Clay Helton addresses USC roster attrition and Austin Jackson's situation

Clay Helton was the last coach to take his turn on stage Wednesday at Pac-12 Media Day and there was a lot to cover in that 30-minute session from USC's busy offseason.

Helton shared his first public comments about the wild transfer additions of 5-star prospects Bru McCoy and Chris Steele and addressed a number of other roster matters.

First, though, he talked about left tackle Austin Jackson's selfless act this summer to donate bone marrow to his younger sister Autumn, who has a condition called Diamond-Blackfan Anemia.

Jackson underwent the marrow transplant procedure two weeks ago.

"What a great story Austin Jackson is. His sister Autumn needed a bone marrow transplant, and to be a perfect match for her and have that opportunity to help her get healthy was just a blessing from God. That's what it is," Helton said. "We're so glad that Austin got that opportunity over the summer to be able to do that. He's recovering from it right now. He's back with us at school, and I know he's looking forward to not only his recovery but most importantly his sister's."

Jackson, a returning starter at left tackle, was named Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention on Wednesday.

A junior, he is the leader up front for a USC offensive line that is hoping to be far improved in 2019 despite replacing three starters.

"Right now he's training to get in the best football shape possible. We'll see where he is at the start of training camp," Helton said. "And we've been through this scenario before, if you remember, with guys that have been out of football for a little bit. You remember Adoree' [Jackson] had been out with track and we kind of eased him along in his Thorpe Award-winning season to where it was a little bit slower pace. We'll see where Austin is come next week with it and then go from there. But we won't put him fully in until we know he's 100 percent."

So far, USC has had three 2019 signees either not make it to campus or already enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Speaking on those matters for the first time, Helton confirmed that JUCO cornerback Jaylen Watson and 2-star offensive guard Tilini Livai "fell just short of eligibility requirements," as had been reported on this site previously.

Meanwhile, he said 3-star cornerback Trey Davis' decision to enter the transfer portal after about a month on campus was related to family reasons. Davis is from Federal Way, Wash.

"Trey has a family situation back at home that he put his name in the portal that he may need to garner a better opportunity closer to home," Helton said.

As TrojanSports.com has noted previously, senior tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe is no longer on the USC roster.

The athletically-gifted TE sat out the 2018 spring with a hip injury and missed all of last season with an upper leg muscle injury after previously catching 25 passes for 394 yards and 4 touchdowns over 22 games.

"Daniel is doing well. Daniel is this year going to focus on finalizing his master's degree as well as continuing to train. But he's doing well. He won't be with us this season, but is doing well," Helton said.

"I look forward to watching him play in the 2020 season. I really do."

Helton didn't say if he expected that to be at USC or elsewhere.

Aside from Jackson's situation, Helton was asked if there were any other players he didn't expect to be ready for the start of camp next week. The only name he mentioned specifically was reserve quarterback Matt Fink, whom he is optimistic will be available.

"We have a couple kids that are coming off surgery that will be really close. Matt Fink is coming off a minor knee surgery that he should be -- he should be ready by the time of camp. It'll be really, really close," Helton said. "And a couple kids with a couple calf pulls and things. I'll have a better idea for you. We've still got basically another week worth of rehab, and in a week's time a lot of things can happen, so I can't want to give you anything false."