Helton fond of 57-day stay at ASU

For three years Arkansas State was known as the football program with one-and-done coaches.

Hugh Freeze won 10 games and left for Ole Miss, Gus Malzahn won nine games and went to Auburn, and Bryan Harsin won eight games and was lured home by Boise State.

The coach that started the turnstiles turning didn't even last that long.

"To even be mentioned with those guys is a pretty unique honor," said Clay Helton, who on Saturday will finally see another ASU football game five years after being hired to overhaul the Red Wolves' offense by then-coach Steve Roberts.

Helton will be on the other sideline when ASU meets No. 8 Southern California in Los Angeles. As the Trojans' offensive coordinator, he'll help lead a team that has national championship aspirations but also has been involved in a preseason firestorm stemming from Coach Steve Sarkisian's drunken comments made at a booster event.

Helton spent only 57 days as ASU's offensive coordinator -- he was hired Dec. 24, 2009, and left for USC on Feb. 18, 2010 -- but he said he still feels a connection to the school.

"I just remember the quality of people, starting with Steve Roberts," Helton said. "What a great place to coach football, and the atmosphere that was there and the love they had for the team, just a unique setting."

Helton joined Roberts when both coaches were in need of a reboot. Roberts had just come off a 4-8 season in 2009, and Helton was part of a staff that had just been fired at Memphis following a 2-10 season.

Roberts, who lost to Memphis four times with Helton as its offensive coordinator, tapped Helton to install an up-tempo, no-huddle Spread system.

"I think Coach Roberts really had a vision of what the future of football was going to be and was looking to make a step toward that," Helton said.

So on Christmas Eve 2009, Helton was announced as ASU's new offensive coordinator. Over the next eight weeks he went on recruiting trips, helped Roberts sign quarterback Bo Wallace and began the early stages of installing a new offense in time for spring practice.

Then Helton received a phone call from Lane Kiffin, who had just been named head coach at Southern California. The two had never worked together, but in 2009 Helton caught Lane and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin's eye when they faced each other in a 56-28 Tennessee victory.

Helton received a phone call from Monte Kiffin after the season while Tennessee was preparing for its bowl game.

"He said, 'One day, don't be surprised that you might get a call from myself or Lane to come talk,' " Helton said. "I didn't know if that call would ever happen but was shocked when it did."

Helton said he didn't want to leave Jonesboro but did so with Roberts' blessing.

"There's not many times that you have the opportunity to go to a USC," Helton said. "It's something that really pulled at my heart. Even Coach Roberts said, 'At the end of the day, it's a very good move for you.'

"I appreciated him saying those words."

ASU and Helton have been fine since. Helton's departure led to Roberts hiring Freeze from San Jose State, who installed an offense similar to what Helton had planned. Roberts resigned after another 4-8 finish in 2010, but Freeze took over in 2011 and won a Sun Belt title, and ASU has reached a bowl game every season since.

Helton has stayed at USC through some of the program's most interesting times. He was there when Kiffin was fired after the fourth game of the 2013 season and served as interim coach in that year's bowl game. He was kept on by Sarkisian, and he has consistently led quality offenses despite a loss of scholarships because of NCAA sanctions.

USC's expectations are high this season thanks to the lifting of sanctions and the return of scholarships, along with the return of senior quarterback Cody Kessler, a Heisman Trophy candidate who passed for 3,826 yards last season with 39 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

Helton continues to think highly of ASU too, an opinion that began to form five years ago.

"You could see it then," Helton said. "Just from the facility standpoint and the kids that were being recruited, you could just tell that ASU was going to be an unbelievable quality program. They've done it year in and year out, and Coach [Blake] Anderson is doing it now."

Sports on 08/30/2015