, Daniel, Davis (28 rush yards, two catches), Houston (two tackles), Iosefa, Murphy, Pittman (four catches, one punt return) and Rector (one tackle) saw action. But there is an add-on here since three current USC graduate assistants -- Chris Hawkins, Michael Hutchings and Viane Talamaivao -- were all on that Trojan roster, as was defensive intern Christian Herrera.
New running back for Saturday?
Don't be surprised if you see Velus Jones Jr. get some work on the backfield against the Ducks. We spotted Jones Jr. doing the fumble recovery punishment drill with none other than Mike Jinks. Jones Jr. played a bit of running back during his high school days at Saraland.
Surprise surprise
When USC won the coin toss and elected to receive the kick, offensive line coach Tim Drevno looked around and realized he was still missing one of his starters. Drew Richmond was in the locker room with the doctors and did not take the field until just about the same time the game was beginning. So Drevno told veteran offensive tackle Austin Jackson to inform Liam Jimmons he was entering the game to make his first career start and to tell Jalen McKenzie he was bumping out to right tackle in place of Richmond.
After USC’s three-play jolt of an opening drive, Jimmons and McKenzie came to the sideline telling Drevno they didn’t know they were going to move spots.
“I said, ‘I didn’t know either. It’s a dang mystery!” Drevno said with a chuckle this week. “It was fun that we had success in that drive and it was neat what they did [making the last second adjustment].”
Productive Jimminator
Richmond was back in the lineup the next three drives before it was decided the illness he was dealing with was too much for him to try to play through. Richmond’s three drives were three of of USC’s worst of the night. There’s not necessarily a direct correlation, but the Trojans threw an interception and had back-to-back three and outs. During the three drives, USC averaged 4.2 yards per play. When Jimmons was in the game the Trojans more than doubled that output, gaining 8.9 yards per play.
Because of the small sample size, it would be unwise to draw any specific conclusions from that data, but when we decided to dig into the data a little bit, we found that the offense has been at its best this season when Jimmons has been on the field, averaging 8.7 yards per play on his 96 offensive snaps (which could still be considered a small sample size).
Here’s a look at how productive/unproductive the team has been on offense and defense when each individual has been on the field (with the obvious caveat that the more snaps a player has, the more likely he is to regress/progress toward the mean):
Snaps YPP
71 - Liam Jimmons 96 8.7
23 - Kenan Christon 66 8.4
1 - Velus Jones Jr. 32 7.8
2 - Devon Williams 10 7.7
27 - Quincy Jountti 16 7.5
82 - Jude Wolfe 15 7.5
15 - Drake London 212 7.1
21 - Tyler Vaughns 513 6.9
6 - Michael Pittman 520 6.8
8 - Amon-Ra St. Brown 486 6.8
9 - Kedon Slovis 364 6.8
62 - Brett Neilon 535 6.8
73 - Austin Jackson 535 6.8
75 - Alijah Vera-Tucker 535 6.8
19 - Matt Fink 127 6.6
70 - Jalen McKenzie 476 6.6
83 - Josh Falo 48 6.6
13 - Munir McClain 19 6.5
30 - Markese Stepp 79 6.5
53 - Drew Richmond 452 6.5
84 - Erik Krommenhoek 284 6.4
7 - Stephen Carr 156 6.2
18 - JT Daniels 50 6.2
29 - Vavae Malepeai 219 6.2
80 - John Jackson III 26 5.5
72 - Andrew Vorhees 52 4.8
52 - Jacob Daniel 6 4.6
57 - Justin Dedich 6 4.6
65 - Frank Martin II 6 4.6
68 - Liam Douglass 6 4.6
17 - Zach Wilson 3 3.5
Defense:
Snaps YPP
42 - Abdul-Malik McClain 3 0.0
24 - Max Williams 83 3.9
34 - Eli'jah Winston 16 3.9
91 - Brandon Pili 260 4.6
26 - Kana'i Mauga 198 5.0
90 - Connor Murphy 106 5.1
96 - Caleb Tremblay 187 5.3
25 - Briton Allen 25 5.5
15 - Talanoa Hufanga 369 5.6
22 - Dorian Hewett 53 5.6
7 - Chase Williams 287 5.7
8 - Chris Steele 301 5.7
10 - John Houston Jr. 561 5.7
21 - Isaiah Pola-Mao 546 5.7
31 - Hunter Echols 216 5.7
99 - Drake Jackson 359 5.7
1 - Palaie Gaoteote 414 5.8
2 - Olaijah Griffin 369 5.8
6 - Isaac Taylor-Stuart 379 5.9
51 - Marlon Tuipulotu 348 5.9
50 - Nick Figueroa 109 6.0
78 - Jay Tufele 397 6.5
9 - Greg Johnson 348 6.6
23 - Kaulana Makaula 59 6.8
89 - Christian Rector 274 6.9
41 - Juliano Falaniko 54 7.5
13 - Adonis Otey 19 7.8
30 - Jordan McMillan 16 8.0
28 - C.J. Pollard 37 8.1
45 - Maninoa Tufono 15 8.5
19 - Ralen Goforth 30 8.6
79 - De'jon Benton 17 9.7
14 - Jayden Williams 22 9.9
47 - Stanley Ta'ufo'ou 12 9.9
95 - Trevor Trout 5 10.6
18 - Raymond Scott 7 14.0
- May 1, 2011
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- 32,041
nako xl
zero shot DJ goes to Usc. He’s all Clemson’d out. Heading back there right nowWe need to focus on CJ Stroud
- Jul 11, 2006
- 33,459
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That’s the inside word? ?
We need to focus on CJ Stroud
People are starting to come at him, Bryce, Gary, Flowe and Bijan with “what would you do if UM came” type questions and the kids are like “wait... is that happening?”
The Ricks thing is interesting. It’s basically the same thing people have been reporting since summer. He wants to go to SC but one of his parents is too heavily “invested” in his success at LSU.
