USC offensive lineman thanks the man who improved his career
It was heartwarming to see this before Saturday’s game between USC and Washington State: Justin Dedich went up to Clay McGuire and gave him a warm embrace.
Remember Clay McGuire? He’s the man who was hired by Clay Helton to coach USC’s offensive line for the 2021 season. Helton fired Tim Drevno at the end of the 2020 season and replaced him with McGuire. The rationale was obvious and correct: If USC was going to run the Air Raid under offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, it needed to have a man who coached offensive line play within the Air Raid system. McGuire did that at Washington State.
Let’s take note of how McGuire helped Dedich and the USC offensive line:
FIRST, THE MOMENT
#USC team captain and OL Justin Dedich makes a B-line for former #USC OL coach and Washington State OL Clay McGuire @ThePeristyle pic.twitter.com/d8U7aE9Ks8
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) October 8, 2022
PRAISE
Lincoln Riley says former #USC OL coach Clay McGuire told him that Justin Dedich was the "toughest dude" on the football team.
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) September 15, 2022
WORTH NOTING
When Lincoln Riley was hired in late November of 2021, USC still had one more game to play. Remember the Cal game which was postponed due to COVID-19? It was played in early December, one week after Riley was hired. This gave Riley a chance to observe a week of practice before a USC game. Riley was able to talk to McGuire and gather information. This is an underrated aspect of Riley’s (and Josh Henson’s) ability to take what he had with this O-line and make it even better.
GRADING OUT
Highest-graded Offensive Lines in College Football
1. USC – 91.8
2. Kentucky – 90.3
3. Oregon State – 89.4
4. Ohio State – 89.0
4. Iowa – 89.0 pic.twitter.com/sYj2yWtE90— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 22, 2021
MORE CONTEXT ON LINCOLN RILEY AND CLAY MCGUIRE
Lincoln Riley worked with Washington State OL coach (and former USC OL coach) Clay McGuire for several years at Texas Tech. Riley gave a pretty insightful answer on how he relied on McGuire a bit to learn about the program when he took the #USC job last November. pic.twitter.com/jdszn5vqVC
— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) October 4, 2022
DOING THE WORK
#USC Oline coach Clay McGuire teaching!!😤 @USCScoop @USCScoopTV pic.twitter.com/v6iGHZgReB
— Marc Kulkin (@MarcKulkin) August 20, 2021
MCGUIRE STANDS OUT
Just look at the last decade of USC OL coaches …
2012: James Cregg
2013: Mike Summers
2014: Tim Drevno
2015: Bob Connelly
2016-18: Neil Callaway
2018-20: Drevno (again)
2021: Clay McGuire
2022: Josh HensonAt a position all about chemistry, USC has changed coaches 8 times!
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) March 30, 2022
BRETT NEILON LOVED PLAYING FOR MCGUIRE
Veteran #USC center had a lot of love for O-line coach Clay McGuire last night and got emotional talking about the discussion after the game.
McGuire wasn’t a high-profile hire last offseason, from Texas State, but he was an impactful one.https://t.co/NuPvcKRVDz pic.twitter.com/1U1Zpod1S1
— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) December 5, 2021
TWO OF THIS YEAR'S DAY 1 STARTERS
#USC OL Coach Clay McGuire On When JONAH MONHEIM and COURTLAND FORD Began to Emerge❕💎
🎥 @On3USC #FightOn✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/55PUXl3igr
— Scott Schrader (@Scott_Schrader) September 1, 2021
