USC Football Mailbag: What’s Wrong With Ronald Jones?

What is wrong with Ronald Jones II? Is the Trojan offensive line really improving?…Our weekly USC football mailbag seeks the answers.

Welcome to the Reign of Troy mailbag, a weekly feature, where we will answer all questions related to USC football.

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:

Can you imagine Sam with Tom Herman coaching him? — Chad @Kylo_Ben_Ren

If Tom Herman were to coach Sam Darnold, not only would USC be a playoff contender yearly, but Darnold would also be a Heisman finalist and remembered when he left USC with same sort of nostalgia that comes with the names Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

Herman’s high-powered offense would also do wonders for USC’s skill players, you have been underutilized under Clay Helton.

However, this is all contingent on whether or not Helton is fired at seasons end, and if Herman is available.

Keep in mind that the LSU job is currently open, and that the Texas job may open up if Charlie Strong doesn’t have an improved season over the last two years. The same goes for James Franklin at Penn State.

Why has Ronald Jones not been effective thus far this season? — Dave @DRCason51

Ronald Jones was supposed to be the second coming of Reggie Bush, but so far not only has he not played well, he has hardly played. He has 152 yards on the season with one touchdown after five games; that is a 30.4 yard average per game.

Part of the problem is the offensive line, which has been woefully inconsistent this year.

Another is the fact that because Ronald Jones is neither a very good blocker or receiver, defenses key in on him because they assume when he comes into the game he will be handed the ball, something that is not true of backs Justin Davis and Aca’Cedric Ware.

It appears that due to Davis’ success this season he will be the workhorse and Jones will be a change of pace guy. He should use this season to add strength and improve his game to the point that in 2017 he will be a complete back.

If he becomes a complete back, think Christian McCaffery at USC, but much faster.

Did the offensive line improve against ASU? If so, was it because of the absence of Zack Banner? — Dave @DRCason51

Several people have thought that the offensive line improved over the last two games, but this is not entirely accurate.

The difference has been Sam Darnold, because if Darnold didn’t have quick feet, he would have been sacked at least three times against Utah and perhaps five or six times against Arizona State. A lot of pressure came through the middle in both games, but Darnold is hard to knock down.

As for Banner, he has been disappointing this year, looking nothing like the All-American he was projected to be.

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I will avoid being critical of Banner, because he has had five offensive line coaches through his Trojan career, which would slow anyone’s development.

Let’s be optimistic and say USC continues to improve. How does Helton to keep his job? beating UCLA/ND enough?— Marcelo @MTeson

In order for Helton to keep his job, he will have to win at least seve games, and in one of those games he will have to beat Notre Dame or UCLA; he can’t lose to both.

The way the schedule is set up, USC should — emphasis on should — run the table in October. Thus Helton’s job will essentially hinge on his November performance.

Of course, if Helton should drop a game in October, all bets are off.

Why was Adoree in fielding kicks in fourth quarter? Too Ez to get injured in a game well decided. Give a wr a chance— John @jcogle

I do not know why Adoree’ Jackson was returning that late in the game, but perhaps it was because Jack Jones was hurt and they didn’t have another guy prepared.

Dominic Davis would be an ideal sub, but he was held out due to a thigh contusion.

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