Coach Clayton went on to expound on the virtues of USC and their potential when it came to football. He made sure to point out the excellent education you would receive at one of the nation’s top business schools. I could tell by the questions my mom asked that she was on board with me going there.
Education-wise, I was, too. The finer weather and closeness to where my parents were moving in Malibu also added to the USC side of the ledger. It would only take an hour and a half to go home for a weekend and be with my kids. Add the lure of surfing, and I was almost there.
My biggest concerns were football-related. USC had once been one of the go-to locations in college football. They hadn’t really been relevant to the title hunt since Pete Carroll was their head coach. There was some crazy stat that in the month of November, he had a 25–1 record.
His leaving for the NFL had hit the football program hard, with the added hit of NCAA sanctions. USC had been banned from making bowl appearances for two years and had been required to forfeit 30 scholarships due to a scandal involving Reggie Bush receiving improper inducements.
Since Pete Carroll left, they’d put together some good seasons, and they always seemed to be in the chase for the conference championship. But they couldn’t seem to get over the hump and get into the top four at the end of the year so they could play for the National Championship.
There were positive signs, though. They continued to land impressive recruiting classes, and most teams would kill to have their talent. On paper, they should be dominating their conference. They should be right up there with Ohio State, Alabama, and Clemson. From what I could see, it had to be the coaching.
After Pete Carroll, they’d hired an egomaniac who crashed and burned. Their next hire turned out to have alcohol problems. I hoped Coach Clayton would turn the program around and get them back to being the old USC.
My other issue was they’d signed Matt Long. While I felt I was a better quarterback, Matt was not someone I could or should take for granted. He was the best pocket passer, other than me, in my class. Of course, I considered myself both a pocket passer and a dual-threat. He had all the tools to make it to the NFL and be a successful starter.
Matt would also benefit from working out with and learning the playbook from Ridge Townsend, the possible first draft pick in next year’s draft, for a season. That would happen before I stepped onto campus. His experience in the system would be hard to overcome if I planned to start as a true freshman.
While I had no doubt that I would eventually become the starter, Matt was good enough to delay that goal. My other concern was how Coach Clayton planned to handle having two high-level quarterbacks on his roster. So, when he’d finished selling the virtues of attending USC, I asked him.
“How do you see Matt and me working together?” I asked.
“It’s not ideal. I told you that if you had committed, I would have passed on Matt. I’ll be honest with you. Matt will enroll this summer and will gain experience sitting and learning this fall. The way I coach is to give the lion’s share of practice and coaching time to our starter. While you will get your shot, I would expect Matt will be in that role when you arrive.
“I would guess that your best option would be to redshirt your first year. That way, you would possibly be our starter your junior or senior year when Matt heads off to the NFL,” Coach Clayton explained.
Coach Clayton had just become someone I felt I could trust to be honest with me, even when what he said wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“Is there a chance I can beat him out?” I asked.
Coach Clayton chuckled.
“It would be an uphill fight unless Matt falls on his face. If you put in the work, and I suspect a lot of it would be on your own time, I’m not a fool. If you give us the best chance to win, you will be starting and get the majority of the coaching. The short answer is that you would have a shot to start. I just want you to come into this with your eyes wide open,” Coach Clayton said.
“Could I play defense?” I asked.
“In the short term, that might be your fastest way to get on the field. I watched your film going up against the Roth kid in the state championship game, so I’m torn. On the one hand, I can see you having an impact on that side of the ball. On the other, you might be too valuable to risk. We would have to talk about it once you got on campus.”
“So, that means you would consider it?” I asked.
“Absolutely. My job is contingent on winning games. If you playing defense will do that …” Coach Clayton trailed off.
Dad always said you should have a Plan B. While the thinker in me loved to play quarterback, the caveman liked the idea of hitting people.
We wrapped up the visit, and my parents wanted to talk.
“I’d say it’s an easy decision,” Mom said.
