Revisiting the Clay Helton era at USC before anticipated return

UCLA v USC | Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages Week 2 of the college football season brings Clay Helton back to Los Angeles, as the Georgia Southern head coach returns to face his former program at USC following a tough week one loss to Fresno State. Helton’s homecoming stirs mixed emotions as he’s widely regarded as one of the sport’s genuine “nice guys,” respected and well-liked across the college football landscape. Yet for many Trojan fans, the frustration lingers. Helton is still seen as the architect of years of underachievement, and Lincoln Riley continues working to undo the lingering effects of a program that was mismanaged during Helton’s tenure.

Clay Helton took over at USC midway…