Michael Pittman: 'More rough' Clay Helton is changing USC's culture
What might have been a whisper a few years when Coach Clay Helton became the USC head coach had grown into a wail by the end of last season: The Trojans were soft.
It’s one of the most pointed criticisms you could levy against a football team. But it had become such an issue that the team itself doesn’t disagree.
“Yeah. I mean, yeah, fair enough,” senior wide receiver Michael Pittman said.
We sat down with Pittman recently for the Trojan Talk podcast and he explained one of the biggest changes Helton has made this offseason is an emphasis on power, citing the hire of strength and conditioning coach Aaron Ausmus in March. USC particularly struggled to control the line of scrimmage last year, and its rushing offense and rushing defense has been trending in the wrong direction since 2016.
“We were just doing more dynamic movement stuff in the weight room (under former S&C coach Ivan Lewis) versus now it’s power program," Pittman said. "It’s a powerhouse down there. Guys are doing weight that they weren’t doing last year and it’s only been three months. We’re just doing things that I never thought we would do, that I never thought we could do.
“We would do some circuits down there, man, where I didn’t think I was going to make it out of that weight room. I’m sitting there thinking about, damn, is it worth it?”
Pittman was joking at the end of that statement. But USC’s lack of physicality has been no laughing matter. Equally problematic has been a lack of discipline, both on and off the field. Pittman said it’s another area in which Helton, and consequently the team, has reformed since last season.
“Was he too nice? I’d say yes in the most respectful way to him. I’d say yes,” Pittman said. “But now this year he’s gotten a little more rough, which is good to see. He’s actually ripped me a couple times in front of the whole team. Nobody likes being called out in front of the team. But I respect him that much more for him calling me out. Being a senior guy, he wouldn’t have done anything in the past. He probably would have let that slide. Just be like, that’s just Pitt. That’s just how he is. But he’s not going to let it slide. ...
“He’s really been on his discipline game. I feel like that’s something we needed. We had a lot of guys doing their own thing, which led to us going 5-7. Just not letting things slide, not hearing people’s excuses to why they missed class, or why they were late. You just don't even hear it now. You're late? You're going to do whatever the punishment is.”
Check out the podcast for the entire interview, as Pittman goes in-depth on several topics, including top wide receivers, why he returned for his senior season, learning lessons from his NFL father, his expectations for 2019, Graham Harrell’s offense, and USC’s dalliances with Kliff Kingsbury and Bru McCoy.
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