Clay Helton hasn’t been making USC football fans very happy lately, but these five players could help matters after strong springs.
The Clay Helton era in Southern California hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, at least so far, and missing a bowl game with a 5-7 record in 2018 seemed like the last straw for many Trojan fans.
Helton is still in charge, though, and he’s facing a make-or-break 2019 season.
The Trojans are returning plenty of talent, but losing some key pieces on offense as well as on the defensive side of the ball have made the outlook a bit cloudy. They do have enough back to make a run in the Pac-12, but will need some under-the-radar guys to step up, like the few that have this spring.
Which five Trojans are trending up after spring ball?
A guy who has never been able to consistently stay healthy through his first three years on campus, Marlon Tuipulotu has been drawing some high praise this spring.
Tuipulotu did win the starting job a few games into his redshirt freshman season and he finished the year with 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and his 4.5 sacks all came in the final six games of the 2018 season.
Clay Helton has a rising star on the roster as Tuipulotu looks like he’s on the verge of becoming a breakout star at the collegiate level after a strong spring. If he can remain healthy, Tuipulotu can be an All-Pac-12 performer in 2019 and it seems like he’s well on that way.
The Trojans will need some guys on the defensive side of the ball to step up and Tuipulotu is “looking explosive” this spring, according to Reign of Troy.