Three Ways Chris Claiborne Can Impact ASU After Leaving USC

Claiborne played at USC for three years and is one of the best linebackers in school history.

On Monday evening, former USC staffer Chris Claiborne officially left the Trojans after he was named the new linebackers coach at Arizona State.

Claiborne was an offensive quality control analyst for USC this past season. He is USC’s only Butkus Award winner as college football’s best linebacker back in 1998. Now he looks to move up the NCAA coaching ranks with Arizona State. 

So let’s dive into three ways Claiborne can make an impact in Tempe.

#1. Recruiting in California

The biggest impact that Claiborne is expected to have for the Sun Devils is his ability to entice student-athletes in the recruiting world, especially California kids. Prior to coming to USC, Claiborne was previously the head coach at Calabasas High School for two seasons. 

He also had stops as an assistant coach at other high school football powerhouses around Southern California such as Corona, Oaks Christian, and Long Beach Poly. Due to all of his ties with these programs and young players, the 42-year-old fits in perfectly alongside the other assistants at ASU.

Recruiting and culture have become a huge part of the Sun Devils strategy in Arizona, especially placing an emphasis on recruiting in the Los Angeles area. Thus the hiring of Claiborne means that head coach Herm Edwards values his ability to help recruit.

#2. NFL Experience

Another way Claiborne can make an impact with the Sun Devils is using his past NFL experience. The former All-American was a first round pick in the 1999 NFL draft and played for the Lions, Vikings, Rams and Giants over his nine-year career.

He fits into Arizona State’s emphasis on touting the NFL experience of its coaching staff nicely. Edwards’ already has several big-time former NFL players and coaches on his staff, including Marvin Lewis, Antonio Pierce, Derek Hagan, and others. 

#3. Coaching His Specialty: Linebackers

The third and final way Claiborne can make his presence felt at ASU is by focusing on coaching the position he played. During his award-winning 1998 season with the Trojans, Claiborne won Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was unanimously named an All-American to go alongside his Butkus hardware. 

He recorded team highs with 120 tackles, 16 pass deflections and six interceptions to help lead the defense during the team's 8-5 season. This will be his first season coaching strictly linebackers, as his past experiences didn't allow him to fully focus on the technical defensive position. 

Especially now that ASU promoted former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce to defensive coordinator, Claiborne can really thrive on the Sun Devils coaching staff.

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