New USC OC Kliff Kingsbury pledges open QB competition
New USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury covered a range of interesting topics in an interview with ESPN's Shelley Smith, discussing why he landed with the Trojans, what effect the ongoing NFL chatter has on him and more.
But the line that will grab the most attention of fans was about his plans for the quarterback position.
"I like what I've seen. Last year all three did a nice job when they stepped in. I'm excited to have a competition this spring and see who kind of emerges," Kingsbury said.
Smith then followed up to confirm that it will be a true competition and that the job doesn't already belong to rising sophomore incumbent JT Daniels.
"It will be open competition, yep," Kingsbury said. "I want to see how everybody handles my system, how they pick it up and then how they play within my system."
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Daniels started 11 games as a true freshman, completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Redshirt-freshman Jack Sears made one start when Daniels was sidelined with a concussion. After a rough start, Sears found his confidence and finished 20-of-28 passing for 235 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in a back-and-forth 38-35 loss at home to Arizona State.
Sears' best pass of the day was an on-the-money shot down the seam that Tyler Vaughns dropped in the end zone, but the two later connected on a 48-yard touchdown in the final minute to narrow the score.
Sears was actually third on the QB depth chart, but redshirt-sophomore Matt Fink sustained broken ribs in the fourth quarter the previous week after replacing Daniels. Fink finished the season 7-of-9 passing for 46 yards, 1 touchdown and 24 rushing yards.
As for how Kingsbury ended up at USC after being fired at Texas Tech, where he spent six years as head coach, he said there was immediate mutual interest between himself and Trojans coach Clay Helton.
"I approached him and he approached me almost simultaneously," Kingsbury told Smith. "This is a job that was very appealing to me. I saw that they were 5-7, which will probably never happen again at this university. They have a lot of talent coming back. I've heard great things about Coach Helton. I've always been enamored by the pageantry, the tradition of USC. It's not a bad lifestyle out here in LA either so it kind of was the perfect storm for me."
Smith was on point with her questions to Kingsbury, pressing him about why he passed on the reported NFL interest before making this decision and whether there was still a chance for an NFL team to lure him away after this season.
"I think this just was calling my name, really," he said. "I enjoy working with the younger players, the college players, having that type of impact on them on and off the field so this is where I wanted to be.
"I came here. And it wasn't like this was a month process. It was, 'Hey, Coach Helton, I want that job. I know what we can do there.' So that's why I'm here."
Smith then asked him what it would take for an NFL team to lure him away this offseason.
"I haven't even thought of it, honestly. I've been on the road recruiting. Day 1 they gave me a polo and said 'Get get 'em,'" Kingsbury said.
He was also pressed on whether he was promised the head coaching job at USC if Helton is fired at any point.
"Not at all. This job was so appealing to me. There were other spots where maybe you're guaranteed three or four years because it's a new coach, but I wanted to be a part of this resurgence and be a part of helping Coach Helton," Kingsbury said.