USC Football Mailbag: Has Clay Helton Won His Job Back?

Has Clay Helton won his job back? What’s the deal with the Trojans’ running back rotaion?…Our weekly USC football mailbag seeks the answers.

If you have a question for the mailbag, send it in to @ReignOfTroy on Twitter or via email to reignoftroy@fansided.com.

Let’s get started:

Do people still not want Helton at USC? Or has beating weak teams every week won him the job for fans?— Brandon

That will depend on the fan in question.

USC fans seem to be in one of three camps: Those who wish to fire him regardless of how the season turns out so USC can hire a proven head coach, those who want to wait the season out then make a decision, and those who think Helton should be given time to build the program.

For those in the first two crowds, beating teams that USC is supposed to beat will not make much of a difference.

The problem is, USC may have played three of their four hardest games in Alabama, Stanford, and Utah. The only game where Helton can really silence his critics will be the Washington game on November 5.

If he wins that game, he will be back in 2017. If he loses that game and a few others, there is no telling what will happen.

Why did Rojo stop playing early? Clearly Ced Ware and DD played well, but what gives?— Klane

USC, for better or worse, uses a rotation that is not developed well. They tend to ration out carries rather than ride the hot hand. This is somewhat understandable when you have several four-star recruits on the team who demand carries in order to be kept happy.

Also, given that the game was a blowout, perhaps the coaches decided to rest Ronald Jones knowing that he may be the primary back for awhile; there is no telling when Justin Davis will return from his high ankle sprain and when he will be 100 percent.

What did Helton see that prevented him from starting Darnold from week 1?— Aaron

This is the question that most USC fans have been asking since the Trojans went on their recent run.

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The answer is that many observers of fall camp thought that Sam Darnold could do things that Max Browne couldn’t, but Browne had the team behind him and was the easier choice because he had been around longer.

Browne also had a good spring, summer, and fall camp, so it would be hard to say that he did not earn the job.

Part of the problem was that Darnold fit the offense that USC runs now while Browne fits Lane Kiffin’s scheme more. Helton didn’t adjust the offense to Browne’s strengths; he called the game as though Darnold was playing with all of the run-pass options.

While it is understandable to question the decision, it is also understandable to see why Helton did what he did.

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