USC football roundup: Zach Smith makes Urban Meyer to USC prediction

Urban Meyer to USC football rumors won’t go away, the latest coming from a particularly untrustworthy source. Plus more Trojan news from the net.

Take everything that follows with a giant grain of salt.

Disgraced former wide receivers coach Zach Smith, who was accused of abusing his wife while working for Urban Meyer at Ohio State, is back in the news this week, making headline-grabbing statements about his former employer and USC football.

CHECK OUT: Will the Air Raid make USC “Big-12 bad” in 2019?

“Someone that I know. That works in the United States Postal Service dropped a bomb on me last week. He tells me that Urban Meyer, his address, his house, has had certified mail delivered to and sent from to the University of Southern California. I’m talking several letters,” Smith said on his podcast, as transcribed by Saturday Blitz.

“I would put $1,000 that he will be the head coach of USC in the near future,” Smith added.

Set aside, for the moment, the fact that the Trojans currently have a head coach, that Meyer is retired from coach and that hiring Meyer in and of itself would be a problematic landmine…the Meyer to USC rumors simply aren’t going away.

TRENDING: Breakout players for each unit at USC in 2019

Still, when it comes to trustworthy rumors, this one ranks as close to the bottom as they come.

For one, Smith is an untrustworthy source quoting the equivalent of your next door neighbor Jim, who knows a guy who knows a guy.

Even if you want to put faith in the word of the unnamed postal service worker, mail from the University of Southern California could be coming to the Meyer household for a thousand different reasons that have nothing to do with Meyer’s job status.

SEE ALSO: Five reasons to be optimistic about USC

Chances are, Lynn Swann wouldn’t be communicating with a prospective head coaching candidate through snail mail in any case. It’s 2019. Email exists. So do cell phones.

Moreover, any contact between USC and Meyer with regard to the Trojan head coaching job would have to be of the unofficial variety at this stage because, remember, USC has a head coach under contract.

But, of course, this story isn’t going to quiet down much so long as Meyer remains unattached to a coaching position and USC’s current coaching situation remains uncertain.

Brace yourselves for more rumors this fall.

Offensive coordinator ranking

Rob Bowron over at Wildcat Radio, who is also the purveyor of the Beta_Rank advanced stats metric, took a stab at ranking the offensive coordinators in the Pac-12 going into 2019.

While hopes are very high at USC for Graham Harrell, he sits rather low at No. 10.

“Gluten-free Kliff Kingsbury” is docked in part because he’s making his first foray into Power 5 competition. Other more seasoned OCs in the conference get a lot more benefit of the doubt than Harrell.

For his part, Harrell could very quickly rise in the rankings with a strong enough showing in 2019. But he’s not the sure-thing Kliff Kingsbury would have been.

Update — Where would Kingsbury have ranked?

How can Clay Helton save his job?

Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports asked the above question on Tuesday and he came up with a simple plan for the Trojan head coach.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

First, let Harrell have free reign in the kitchen.

Second, improve the turnover margin.

Third, survive the first six games.

That’s about as simple as it gets when it comes to evaluating Helton’s task in 2019. And it’s exactly right.

The good news, if you want Helton to keep his job, is that point one is already in motion. Helton has allowed Harrell and USC’s new coaches across the staff to put their brand on Spring Camp practices.

As to point two, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has simplified his defense and put more emphasis on winning the battle up front, which could help turn the tide on turnovers. A bit of luck would go a long way there too. USC was lacking in that department in 2018.

If points one and two go right, point three becomes a lot easier.