USC Seniors Can Already Be Called a Great Success Before the Season Starts

The dictionary defines success as either “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors” or “the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.”

But how does a football team define success?

For South Carolina, success was the program’s first 11-win season. Steve Spurrier even had rings made to commemorate the occasion.

But at the other “USC,” 11 win seasons were par for the course until the past two years. Two seasons ago, their 8-5 record was considered practically a failure. They received a mulligan for being under sanctions with a brand-new coaching staff.

But the Trojans have moved forward since. So does the old definition of success apply again?

No.

Not because of sanctions. Not because of the new coaching staff. Not because the level of talent changed.

But because the current seniors have redefined the very meaning of the word.

Most people look at college as a way to prepare them and qualify them for a successful career, whether it is in sports, business or engineering. But those four years (or five for those who love a victory lap) are really how you learn to handle life. It’s the moment where you wake up and realize that there is something beyond your little world.

When team captains T.J. McDonald and Matt Barkley chose to return for their senior year in order to finish the job they started, they achieved success. Not that the decision didn't partially benefit them as individuals. But there was more motivation than that.

Several months later, when it was announced that both of them, as part of a group of 16 players, would be traveling to Haiti right after the school year on a humanitarian mission, they redefined it.

And that's barely scratching the surface. We could mention Kyle Negrete's work with The Wells Project at USC or how he started an entire season without a scholarship. We could talk about how Khaled Holmes and Devon Kennard have already started their master's degrees.

They could go 9-3 or 3-9, and this senior class would still be one of the most successful the history of USC.

Why?

Because they figured out that you don’t quit when life gets hard and that it’s not all about you. There are players retiring from the NFL that still do not understand that concept.

But these young men do. They had just finished a mediocre freshman year when a new coaching staff arrived and the NCAA came knocking out their door. They could have left, sat out a year and still have plenty of time to play at a much less troubled institution.

But they saw all the other reasons why they came to play in Los Angeles, their teammates included, and stuck to their commitment.

It wasn’t easy. But they’ve left their mark. No one can look at USC the same way again.

You can’t say that everyone at USC is spoiled. You can’t say that there is a double standard for football players. You can’t accuse people of looking the other way when one of their prized All-Americans is in trouble.

Under some of the most scrutinized times, these young men not only stayed out of trouble, they set a new standard of character and tenacity.

No, not all of them come out squeaky clean. Markeith Ambles and Dillon Baxter didn’t fare so well. Which is why they didn’t last long at USC either.

It’s different now in Heritage Hall.

And yes, if they don’t make it back to the Rose Bowl, the fans will be upset. If they don’t go to the BCS National Championship, the nation won’t really care. If the program doesn’t do at least as well as last year, you can’t call them successful.

But some of the players have already achieved a level of success that most of us could only hope to achieve.