Steve Sarkisian, USC head coach: Early reactions?

Jack Follman, Pacific Takes: Kind of a safe, yet strange play for the Trojans, and one that I honestly didn't see coming. I never thought with their prestige that they would hire a guy who is friends with Lane Kiffin, that had done just an average job at another Pac-12 program. Right now, I just don't think it is the right move. It just doesn't seem like the right move with the level of program USC is, too safe. Sure Sarkisian can recruit LA well, but that's not that hard of a thing to do when you are at USC, and he almost assuredly won't fall flat on his face since he's already proven himself consistent in the Pac-12, but I just don't see him having that spark that can get them back to the level that their fans demand.

Phil Fraser, Ralphie Report: For quite a while I've wondered how many appealing options there actually were for USC. There weren't a lot of strong candidates out west, and everyone else wouldn't really know the west coast. I didn't think Orgeron would have been a good choice, or Petersen. So all that said, I think Sarkisian is a solid choice if not necessarily a home run exciting hire.

Connor Pelton, Building the Dam: Not a terrible hire, but certainly not the best effort on behalf of Pat Haden. I mean, we are talking about a coach who hadn't won more than five conference games while at Washington being the only one offered one of the top jobs in the nation. Seriously?

Adam Butler, Pac Hoops: It's hard to say what the RIGHT move was but maybe that's just semantics. They got a coach with a record of moderate success who's familiar with what he's getting himself in to. He can recruit and he has. I'm a big fan of judging with time and Sark's going to need a little bit of that. Perhaps more than some people wanted.