Grading USC Football Coaching Hires: DB Ronnie Bradford

Ronnie Bradford brings infectious enthusiasm to USC football recruiting, but can he turn the Trojan secondary into a force?

Now that USC’s 2016 coaching staff is complete, it’s time to evaluate each hire from the quality of the coach to the context of the appointment.

This is the seventh in a series diving deeper into the decision-making behind and the consequences of each hire.

Here’s a look at how Bradford’s hiring grades out:

Ronnie Bradford | Defensive Backs

Replacing: Keith HeywardPros: InterceptionsCons: Yardage allowed

Ronnie Bradford stands out on USC’s coaching staff as one of the few new additions without obvious Trojan connections. Like Tyson Helton and Neil Callaway, he has never coached for USC before this year. Unlike Helton and Callaway, his link to the staff comes via Clancy Pendergast, not head coach Clay Helton.

Bradford coached with Pendergast when he was with the Kansas Chiefs and again at Cal. Before joining up with the Trojans he was the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Louisiana Tech.

When it comes to Bradford, grading the hire is a bit tricky. He lacks the college experience of a coach like Callaway and the growing star power of a coach like the younger Helton. He does have a solid resume, having served as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos. He also coached safeties for Memphis and has been the defensive backs coach at Tech for three years.

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With the Bulldogs, Bradford oversaw a great deal of production. Louisiana Tech DBs generated 13 interceptions in 2015, 26 interceptions in 2014 and 18 interceptions in 2013.

The trouble is the Bulldogs were poor in overall pass defense, ranking 100th and 91st in 2015 and 2014. In his first season on staff, however, they were ranked 31st — coincidentally one spot ahead of Pendergast’s USC defense int hat regard.

So far his tenure at USC has been categorized by entertaining and energetic tweets about his recruiting efforts. Whether not that pays off in the end remains up in the air.

At the very least, it appears that the Trojans have added a secondary coach who believes in being aggressive, even if that means risking yards for the sake of turnovers. That certainly falls in line with Pendergast’s defensive philosophy which favors aggression.

Grade: B. Bradford’s energy is undeniable and the high volume of interceptions produced by his players is a good sign, even if there remains a degree of uncertainty.

MORE GRADES:

• Tee Martin, Offensive Coordinator
• Neil Callaway, Offensive Line
• Tyson Helton, Quarterbacks
• Tommie Robinson, Running Backs
• John Baxter, Special Teams Coordinator
• Clancy Pendergast, Defensive Coordinator

What say you Trojan fans? How do you grade USC’s hiring of Ronnie Bradford as the defensive backs coach? Vote in the poll and sound off in the comments below.

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