Clay Helton reveals his least favorite word in the English dictionary
The USC Trojans have finished with a top-15 recruiting class every season since ESPN started to rank classes in 2006, but the results on the field recently have not matched the hype of talented recruits. In the past four seasons, the Trojans have posted records of7-6, 10-4, 9-4 and 8-6 under four coaches.
Head coach Clay Helton, who arrived at USC as the quarterbacks coach in 2010, spoke out on Tuesday about his disdain for the word "talent."
"My least favorite word in the English dictionary is talent. I've heard that for six years. ... I'd rather have a fundamental, tough player," Helton toldJohn Canzano of 750 The Game radio in Portland, Oregon.
USC enters the 2016 season ranked No. 12 in Mark Schlabach's Way-Too-Early Top 25, but Helton doesn't want to hear about it. In the nearly 15-minute conversation, Helton sounded off about the Trojans' Week 1 showdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide, his preference for 9 a.m. kickoffs, driving his new Mercedes, the need for USC to become more physical and the always-high expectations.
