REPORT: Washington State to hire USC OL coach Clay McGuire

Offensive line coach Clay McGuire has a case for being the most impactful assistant coach for USC in this 4-8 season, helping to revive a rushing attack that went from one of the worst in college football to a dependable unit that became the strength of the offense down the stretch.

McGuire also seemed like one of the few assistants with a chance to remain on staff under Lincoln Riley, as he had worked with Riley at both Texas Tech and East Carolina previously.

But instead, ESPN's Adam Rittenburg reports that McGuire is headed to Washington State.

This will only further drive speculation that USC has a chance to land Oklahoma co-OC/O-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who is regarded as one of the best at the position in college football.

Bedenbaugh had told prospects as recently as late this past week that he was unsure on his future, waiting to see who Oklahoma hires as head coach following Riley's departure to USC.

USC finished 82nd nationally in rushing offense, averaging 145.58 yards per game on the ground -- a stark improvement from 2020 when the Trojans ranked 120th out of 127 FBS teams in rushing at 97.33 yards per game.

While McGuire didn't coach the running backs -- give Mike Jinks his share of credit -- he improved the run blocking dramatically to open more lanes for the rushers. The Trojans' pass protection wasn't quite as strong, but McGuire opened the season with two redshirt freshmen first-time starters at tackle in Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim. He finished with redshirt seniors Andrew Vorhees, moving out from left guard, and Jalen McKenzie manning the tackle spots.

Despite the struggles, USC still ranked tied for 25th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (1.5 per game).

"We hugged and he talked to us," Trojans center Brett Neilon said. "We all love him and we had a ton of fun as an O-line. I think the wins and losses didn't show, but I thought our O-line played really well and that's a credit to what Coach McGuire did. He's a phenomenal coach with a great resume, a great man. We all love him and respect him a lot. It was tough to hug him."