USA TODAY International Edition

HYPE- FREE HELTON JUST WHAT TROJANS NEED

Low- key Southern California coach allows program to focus on the field

- George Schroeder gschroeder@ usatoday. com USA TODAY Sports

Just moments beLOS ANGELES fore the big finish, Zach Banner went off script.

When the senior offensive lineman took the mic, no one was sure what he would do. Probably no one expected a song. “Hands, touching hands ... “Reaching out, touching me, touching you ... .”

A couple thousand fans joined in and sang along:

“SWEET CAROLINE! ... Oh! Oh! Oh! … Good times never seemed so good ... .” Banner stopped. “I see you guys found the bar,” he said.

Everyone laughed. And a few moments later, when the annual Salute to Troy ended, it had been blessedly uneventful. Or as Southern California athletics director Lynn Swann had hoped a few hours earlier: benign.

A year ago, Steve Sarkisian infamously dropped an F- bomb into the middle of the family event, part of a slurred speech that was cut short — much like his coaching career a couple of months later, when he was fired. Friday night, the only fireworks came at the end, in the form of, well, fireworks.

The most emphatic moment in the new coach’s folksy remarks, delivered in a mild drawl, came when Clay Helton encouraged fans to travel to Arlington, Texas, for the Trojans’ opener with Alabama, and, “Be loud on third down!”

Helton was promoted to the Trojans’ top spot last December after his second stint as interim head coach. “Right place, right time,” he says.

And if he seems an odd fit for

college football’s most glamorous program — the furthest thing from Hollywood, he’s a career assistant coach, a grinder from Texas who spent 10 years at Memphis before coming west with Lane Kiffin — maybe he’s just what the Trojans need.

In what has become a familiar part of his stump speech, Helton told the fans gathered Friday night that he wakes up each day with a smile on his face, “Because I feel like I’ve won the lottery.” He embraced expectatio­ns, calling a schedule that includes non- conference matchups with Alabama and Notre Dame “a blast.” And he made sure to thank everyone from USC President Max Nikias to the Trojans’ equipment staff and radio broadcaste­rs ( he also thanked “the good Lord above” for offensive coordinato­r Tee Martin).

Other than Banner’s impromptu sing- along, the Salute to Troy was drama- free. Benign bordering on bland. USC’s recent past considered, that’s not a bad thing. And it’s in keeping with the quiet tone set by Helton since he took over last October.

“He has it under control,” Banner says. “Going into ( fall) camp, we usually always had something we were talking about other than football. We don’t this year, do we? And it’s because of him.” LOW- KEY APPROACH The son of a coach, Helton, 44, is remarkably low on swagger, at least when compared to his immediate predecesso­rs. At least so far, the program has been a reflection of his low- key approach, which has intentiona­lly been stripped of flash.

“Championsh­ips are won with fundamenta­ls and techniques,” says Helton — and surely every coach anywhere is nodding along.

But he continues, striking directly at the heart of what’s been perceived as part of USC’s DNA: “I hate the word ‘ talent,’ ” Helton says. “I’ve heard ‘ talent’ here for six years. I wanted to make spring practice and fall ( camp) all about learning technique and fundamenta­ls.

“Not a lot of flash. Not a lot of music. Not a lot of hype. But truly learning how to play the game we love. I’m hoping that gets us back to the Pac- 12 championsh­ip and allows us to win.”

But is hype an essential ingredient at USC? Along with talent, the program at its recent best — and we’re talking a decade ago, when it was the best in college football — oozed swagger. Former coach Pete Carroll didn’t just embrace the Trojans’ inevitable linkage with Tinseltown, he promoted the concept. Kiffin and Sarkisian, who had been assistants on Carroll’s staff, were obvious attempts to recapture that same aura, and era.

In one important sense, USC went for continuity in promoting Helton. He’s in his seventh season with the program. He knew the players. They knew him, and liked him ( go ahead, Google the celebratio­n when Helton was announced as the head coach).

Suddenly, the coach they call “Big Horse” — because he goes around the John McKay Center calling everyone that term of endearment — was “Head Horse,” as quarterbac­k Max Browne calls him. And Banner describes Helton as “caring, charismati­c but also just very, very hard.”

“Old school, get the job done,” Banner says. “And then we’ll hug you after.”

Though Helton’s ascent meant consistenc­y and stability for a program that hadn’t had much of either, it is also a radical depar- ture from the recent past. Helton’s motto of “Faith, family, football” is a long way from “Win forever.” But Helton says showmanshi­p is unnecessar­y.

“I don’t have to add fuel to the fire,” he says. “It’s already going to be there. Coming to SC, you’re going to be in the national spotlight. … That’s just natural. That’s why you come to SC. I just need to help them win football games.” BAR SET HIGH He needs to help them win a lot of football games. The standard at USC is well establishe­d.

“The expectatio­n is national championsh­ip,” Helton says. “That’s our goal every year. That’s what this place is about. The bar is set high here. You’d better understand the expectatio­ns, and frankly we welcome them.”

Helton plans to do it with a physical style, which he says is as much USC’s brand as glitz and glamour. Thus the grinding emphasis on fundamenta­ls, technique and constant competitio­n. And yeah, there is talent, too. Helton says USC has fully recovered from the effects of NCAA sanctions, and it’s not just numbers but depth. He no longer sees a dramatic drop- off from starters to second- teamers.

“You could put our first- or second- team offensive line out there,” he says, “and feel like we’d be as good as anybody we play.”

That’s one example. While as always the Trojans have big, fast playmakers, they also have serious questions on the defensive line and uncertaint­y at quarterbac­k, where Browne, a fourthyear junior, was named the starter Saturday. And they face one of the nation’s toughest schedules, beginning with top- ranked Alabama and finishing with Notre Dame, with a grueling Pac- 12 slate between.

“It’s a very hungry team,” Helton says. “I think it’s a team that really wants to prove itself. I can feel that. I think they want to represent what this place is.”

Helton clearly does, too. Almost an hour after the Salute to Troy had ended, he was still there, standing just offstage. As he signed autographs, posed for photos and talked with fans, one thanked him for hanging around — “Oh, it’s awesome! I’m having the time of my life,” Helton said — and then said Helton reminded him of Carroll.

After the crowd had thinned, a campus police officer attempted to steer Helton away. He had a scrimmage video to break down, a quarterbac­k race to call and myriad other duties essential to meeting those high expectatio­ns.

“Sorry,” the officer said, “he’s got to go.”

But Helton didn’t. And a few moments later, when the officer headed for the exit, the coach was still hanging around just offstage, having the time of his life.

 ?? KIRBY LEE, USA TODAY SPORTS ?? Clay Helton was promoted from interim coach in December. “Right place, right time,” he says.
KIRBY LEE, USA TODAY SPORTS Clay Helton was promoted from interim coach in December. “Right place, right time,” he says.
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 ?? GEORGE SCHROEDER, USA TODAY SPORTS ?? USC offensive tackle Zach Banner says of coach Clay Helton: “He has it under control.”
GEORGE SCHROEDER, USA TODAY SPORTS USC offensive tackle Zach Banner says of coach Clay Helton: “He has it under control.”

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