4. Clay Helton to Sam Darnold about clutch win
It’s been a rocky season thus far for USC and head coach Clay Helton. The Trojans began the season in the top five and were expected to be Pac-12 favorites, but they haven’t been able to win comfortably all year.
Not often do we get to see cool moments between a coach and a player up close and personal, but Helton was walking off the field with Sam Darnold and a reporter happened to get an exchange between the two with crystal clarity.
After pulling out a tough, gritty win over Utah, 28-27, Helton was pleased with how Darnold responded to adversity and fought through to get the win. He said to his star quarterback, “That’s what great quarterbacks do.”
Clay Helton to Sam Darnold after the #USC win: "that's what great quarterbacks do" pic.twitter.com/67g15ieQcl
— McKenna Keil (@mckenna_keil) October 15, 2017
Darnold finished the game 27-of-50 for 358 yards and three touchdowns but found ways to give his team leads and keep them in the game when things looked grim. It’s cool to see a coach realize that even during a game that was supposed to be a safe win and turned out to be much closer, he values his players who gave it their all.
The Trojans got behind 21-7 by halftime but found a way to win and Helton was grateful for that.