Cali Wolverine

January 7th, 2015 at 6:40 PM ^

season ticket holder, Baxter was a tremendous coach, he is one of the best special teams coaches in the business. If this is true...you will all be happy. If you ask most USC fans, stealing Baxter from Fresno State was one of the best moves Kiffin made at USC.

Joined: 01/13/2013

MGoPoints: 21754

Bo Schemheckler

January 7th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^

From what I have read looks like a great coach. Had good special teams, especially when it comes to blocking kicks and was very important in helping players reach their academic goals. Also coached TE's so that could be helpful as well. 247 says he makes 1.1 million in salary so that must mean hes a very important part of the team.

Joined: 09/04/2013

MGoPoints: 37197

teldar

January 7th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^

A portion of a USC blog at the OC Register. http://www.ocregister.com/tag/usc/john-baxter

It sounds like they liked special teams under Kiffen much more than under Sark.

2. Less than special

Just when you thought – or at least I thought – USC had ironed out its special-teams issues, the Trojans looked as if they never had covered a kick before. Or protected a punter. Did Nebraska’s Kieron Williams get a piece of the ball before plowing into Kris Albarado in the first quarter? Doesn’t matter; the Trojans let Williams have a free run. Amazingly, the same thing happened in the third quarter, when Nebraska’s Lane Hovey got all ball and Williams recovered. How does that happen twice in a game? Meanwhile, USC’s kickoff coverage was spotty, contributing to a 10-yard advantage in starting field position for the Cornhuskers. The Trojans spent a ton of time working on special teams leading up to the Holiday Bowl, but it isn’t as big an emphasis as it was under Lane Kiffin, who hired John Baxter specifically for that job. Steve Sarkisian and his staff need to find a happy medium.

Joined: 07/14/2009

MGoPoints: 8132

teldar

January 7th, 2015 at 6:15 PM ^

At first, my post didn't have quite the same meaning until I added that they liked ST under Lane more than under Sark. It looked like he was agreeing with me, but my initial post was unclear... His response agreed with my edited post, but was pointing out the weakness of my unedited post... If that makes any sense.

 

Joined: 07/14/2009

MGoPoints: 8132