LOS ANGELES -- Sam Darnold remembers the game vividly. Clay Helton, then USC's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was on the sideline to see him play as a senior at San Clemente High.
Darnold was already committed to USC at that point and knew Helton would be there, but those things did nothing to prevent butterflies from creeping into his gut when he saw Helton standing there.
"I remember going in [to the locker room] and coming back out, seeing him again and being super nervous," Darnold said. "Like, 'Oh my gosh, there's my college coach.