Last week marked the beginning of the Clay Helton era for eagle football. Helton leaves the University of Southern California. Where he found success winning a Rose Bowl and a PAC-12 Championship in 2017. 

Espn analyst Reggie Walker believes that the dynamic between athletic director Jared Benko and Clay Helton may have been a reason for the hiring. 

“So you get two guys that are fairly young who can grow together and build a program together. So I think that is going to be interesting. And I think that is probably part of those big big selling points,” said Walker.  

Having coached at a premiere program in a power five conference, Walker believes Helton allows for more recruiting opportunities than were available in the past. 

“I think he gets you into more living rooms than you’ve been able to. Because of where he’s been. Because of what he can say. Some of the guys he’s coached,” said Walker.  

Walker is optimistic about the future of the program under the direction of Helton…  

“I think Clay Helton will have a chance to have some success. I would expect them to have a postseason bid next year. If not finding a way to get to the postseason,” said Walker. 

Clay Helton looks to start rebuilding the Georgia Southern program as soon as he steps foot into Statesboro.