LOS ANGELES -- USC coach Clay Helton really wanted it to work.
He recruited Max Browne and spent almost four years as his position coach. In his 21 years of coaching, there were few players who measured up to Browne in terms of his character and approach. Helton considered Browne a member of his family.
That’s part of what made the plane ride home after a September loss to Stanford so difficult.
Somewhere between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Helton made the determination that he needed to take a good, long look at the Trojans’ quarterback situation.