Filed under: USC Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Coaching
Steve Sarkisian used an age-old public relations axiom in guiding his debut as the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans Saturday againd Idaho: “Keep it Simple, Stupid.”
Taking the reigns from Lane Kiffin, Sarkisian employed only the most basic offense to launch quarterback John David Booty’s Heisman campaign. Sarkisian told the Los Angeles Daily News, “We had a game plan where a lot of young guys needed to play and we didn’t want them to have to think a whole lot,” Sarkisian said. “(Center) Kris O’Dowd, (wide receiver) David Ausberry, (tailback) Joe McKnight, (fullback) Stanley Havili, (tailback) Stafon Johnson, just to name a few. All those guys played their first games or got their first significant playing time.”
Trojan fans are waiting to see how much Sarkisian remembers of Norm Chow‘s offensive strategy–that to set up the big play, you need to make the little ones–something that was lost on his predecessor Lane Kiffin. However, after a lackluster second quarter, Sarkisian looked almost Chow-like with his playcalling, using short, quick, high-percentage passes to build Booty’s confidence in the receivers and march the ball down-field.
TrojanWire 
Leave a comment