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COLLEGE FOOTBALL Alabama's just first of USC's tall tasks Pac-12 South Division storylines abound already Comment By Ryan Thorburn Eugene Register-Guard MailTribune.com By Ryan Thorburn Eugene Register-Guard Posted May. 4, 2016 at 4:39 PM By Ryan Thorburn Eugene Register-Guard Posted May. 4, 2016 at 4:39 PM » Social News Clay Helton is entering his first full season at his dream job. The USC coach insists he hasn’t had any nightmares yet about the 2016 opener versus Alabama. The Trojans shared the South Division title with Utah after Helton provided some calm in the storm of Steve Sarkisian’s termination. But after the interim tag was removed from Helton’s title, USC went 0-2 with losses to Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game and to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl. Now Helton will have to navigate a merciless schedule with a new starting quarterback and a thin defensive line. “As a coach, I tried to focus on just us getting better,” Helton said during the Pac-12 coaches spring teleconference with reporters. “I’m not naive. I know this game is special to our players. You can even hear them mention, ‘That drill is not good enough, that’s not going to beat Alabama.’ “They understand how special it is.” Nick Saban won his fourth national championship at Alabama last season. His offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin, will be looking for a measure of revenge on Sept. 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, after being fired by USC after a loss to Arizona State on Sept. 28, 2013. The Trojans also have road games at Stanford, Utah, Washington and UCLA. Oregon and Notre Dame visit the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Helton is embracing the challenge and confident in the talent the program has accrued on the recruiting trail in recent years. “There’s a sense of team right now between these kids,” Helton said. “I could feel it through the entire camp. They competed at a very high level, and that’s what we expect here at USC.” Across town, UCLA returns star quarterback Josh Rosen, who might be the top NFL prospect for 2018. Jim Mora is worried about replacing the eight Bruins selected in this year’s draft, including six early entrants. “Every recruit that comes in has that dream of playing in the NFL,” Mora said. “I think it says a lot about the quality of athlete we recruit and the way they are developed.” UCLA won’t be easing into his season either with nonconference road games at Texas A&M and BYU ahead of the conference opener against Stanford. Utah, the only South Division team to win 10 games in 2015, must replace quarterback Travis Wilson and running back Devontae Booker. Juniors Brandon Cox and Troy Williams and true freshman Tyler Huntley will resume their competition for the starting quarterback spot during fall camp. “I’m not concerned about sizing up the South,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I’m just concerned about us right now and making sure we get our situation sorted out and making sure we come away with the right guy. “To be a good football team, you have to have a good quarterback. That’s just the nature of the game.” Arizona State, picked to finish second in the South last summer, finished with a disappointing 6-7 overall record. Todd Graham, like Whittingham, believes he has a trio of solid quarterbacks. Sophomore Manny Wilkins and redshirt freshmen Bryce Perkins and Brady White are vying to replace Mike Bercovici. “All three of them have been very impressive. They can all extend plays, they are all athletic guys,” Graham said. “It has been a very close race in the spring. It will go into the summer and it will clear up.” Arizona returns junior quarterback Anu Solomon, who completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,667 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. The Wildcats, who followed up their South title in 2014 with a 7-6 campaign, got back to basics during the offseason. Rich Rodriguez parted company with defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and hired Boise State’s Marcel Yates. Arizona’s fifth-year coach also challenged Solomon by hinting that early enrollee Khalil Tate could be in the quarterback mix as a freshman. “(Tate) was here in the spring and got a lot of valuable reps,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really pleased with his progress.” Mike MacIntyre enters his fourth season at Colorado with a 2-25 record in the Pac-12 (10-27 overall). The Buffaloes expect Texas Tech graduate transfer Davis Webb to arrive this summer to compete with incumbent quarterback Sefo Liufau, who took a beating last season and was unavailable in the spring because a foot injury. “Once we decide who the quarterback is going to be, we’re going to have to make adjustments and figure out how to put them in situations where they’re going to be successful,” McIntyre said. Entering the sixth season since the conference expanded, the South is still looking for its first Pac-12 championship. The kings of the North — Oregon (2011, 2014) and Stanford (2012, 2013, 2015) — have collected all of the hardware to date. By Ryan Thorburn Eugene Register-Guard MailTribune.com By Ryan Thorburn Eugene Register-Guard Posted May. 4, 2016 at 4:39 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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