Former Syracuse DB Named Interim Head Coach of USC Football

Donte Williams will replace the fired Clay Helton for the remainder of the season and potentially beyond.

Mike McAllister | Sep 13, 2021

Former Syracuse DB Named Interim Head Coach of USC Football /

Former Syracuse defensive back Donte Williams has been named interim head coach of the USC Trojan football program, following Monday night's surprise firing of Clay Helton just two games into the season. Williams, who played for Syracuse in 2003 as a junior college transfer from Pasadena Community College, was the cornerbacks coach and associate head coach prior to Helton's firing. He played in five games in 2003 for Syracuse, recording just one tackle.

After one year with the Orange, Williams transferred to Idaho State where he played for two seasons before spending two years in the Arena Football League 2.

USC elected to make the move after a 42-28 loss at home to Stanford. The Trojans are 1-1 on the season and play at Washington State on Saturday.

Williams is a "legitimate candidate" to be the full time replacement for Helton, according to Sports Illustrated's USC site, All Trojans. One of the reasons he is a potential long-term option is because of his recruiting prowess. SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. notes that Williams is considered one of the top recruiters in the country.

“Donte Williams is one of the elite recruiters from a national standpoint and from a positional standpoint, with defensive backs, so expect USC to be able to maintain more verbal commitments than otherwise as long as he is at the helm," Garica Jr said via All Trojans.

"He is young and up-and-coming from a schematic standpoint and could be a legitimate candidate to keep the job, unlike how it went with Ed Orgeron. Of course ‘bigger’ names will be thrown out there in the coming days and weeks, but never discount those on the inside."

Published Sep 13, 2021

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.