Wednesday evening update: A statement from USC AD Mike Bohn:

“I am pleased to let you know Coach Helton will continue to be our head coach. His commitment to our student-athletes and to leading with integrity is vital to restoring our championship program, which is the goal for all of our teams. Heading into 2020, Coach Helton and I will work together to take a hard look at all aspects of the football enterprise and will make the tough decisions necessary to compete at a championship level.”

Said Helton: “I appreciate the support from President Folt and Mike Bohn. It is abundantly clear that we now have the support, resources and tolls to build a championship team. We know the expectations of our fans are high, as they should be. Those are the same expectations I have for myself and that our staff and team have as well. Our future is bright. We have a young team on the verge of doing something special. We have seen what this team can do, having the season we have had despite going through adversity. and injuries. We are headed to a great bowl and we plan to finish the season strong. And we are putting the final touches on an outstanding recruiting class. I believe in our team and in our fan base. I know we will all come together to succeed. I am excited about the future.”

Clay Helton will be retained as the head coach at USC, sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday evening. A formal announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Helton was largely viewed as a lame duck after he was retained following a 5-7 campaign in 2018, but exceeded expectations in 2019. Playing with a true freshman, backup quarterback in Kedon Slovis under a new offense directed by offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, the Trojans went 8-4, winning five of their last six games, and remained in contention for the Pac-12 championship through the final week of the regular season.

Helton has been with the program since 2010, surviving the Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian regimes to take over on an interim basis in 2015. Given the full-time job in 2016, Helton led USC to a 10-3 record, a Rose Bowl win and a No. 3 final ranking in the AP poll that season, then guided the Trojans to a Pac-12 championship in 2017. Overall, Helton is 40-21 as USC’s head coach.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.