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ROSE BOWL GAME: USC VS PENN STATEDecember 30, 2016Clay HeltonPasadena, California Q. Does this change your game planning at all? CLAY HELTON: No, it looks like, Jim, we're going to end up getting a good day on Tuesday. Obviously, each week you practice with the wet balls. We'll actually get a little rainy weather today. We'll be out later this afternoon, on a damp field or maybe even a little bit of rain. We actually had a good rain day prior to our Christmas day, also the day before. So it's something that you practice each and every week, whether it's crowd noise, which we practiced yesterday, wet ball drills. You prepare for everything, assume nothing. Q. So everything has gone according to plan, getting preparation for the game? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, no question. I think that really what we've done prior to Christmas break of really keeping these kids in routine, and preparing basically a game plan for -- we acted like we played on a Saturday practice, the game plan for one week came back, practiced it again, the second week, took a little break, and this is our third week of keeping the kids in a game-like routine. Hopefully that will pay off for us January 2nd. Q. It seems like they've managed their time very well. CLAY HELTON: Yeah, they really have. It's been a great schedule. I think the Rose Bowl does an unbelievable, unique job of allowing you to do your job to prepare during the mornings and afternoon hours and having great events like the Lawry's Bowl last night, a private dinner for our coaching staff, Disneyland the first day. So great events that also allow you to get some work done also. Q. What is your biggest concern? CLAY HELTON: Just the combination of a great quarterback combined with a great tailback. Barkley's probably the most complete running back that we've faced all year, a 223-pound man, 1300 yards rushing, and also catches the ball out of the backfield. He's an elite-quality back. Then the creativity of Trace. He reminds me a lot of Sam. He can get out of the pocket. Has great pocket presence. Keeps his eyes down field, and he's able to find these big receivers. You saw it over and over and over again, his ability to create versus Wisconsin, and really ultimately won the game because of his ability to do that. Q. How concerned are you about harnessing your team's emotion until it's time to explode? CLAY HELTON: Well, I'm hoping the latter half of the season, all the lessons that we've learned, you think about us where we were at Alabama, and then think about what type of team we were in November having to go on the road to Washington in a hostile environment, coming back and playing a UCLA and a Notre Dame, two rivalry games that are really important for our university. Hopefully those lessons that we've learned, the stage is not too big for us. We've learned how to deal with it. And that's the message to our team right now, don't change anything. For the past eight weeks, you've done tremendous things about just doing your job and focusing on your job. Now we're in the Rose Bowl, we've created a great opportunity for ourselves, and we've got to go do our job one last time. Q. What will it be like in your locker room? CLAY HELTON: It will be emotional. It's one of those things when you come to the Rose Bowl, and you get to be part of this history, 124 years of USC football, and to represent USC for the 34th time to try to get the 25th win for your university, it's an honor and it's humbling and it is emotional. So I look forward to it. Q. When you were 1-3, you weren't exactly the most popular guy in town; now you're very popular. What's it taken to get here, and has it been like, wow, look where we've come? CLAY HELTON: It just shows you to go back and trust the process, and trusting the men that are around you. The one thing I had to ask myself when we were 1-3: Are we improving? Did we improve from Alabama to Stanford? Yes. From Stanford to Utah? Yes. We were 1-3, but we were a team that got better with each game. And really sat down with the kids and told them, hey, guys, if you continue to compete the way you're competing, trust the process, eliminate the mistakes, you're going to look up come November, and you're going to be really, really happy, because you're going to have made a run and you're going to be playing your best football. And that's what ended up happening for us. So a leader's only as good as the men he's surrounded by. I think of this coaching staff, I think of these kids, I'm surrounded by some really special players and trusting in them to do their job, and they did. Q. Talking about that, Penn State was in a similar situation. How do you think that affects the game for both of you guys? Both of you coaches were on the hot seat in a way, and here you are in the Rose Bowl? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, credit to Coach Franklin and his staff, one of the things you have to do as a staff is you have to understand the realm that we're in as coaches. Our job is to win games. We're in a production-based business. The media's job is to do what? To report what's going on and to have opinion. In this business as a coach, you have to be thick skinned. You have to have blinders on. You have to focus on doing your job, and that's winning games and progressing your team and your team's development. That's a hard enough job as it is. If you're focused on anything else outside of that, what other people think, you're not doing your job. So that's what our staff did. I know that's what Coach Franklin's staff did. You look up and have two of the hottest teams in the country in the Rose Bowl, it's going to make for a really exciting game. Q. They're the most effective team throwing the ball down the field. CLAY HELTON: They have naturally big receivers, and they do a tremendous job of finding the one-on-one opportunities. Trace does. I've been really, really impressed. To him, open is one-on-one. It's not is he three yards open, four yards open? If he sees a one-on-one opportunity, he puts the ball up and good timing. Doesn't take a lot of sacks. He allows those big receivers to go up and make the one-on-one football play. So we've had to work on this for three weeks now of really high-ball situations of being able to really focus on playing the ball as a defensive back. You just can't be in a kid's hip. You're going to be in his hip. That's the way they play is they want the jump-ball situation. We have to do a great job of playing the ball in this game. Q. Who on your team really needs to have a big game for you to win? CLAY HELTON: I think our offensive line. I think about Coach Pry, I have a lot of respect for Coach and what he does with that defense, the amount of zone pressures that he brings. One, to be able to stop the run, two, put pressure on a quarterback. You look up -- our offensive line is going to have to do what they've done throughout the latter half of the season: Be effective running the ball and protect our quarterback. If not, we'll struggle in the game. Q. You've been around and know what the Rose Bowl atmosphere's like. How unnerving might it be for (indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: He's played on the big stage. Look at him in Wisconsin, that's a pretty big stage. To be able to win the Big Ten Championship, to have the opportunity to come to the Rose Bowl. He's played on a big stage. You can tell he's a vet already. Q. No, your guys. CLAY HELTON: Our guys? He has done the exact same. We really felt looking at him in the Alabama game, the Stanford game, the Utah game, all of a sudden we look up and say, gosh dang, everything is just like practice to this kid. He's just grown from week in and week out. You put him up at Washington, that's about as hostile an atmosphere as we've been in all year. You watch him in the Notre Dame game and UCLA game, which is a very emotional game for us, and his poise, just you see it. He comes off, he's got that look of just, hey, I've got this. It's just like practice. As a head coach, it's very comforting. Q. Is it difficult to get back on track after a layoff? You hear about it in the NFL with bye weeks? CLAY HELTON: I'm hoping that that routine schedule that I talked about earlier, that we really stayed in game-week mode, basically doing the same format that we've done all year, basically putting in first and second down on Tuesdays, third downs on Wednesdays, red zones. Being able to act like we're playing on a Saturday. Hopefully that routine, hopefully we're creatures of habit and that will show up on January 2nd. Q. Are you the type of coach that visualizes how things will go? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, we always set goals for ourselves as coaches. I think in this game it's going to be really important to stop the run first. Barkley is one of the most complete backs that we've faced all year. We're going to have to run the ball to take the pressure off a young quarterback who is going to be throwing a lot of pressures at them, different coverages with those pressures, a very unique blitz scheme that Coach Pry shows. We're going to have to play great special teams like we have been. We look up at the Notre Dame game, and we were able to separate ourselves in the Notre Dame game with two touchdown returns. And then just play really fundamental football for 60 minutes, in my opinion. Because this is one of the best adjustment teams that I've seen that we've faced all year. You look at what this team, Penn State, has done in the second half. They do a great job of making adjustments. Just when you think you have enough, you better try to get two, three, more scores because this team can come back, as shown throughout the season. Q. These are two teams that have overcome a lot. What does it mean for you to have your team be here? CLAY HELTON: Just very proud. It shows what a group of men, a group of brothers, family can do together. I think about where we were at 1-3 and the trust that we had to have in each other at that crossroads, and to go the month of October and November, to go undefeated in that, to bring home a Victory Bell, to bring home the Shillelagh for the Notre Dame game. Now you look up and you have the opportunity to win a Rose Bowl, to bring home a Victory Bell, a Shillelagh and a Rose Bowl, that's only been done 12 times in the history of USC. So that's a great opportunity for us as a football team to make history. That's what the Rose Bowl is, is to make history. So it's very humbling. I'll at some point in time somewhere in February, when signing day's over, I'm going to sit back and take a deep breath and recall it all. Right now we're just in preparation, and I've been humbled by the experience and thankful. Q. When you think back to the beginning of your time at USC, what were some of your greatest challenges? CLAY HELTON: Just, I think really, the biggest thing when you're trying to develop a team is the culture that you're trying to develop and the trust of relationships that you have to build. I think there's three things that a player always looks for in their coach: Can I trust your character? Can I trust your competency, your knowledge of the football game? And do you have a genuine care about me? And that's one of the things that I think that our staff does a tremendous job of, is being able to develop our kids, the relationships of caring for them, and then the character of men that are in this room, I'm very proud of. Q. When you look at Penn State and what they have done, are you impressed with what they've been able to do with their circumstances and where they're at now? CLAY HELTON: Thoroughly impressed. I think Coach Franklin has done a wonderful job. Sitting there at 2-2 with his team, going against some unbelievable teams that he faced down the stretch. To have the opportunity to be at a Wisconsin and a championship game. Beat an Ohio State, think about what they've accomplished. They're just as hot as we are. I think that's what's making this game so exciting is you've got two teams playing really, really good football at this moment. Q. Can you (indiscernible) the guys for Disneyland and all that stuff to be over? CLAY HELTON: I could tell yesterday, their energy and effort they brought to the table to practice yesterday was good. And you could sense kind of a business-like atmosphere starting to gain in here. We're looking forward to showing what we can do in this game to continue our progress as a football team. This game is very important of them as well as our coaching staff. Q. Did you get two prime ribs at Lawry's? CLAY HELTON: I only had one. Adoree' cut me a really big piece. I couldn't even finish that piece. I'm already fat enough. He's trying to make me even fatter. So I had to slim back a little bit. Q. How do you think Sam's mobility will effect the play? CLAY HELTON: Sam's mobility? It's been all year we've found his ability to create in the pocket. It has really been effective for us. We've been able to call our pro-style passing game knowing his elite arm strength and being able to throw the ball down the field and in trusting in him, if it's not there, that he would pull the ball down and get what's there and get down, or keep his eyes down field and be able to find the open receiver, and he's done that so well. It just gives you so much trust in being able to call those passes. Just not run game with perimeter, but truly the pro-style offense that we want to be, and he's been really effective in creating. Q. Because he's been so good about it, does that make you more apt to want to recruit guys who have similar skill sets? CLAY HELTON: Well, you look at the nature of the game and where it's going. I think that one of the things we always have to have here because of the skill players that are around, especially at the wideout position, the first thing you have to be able to do is to be an effective thrower. You could have athletes at the position, but if you're not an elite thrower, it's hard. When you can find both the guy that does have the elite arm and the athleticism, like Sam Darnold, even I think of Matt Fink that has that quality of athleticism, it makes you a more dangerous weapon at that position. It's kind of where college football has gone to over the last three, four, five years and will continue to go. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, it makes me think how close this brotherhood and this family has come together. We know that this is our last opportunity, and we've talked about it. This is our last opportunity with this 2016 football family, and these brothers. We're going to lose a lot of these guys after this year, and we are. We're enjoying each other and competing against each other one last time, preparing with each other one last time. I mean, it's been hilarious. Cracking jokes on each other, whether it's coaches, players on the bus rides. It just feels so much like family and brotherhood. And that's what you want as a head coach. We preach faith, family, and football, and family being a very critical piece of that. This is truly a family right now. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: No, I wasn't. We have a tendency of shutting elevators and escalators down. We've got to learn a little bit better that we need to put a couple guys on. We've got pretty big dudes. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: No, I think we're not big fans of those two objects. Q. Do you have a relationship with Franklin? You both have similar backgrounds, and you can appreciate that? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, I had a chance to meet Coach Franklin for the first time at Disneyland. I've always been very impressed by his career and what he's done. I watched him closely when he was at Vanderbilt, and thoroughly impressed with what he did there, and now to take a tough situation at Penn State in a tough time and really bring them into the light of college football again and be so effective. The one gentleman that I have the relationship with is the defensive coordinator, Brent Pry. We were together at Memphis, and just love him and his family. I've always respected him as a coach. I think he's one of the more elite D-coordinators there are in the country. Coach Franklin has done a tremendous job with this kid. You view it from afar, but don't know him personally. Q. The night before the game, you're in your hotel room, what's on your mind? What are you thinking? CLAY HELTON: I'm a creature of habit, so I'm going through the same routine as effectively as you can when you're at the Rose Bowl and with the activities. But you go through the same routine that you do. You prepare for your last team meeting with your kids that next day. You're going through the opening, the first 15 offensively. You're looking at some of the first defensive calls, the first special teams calls. You play all the game situations in your mind that could happen, all the situational football aspects that you have to have as a coach, whether it's a two-point play, what you're going to do in two-minute, four-minute, put yourself in those situations. So I'll be doing the same creature-of-habit things that I do with each and every game. Q. You often ask the players two o'clock on game day, what's it like in that atmosphere. What about for a coach? What do you think you'll be feeling? CLAY HELTON: I got asked that question. At some point in time in that game, I've always dreamed about being in this game. I think all of us have. Last night I had every man raise their hand that said, have you participated in a Rose Bowl game? And every man, every player in here plus nine of the ten full-time coaches raised their hands. For us, it's truly special, it's humbling. We're very thankful to be here. But we also know how important a game this is for our university. So we have taken this game with knowing that it is history, and we're trying to make history. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: K.U. K.U. has been a participant. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: I'm so proud of Zach from where he was day one to what he has become now. He was always a big talent and a good athlete for his size. I think about the red-shirt year he had. A lot of times guys don't like to red-shirt. I think that red-shirt year has made him into the player that he is today. I think about his decision last year to, you know, groom himself for another year before going to the NFL and how that has helped him become an All-American and even a better draft candidate, while making special memories as a senior, leading his team to a Rose Bowl, being a team captain. Those are the things that you hope for every young man that comes here. And to watch Zach mature as both a person and a player, very rewarding as a head coach. Q. Coach, talking about Penn State, is there any other opponent that you've faced this season that reminds of? CLAY HELTON: Looking at the tape it reminds us a lot of our Pac-12 foes. When you think Big Ten football, you think, oh, gosh, here comes 21, 22 personnel. You think of the Wisconsins of the world, the Michigan's of the world. Here's a unique athletic team with a talented quarterback that spreads the field and uses no-huddle tempo to move the ball down the field 37 points a game. They remind us a lot of the Pac-12 teams that we play on a daily basis. So, you know, it puts us in a little bit of a comfortable situation at least that we've gone against that several times. When you think about the huddle, 21-, 22-personnel teams, we've really only done that twice, Alabama and Stanford, and here we have the good fortune to draw Penn State, a very talented team. They present several problems athletically, but it's something that we see on a weekly basis in the Pac-12. So it makes you feel a little bit -- it gives you a little bit better sleep at night. The thing you're scared about is the amount of athletes that they have on the field. I think about the wideouts and how they're winning their one-on-one situations, their big tight end, how he just outphysicals everybody for the ball. And then Barkley will just give you nightmares all night. Just one of the most complete backs that we've faced all year. Q. Brent Pry spoke very highly for you. Did you know he could have this kind of success? CLAY HELTON: Oh, no question. You think about a guy of the utmost character, family guy, you think about a guy that knows how to build relationships with his players. Then ultra aggressive, tremendous package, and loves -- we have a saying, drive it like you stole it, have no fear. He drives it like he stole it. I mean, he has no fear, no conscience calling those pressures, and that's what you want from a defensive coordinator. Reminds me a lot of Clancy. You know, they play with aggressiveness that they don't -- they don't hold back. I've always been impressed by Brent. He's been a dear friend, and you always knew even as a young coach when we were both at Memphis, this guy's going to be truly special in this game. I'm just really glad to see what he's doing for Penn State. Q. Your familiarity with his thought process might help on Monday? CLAY HELTON: No, I tell you what, he's a true chess master. He does a good job of self-scouting himself, because there's not a ton of tendencies. You just know what's coming, you just don't know on what down. You wish it was a certain personnel group or down and distances. He mixes it up really well. So we're assuming nothing, we're preparing for all situations, putting our kids in the most adverse situations to our plays because we know that's what it's going to be like in the game. Q. Do K.U. and Keary talk to the team about what this game is going to be like? CLAY HELTON: No, but I think they've done a great job individually talking to our players. I've visited with our team a little bit about how the brightest players show up in these type of games, even to the point I'm going to pull out in my last meeting with our players, Keary's one-handed catch. You know, post-pattern versus Michigan where that hadn't been thrown all year, you know. It's the first time that that throw had been thrown against that particular concept and ran a perfect route and made the perfect play at the right time. You know, just being able to say that's what great players do. But it's been so comforting for me as a head coach to have two guys, you know, when you talk about guys that haven't been participants in this game, like our players, like myself, like, you know, nine of our ten coaches, you know, to be able to have K.U. and Keary here, and be one-on-one with our guys and be able to visit with them, it's comforting definitely. Q. Darreus Rogers catch against Colorado, have you ever thought about what would happen if he doesn't get the interception? CLAY HELTON: Oh, man, I don't even want to think about it, to be honest with you. I was doing a radio show the other day. And it stuck out to me about how important Darreus has been. He's been the work horse. JuJu gets a lot of the spotlight, but you look at the guy that's made really dynamic plays for us in key situations, whether it was a Colorado game there, and a critical situation in that game. I think about the Washington game too, him making that one-handed catch with the DB all over him, catching that ball in a very, very close game, getting 20 extra yards after, and how it propelled our team. Catching that ball in the back of the end zone, finding a way to get open when Sammy's scrambling and running around. He just makes the biggest plays at the biggest times. He's really been one of the key reasons we're sitting here today. Q. Coach, when you look back at Jordan's usage on offense (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: One of the things we really focused on, and that was important to him. I like to sit down with each player and discuss what's important to him going into the year. And Adoree' really wanted to focus on becoming a better technician, a fundamentalist at the DB position. And I think he progressed tremendously. I thought his sophomore year he used a lot of his athleticism to be able to stop opponents. This year I thought he used more technique fundamentals. And we really worked that between Ronnie and Clancy, we spent the entire training camp with him just on defense. And it allowed him to be able to be so productive on the defensive side of the ball. You look up, and he's the Thorpe Award winner. He's the best DB in the country. So obviously that worked and it helped our defense. I looked at the year before where he was playing sometimes 20 to 25 plays on offense and the energy that that takes too. And sometimes that takes away from you as a defensive player and a special teams player. You look up at what he's done, I think about the Notre Dame game, that would be the perfect situation every time. If he could score an offensive touchdown, two special teams touchdowns and create some special defensive plays, that would be great. If he does come back, obviously, we would be trying to do something special for him, and the offensive side of the ball would be critical in being able to do that. Q. Both teams are on long winning streaks, both led by young quarterbacks. You and Coach are the same age, you and Coach Franklin are the same age, but how similar are the two teams right now? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, I think both teams are playing their best football to date. I think both teams have week in and week out gotten better. And you look at Penn State being 2-2, us being 1-3, and that standpoint, you just look at each game time after time after time. The team was developing and progressing. You look up and they're on a nine-game win streak, we're on an eight-game win streak, two of the hottest teams in the country, it ought to make for a really exciting game. Q. What really impresses you about Tracy McSorley? CLAY HELTON: He reminds me of our guy. His ability to create time after time. You know, you've really got to keep this kid in the pocket or he can hurt you. He's a dangerous animal. His ability to keep his eyes down field and find open receivers or run the ball effectively to move the chains, he's just got it. You know, you can tell he's a winner. He produces. And they're very fortunate to have such a creature like that. He's a very effective football player. Q. Were you able to get a pretty hearty meal in last night? CLAY HELTON: Adoree' cut too big a piece for me. He gave me a pretty thick cut, but what a special moment that was for our team to be at the Lawry's Beef Bowl, and to have that moment. For us, every man in the room, besides K.U. and Keary Colbert, that was our first time being a part of that. So it was a special moment for us. Q. Coach, as 2016 winds down, a lot of fans on Twitter are asking if you could name a couple of your favorite plays from 2016. CLAY HELTON: Oh, my goodness. Well, there's a bunch of them. I think of Darreus Rogers' catch versus Colorado, going over top of that corner. How important a play that was in the game. I think about the hurdle by Adoree' Jackson in the Notre Dame game to get the Shillelagh. I think about the two plays by De'Quan Hampton and the UCLA game, the two touchdown catches to bring the Victory Bell home. I think about a team that's just come together over the last two months, and become really a family and to put us in this Rose Bowl. So those are some of the special moments. Q. Another fan on Twitter asked how do you keep the team grounded when obviously everybody's so excited? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, definitely. I think the biggest thing is we're all creatures of habit as humans, and just trying to keep them in routine. Trying to keep them in our daily, weekly process, and keep them comfortable. We have the good fortune of being right here in Los Angeles, you know, and good Lord has watched after us well. We've been very successful in our own city, whether it's been at the Coliseum or at the Rose Bowl. To be at home, to prepare at home has been very comforting. Q. How is the bowl experience different when you're traveling on a plane versus staying at home? CLAY HELTON: Yeah, you know, what's been really nice is the comfort level of preparing right at home, but the unique experiences that we don't get on a day-to-day basis. You've got to remember, like I said, these kids have never been to a Rose Bowl. Last time we were in a Rose Bowl was 2009, they were 10, 12 years old. Nine of our ten coaches, this is our first time participating in a Rose Bowl. So the activities we haven't done before. We've never been to the Lawry's Beef Bowl or had that special dinner like we had at the top of the Rose Bowl, or to be at Disneyland as a total team just having fun. So those were unique experiences for us that the Rose Bowl provides. That's what makes it The Granddaddy of Them All. To be able to prepare at our own university has been extremely comforting. Q. Do you have a New Year's resolution? CLAY HELTON: To be a better husband, father, and head coach next year. Just keep on getting better, don't stay stagnant. Q. Have Adoree' and J.J. figured out (indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: Well, I always try to give them as much information, which I've given them that information already. I sat down with all individuals involved and give them what the NFL has said, and just try to be a conduit for them to provide as much good information. I'm not helping them with the decision. I think that's a personal decision for each individual and their family. But I'm here between myself and Mr. Swann to be just a conduit to provide the information, to provide opinion if they ask for it, which some have. To be able to provide information from NFL football teams and the NFL, if needed. And then just be there for their parents, you know. At the end of the day, that's all you can do. Each individual, it's personal. If they end up staying, you're the happiest head coach in the country. And if they go, you hug their neck, because they did a lot for this university. Q. Do you settle on any timeframe? CLAY HELTON: No, I've just recommended to them, don't rush into it. Make sure you get all the information that you need, because once you make that decision, it's the end. So I just reminded each and every one to take as much time as needed to focus on this game, and that's kind of why we met prior to Christmas break is that when we reported to bowl site, we wanted to be able to truly focus on this game, put it behind us, and reconvene once the bowl game's over. But just recommended to them to take their time through the process. Q. What did the NFL come back with? CLAY HELTON: That's personal. Yeah, that's personal and private. Q. Is that something I should ask them? CLAY HELTON: You can ask them, but at the end of the day, all those evaluations are just their evaluations. And when you get there, a lot of it has to do with combines, interviews, how you fit with each and every team, you know, so it's finding the right fit for you. But when you go to that period in that league, you don't get to choose, they choose you. You know, that's one of the things that's a little bit different dynamic that college kids are not used to. All of a sudden, you go from where you were being the one recruited to now you're at the job interview and you're being hired. So it's a little bit different. Q. Zach was saying he was fine with playing the right side. He and Chad have a good relationship. Could he play left side? CLAY HELTON: Oh, no question. When I first got here, we had great fortune, if you remember. We had Smith as the right tackle and Matt Kalil as the left tackle. Both of them are left tackles. But you can only play one of them. You know? So we had the ability this year to have two great seniors. We had the ability where we had Zach that played a lot of the right tackle. Could he be a left tackle? Yeah, he has been. You think about when Chad got injured, he went over to left and was extremely effective and has that tape out there. So I think both kids could be left tackles at the next level, no question. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: I think we were a work in progress, after being 1-3. I thought we learned a lot of lessons. And I thought we were playing probably at our best level when we hit Washington, to be honest with you. I thought when we entered that football game, all cylinders were clicking, and our team had finally realized it was not about the hype of games, but about doing your job. I think about us in that first game versus Alabama, and we were a little bit young, and the maturity that our team gained in that situation, also with a Stanford and a Utah, helped us progress throughout the year. You look at the Washington game and that atmosphere with weather, noise, the hype of the game, and just us with complete focus on doing our job, I was very proud of the kids. I thought that really was where we were at our best, and carried us over to two really emotional games with UCLA and Notre Dame. So there's a lot of maturity that's taken place with our team from game one to where we are now. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: Oh, it's history. It gives me goose bumps right now just thinking about it. You think about this is the 34th opportunity for this great university to be in this game. We have the 25th opportunity to be a Rose Bowl champion. Then, as I told these guys, something unique this year, we've been playing football here for 124 years at USC. There's only 12 teams that can say they brought home the Victory Bell, the Shillelagh and the Rose Bowl trophy. And to be a part of that history, you know, that's one of those things you'll be 20, 30, 40 years down the road and be able to say, you know what, I was part of the 2016 Rose Bowl team. How special is it to be able to say I was part of the 2016 Rose Bowl championship team? So it's very, very important to us and very humbling, to be honest with you. I've been humbled by this whole experience. Q. What's John Baxter's status right now? CLAY HELTON: He's full participation. We had a joking moment the other day. We had an injury report that we do with all our players that we go through each and every day with our trainer, and we had him at the top of the list under coaches for the first time since we've been here. So it was a good joking moment, but it's great to have Bax back. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: Oh, I knew how valuable he was. I've always said a leader is only as good as the men he surrounds himself by, and I look at the men that have come into this situation from a Clancy Pendergast to Tee Martin to John Baxter to an Ivan Lewis, you think about those guys as coordinators being able to come in here and really not only teach knowledge to the kids of the game, but teach them how to be men, how to be professionals, how to develop them both as players and as people. It was invaluable to get him away from Michigan. I think about our top recruits last year, and John Baxter and Clancy Pendergast may have been the top two, getting them back here to USC. Q. (Indiscernible)? CLAY HELTON: I wanted to be able to show there were a lot of committee members there, as far as the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee. For us, I wanted them to know how special a moment this is for our football team and the passion that we're taking to go behind to prepare, to honor this game, the preparation for this game. So it was a special moment that I wanted them to be able to see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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