SB Nation

USC football: Steve Sarkisian delegating most playcalling to Clay Helton, Tre Madden named starting running back

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Responsibilities change.

Steve Sarkisian has been generally in charge of the offensive playcalling whereever he's been as a head coach in Washington and USC. That will change a bit this season as current offensive coordinator Clay Helton will be taking over more of the playcalling. Sark will focus more on specific head coaching responsibilities, which I guess would be overall management and recruiting areas.

Helton was named the offensive coordinator for USC in 2013 when Lane Kiffin did something similar in delegating last season. Kiffin was fired and Helton stayed on with replacement coach Ed Orgeron. When Orgeron was fired, Helton became the interim head coach in their bowl game (which turned out to be a rout of Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl). Sarkisian retained Helton, who has held the title of offensive coordinator but generally was more responsible for quarterback coaching.

Tee Martin will go up to the press box. Helton will come down to the field and call plays on the sidelines. Sarkisian will still have some playcalling input on third downs and red zone situations, but for the most part the offense has been turned entirely over to Helton on gameday.

Tre Madden will get the start as the number one running back. Justin Davis is still questionable.

Team Shop

  • Under Armour Auburn Tigers Navy Team Slogan Count On Me Tech T-Shirt
    $29.95 Buy Now navigateright
  • Colorado Buffaloes vs. Colorado State Rams Ash 2015 Week 3 Matchup Game Day T-Shirt
    $24.95 Buy Now navigateright
  • Colorado Buffaloes vs. Colorado State Rams Ash 2015 Week 3 Matchup Game Day Long Sleeve T-Shirt
    $27.95 Buy Now navigateright
X
Log In Sign Up

If you currently have a username with "@" in it, please email support@voxmedia.com.

forgot?
forgot?
Log In Sign Up

Forgot password?

We'll email you a reset link.

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Forgot username?

We'll email it to you.

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Forgot password?

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Try another email?

Forgot username?

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Try another email?

Almost done,

By becoming a registered user, you are also agreeing to our Terms and confirming that you have read our Privacy Policy.

Join Pacific Takes

You must be a member of Pacific Takes to participate.

We have our own Community Guidelines at Pacific Takes. You should read them.

Join Pacific Takes

You must be a member of Pacific Takes to participate.

We have our own Community Guidelines at Pacific Takes. You should read them.

Authenticating

Great!

Choose an available username to complete sign up.

In order to provide our users with a better overall experience, we ask for more information from Facebook when using it to login so that we can learn more about our audience and provide you with the best possible experience. We do not store specific user data and the sharing of it is not required to login with Facebook.