Baxter to join staff


He is largely responsible for the most productive special teams unit over the last eight years, and now, he’s a part of the USC staff.

John Baxter, formerly the special teams coordinator for Fresno State was reportedly added to coach Lane Kiffin’s staff on Wednesday, continuing to fill Kiffin’s coaching squad.

Baxter led the Bulldogs’ special teams unit to an NCAA-best 49 blocked kicks over the past eight seasons, a statistic that garnered the coach recognition and obviously caught Kiffin’s eye when the time came for him to find a special teams coach.

Baxter was also responsible for instituting a program at Fresno State that gave the team a national reputation as one of the most academically responsible programs in the country.

His “Academic Gameplan” has resulted in Fresno State leading the Western Athletic Conference in Academic All-WAC players, who are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and play in half of the team’s games.

Baxter had previously coach at Tulane (1994-96), Maryland (1992-93) and Arizona (1990-91, 1988) before joining the Bulldog staff.