Saturday will mark the return to the Coliseum for former USC head football coach Clay Helton. Now the head coach at Georgia Southern, Helton will lead his team into Los Angeles this weekend to face the Trojans. It will mark Helton’s first time back in the Coliseum since September 11, 2021, when his USC team lost to Stanford 42-28. He was fired as the Trojans’ head coach two days later.
One of the few players from that USC team who is still with the Trojans is tight end Lake McRee. A true freshman at the time, McRee is now a redshirt senior and one of the leaders in USC’s locker room.
Advertisement
Following Tuesday’s practice, McRee discussed facing his former coach for the first time.
“Super cool,” McRee said. “Can’t say enough good stuff about Coach Helton. At the end of the day, he gave me a chance to come here, and that was a coach that I committed to out of high school, and he gave me the opportunity to be at this prestigious university, and that’s why I’ve been here the past five years, was because of him.
“I can’t say enough good stuff about him. Great coach, great guy. It was a cool experience to be with him, even though it wasn’t too long . . . really excited to see him, and I hope he’s doing well.”
McRee and the few other current USC players who played for Helton will certainly enjoying catching up with him before the game. Once kickoff hits, however, reunions will be thrown out the window, and their sole focus will be on helping the Trojans to get a victory.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football’s Lake McRee talks about Clay Helton, Georgia Southern
