Ask Farrell: Which new Pac-12 assistants will make biggest impact?
There were a lot of changes throughout the Pac-12 this offseason as some coaches kept their jobs, one surprisingly retired and others left for greener pastures, some in surprising fashion as Colorado lost Mel Tucker to Michigan State in one of the stranger coaching searches in recent memory.
With all that change and turnover, there were plenty of assistant coaching moves over the last few months that could have a tremendous impact on recruiting.
USC kept embattled coach Clay Helton but he brought in new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and new cornerbacks coach Donte Williams, who left Oregon for the Trojans and is one of the best recruiters in the country. There were other coaching changes as well in a year that - again - could be make-or-break for Helton’s regime.
Arizona State made some important changes bringing in former USC defensive back and assistant coach Chris Hawkins to help coach the defense. He has outstanding relationships with players across the region and many put the Sun Devils high on their list because he’s on staff. Adding Prentice Gill was also a major move for recruiting purposes that could pay off in a big way since he has California connections as well.
After Chris Petersen retired at Washington and former assistant Jimmy Lake got the job, a lot of assistant coaches were retained but a new face comes in offensive coordinator John Donovan, who was OC at Vanderbilt and Penn State before getting some NFL experience in recent years.
MORE ASK FARRELL: Which new Big Ten assistants will make biggest impact? | ACC assistants? | SEC assistants?
Cal made some important coaching changes, bringing in offensive line coach Angus McClure, one of the best recruiters in the conference, along with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and defensive backs coach Marcel Yates, who did a great job recruiting during his stint at Arizona.
An entirely new staff at Washington State could make things interesting as Nick Rolovich takes over for Mike Leach, who’s off to Mississippi State. And former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was hired at Colorado when Tucker bolted for Michigan State. One big name that he brought in to Boulder is cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin, who has a lot of California connections as well.
There are plenty of new assistant coaches in the conference, some coming back with new programs, and some young, hungry up-and-comers at big-time programs.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell to name a few new assistant coaches in the Pac-12 he thinks will have the biggest impact on the recruiting trail and why he thinks they can be successful.
"Without a doubt, Williams stands out to me as a USC hire because he’s an off-the-charts recruiter and is going to help get the Trojans back on track.
"I also like Hawkins at Arizona State. He’s an unknown at recruiting but he’s a former high-level recruit that's not far removed from college football and that will be key.
"McClure is a home run hire for Cal as a recruiter and Martin is going to bring some Cali talent to Colorado.