Sark helped by young talent


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Unlike the 2013 season, which was met with anticipation as it saw Lane Kiffin in the hot seat, the 2014 season held candid uncertainty.

Before the 2013 season even began, fans were calling for Kiffin’s job. A universal dislike of Kiffin brought the ’SC faithful together more than a shared love for the team.

The 62-41 loss to Arizona State that resulted in Kiffin’s legendary 3 a.m. dismissal at LAX, what should have been a low point of the season, seemed to be a turning point for the Trojans. Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron took over as interim head coach, and though his record wasn’t perfect, he led the Trojans to an exciting fourth quarter upset over Stanford.

The excitement of the Stanford game and Orgeron’s losses, both to competitive opponents UCLA and Notre Dame, had many Trojan fans believing that he would be named head coach. So when Pat Haden opted for Steve Sarkisian over Orgeron, many fans were skeptical.

When the 2014 season began, no one knew what to expect of Sark. People liked him more than Kiffin, but weren’t sure if he deserved the job over Coach O. Since becoming a head coach at Washington in 2009, Sark had never won more than nine games in a season. And as the skeptics will remind you, Sark won nine games with the Trojans in 2014.

Since the win over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27, the Trojans have lost junior defensive end Leonard Williams, junior wide receiver Nelson Agholor and “redshirt” junior tailback Javorius ‘Buck’ Allen to the NFL.

While 2014 had its fair share of struggles and disappointments, the majority occurring in the fourth quarter, the season also highlighted a lot of potential in USC’s underclassmen, who will be ready to lead the Trojans in 2015.

Freshman Adoree’ Jackson, a dual threat at wide receiver and cornerback, put the exclamation mark on his impressive freshman season with his performance in the Holiday Bowl. Jackson had a 98-yard kickoff return and 71-yard catch and run for a touchdown. After the game, Sarkisian said that Jackson’s play was reminiscent of Reggie Bush.

Another freshman phenom that holds a lot of potential for the Trojans is wide receiver JuJu Smith. Smith had 724 yards and five touchdowns on 54 receptions this season as the number-two receiver behind Agholor. Now that Agholor has left for the NFL, Smith is poised to return as a leader next year.

Though USC loses key defensive weapons in Leonard Williams and senior outside linebacker J.R. Tavai, sophomore safety/linebacker Su’a Cravens showed impressive duality in only his second season at USC. Cravens earned All-Pac-12 first-team recognition after the 2014 season, during which he had 68 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, five sacks and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. These returners will be joined by USC’s highly ranked 2015 recruiting class.

USC’s four-year probation ended on June 10, and the Holiday Bowl marked the last time that USC will play with a restricted scholarship count due to the NCAA sanctions. The Trojans will have their first full recruiting class since 2011.

Sark currently has 21 total commitments out of the maximum 25, 16 of which are verbal. Five players have already signed financial aid agreements and have enrolled for this spring semester. Some of USC’s top 2015 recruits are four-star quarterback Ricky Town, who had previously committed to Alabama; wide receiver Issac Whitney; linebacker Cameron Smith and offensive linemen Chuma Edoga and Roy Hemsley. Sark can sign 19 more recruits on National Signing Day on Feb. 4.

These new additions to the team, along with the already present young talent should help Sark compose a winning team in the early post-sanction years.

As for 2015, it is likely only the begin

ning, but the return of quarterback Cody Kessler for his senior season should help Sark break the seasonal nine-win barrier he has struggled to overcome since 2009.

Reagan Estes is a sophomore majoring in public relations. She is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan.