It is true that former USC head coach Donte Williams flipped Trojan commit Dominick Kelly to Georgia and Kirby Smart. When Williams left the Trojans and went to Athens, we all knew he would use his recruiting skills and West Coast connections to execute flips precisely along the lines of what he did with Kelly. We can simply and plainly commend Donte Williams on doing his job well Between the Hedges at Georgia. This is what Kirby Smart hired him to do. Where this conversation gets interesting is if USC fans are upset that Williams left Lincoln Riley’s coaching staff. Should they be upset? Should USC football fans lament that Donte’s recruiting chops and California know-how are no longer part of the Trojans’ staff? Let’s tackle this topic in greater depth:
2021
Is it true that Donte Williams had a thankless task when he became USC’s interim head coach in 2021 following the firing of Clay Helton? Yes. Nevertheless, it remains that USC did not get better over the course of the 2021 season. The Trojans played a good game in the finale against BYU, but were largely rudderless until then. That should have been a first clue that Donte Williams was not ready to coach at a higher level.
Does Alex Grinch share blame for Domani Jackson’s lack of development? Of course he does. Nevertheless, this was supposed to be Donte Williams’ big developmental task at USC in 2023. It could not have gone much worse. This was a classic case study in the fundamental Donte Williams problem: He can’t develop players with any consistency. Recruiting elite players means nothing without then developing them. This is what USC fans need to remember, always, about Donte Williams.
SOFT
USC’s secondary was bad in 2023, but worse than that, it was soft. The Oregon game featured a lot of soft play, with corners 10 to 12 yards off the line of scrimmage and Duck receivers basically getting a free run on every play. USC’s softness as a team was epitomized by the secondary. Donte Williams didn’t just fail to teach technique; he didn’t at least teach toughness, either.
DOUG BELK
Asked USC DBs coach Doug Belk about FSU transfer Greedy Vance Jr. High praise. Belk recruited Vance out of HS when he was at Houston.
“His energy is infectious. He loves football, he’s in the office already … as much as any player in the building. He’s a football junkie.” pic.twitter.com/iNtd0JmxSD
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) July 31, 2024
It’s really simple: Donte Williams failed to improve USC’s secondary throughout the 2023 season. Taylor Mays steps into the interim secondary coach role for the Holiday Bowl. In two weeks, Mays whipped these Trojans into shape. They played a very solid game against Louisville. Mays is still on staff and will have an increased role in coaching the secondary under Belk. This is a big reason USC fans should not miss Donte Williams one bit. Don’t let one flip to Georgia make you change your mind on this.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Donte Williams flipped a USC recruit to Georgia, but no one should care
Trojans Wire
