USC Football Returns To Coliseum To Face First-Time Foe Georgia Southern
LOS ANGELES – The USC Trojans will host the georgia Southern Eagles at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this Saturday in a first-ever matchup between the two programs. The game features several notable connections between the coaching staffs of both teams.
USC’s coaching staff boasts a number of members with prior ties to Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton. Defensive Backs Coach/Passing game Coordinator Doug Belk spent five seasons (2019-23) at Houston, serving as co-defensive coordinator from 2019-20 and associate head coach/defensive coordinator from 2021-23. Helton played quarterback at Houston from 1993-94 under his father, former Houston head coach Kim Helton.
Running Backs coach/Run Game Coordinator Anthony Jones Jr. previously coached at Memphis from 2018-21, where Helton spent 10 seasons, holding positions as running backs coach, receivers coach, and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
USC Assistant Head Coach for Defense/Linebackers Coach Rob Ryan was a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 1987,where Helton’s brother,Tyson Helton,is currently the head coach. Tyson Helton also served as the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator at USC from 2016-17.
Offensive Analyst Grayson Reed was a member of the Texas A&M football team (2017-20), coinciding with Georgia Southern Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach Brandon bailey’s time as a Graduate Assistant and Defensive Analyst for the Aggies in 2019-2020. USC Associate Director of Football Sports Performance Lonnie Maddox and georgia Southern Director of Recruiting Operations Riley Galpin both previously worked at Kansas state, Maddox as an assistant strength coach in 2024 and Galpin as the Assistant Director of On-Campus Recruiting.Georgia Southern enters the contest following a 42-14 season-opening loss to Fresno State. The game pitted former USC head coach Clay Helton against former USC assistant head coach for defense/linebackers coach Matt Entz, now the head coach at Fresno State. Fresno State’s defense limited Georgia Southern to 242 total yards – 158 passing (5.6 yards per pass) and 84 rushing (4.0 yards per rush). Quarterback JC French IV completed 17-of-28 passes for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Wide receiver Camden Brown led the Eagles with 4 receptions for 55 yards and 1 touchdown, while running back OJ Arnold rushed for 41 yards on 9 carries. Georgia Southern converted just 4-of-11 third down attempts and ran 49 plays compared to Fresno State’s 81, resulting in a time of possession disparity of 38:01 to 21:59. Fresno State amassed 527 total yards, including 351 rushing yards - their most since September 20, 2014.
