USC Football: The Twists and Turns of the Special Teams in 2010

As the end of the 2009 recruiting season drew near, the USC Trojans thought they had the nation's premier prep punter/field goal kicker all but signed and delivered.

Matt Darr, Scout.com's No. 1 high school kicker, from Frontier High School in Bakersfield, CA, had given Pete Carroll his verbal commitment early on and eagerly awaited the signing day, expecting fully to become a Trojan.

Then Pete Carroll left the Trojans for the Seattle Seahawks, and everything changed.

Just before the signing date, rumors swirled that Darr was no longer considering the Trojans because when Carroll left, so did the Trojans special teams coach, Brian Schneider.

The rumors were true.

On the day when high school players could sign with their new colleges, Darr penned his name on the bottom line with Fresno State.

USC was left with who they had, which wasn't bad because Jordan Congdon did a pretty good job in 2009.

Now let's fast forward to Mar. 3, 2010.

RIP.com, the official USC web site, reports that Lane Kiffin has hired John Baxter, the longtime Fresno State special teams coach away from the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Yep, the very same Fresno State that Matt Darr had jilted the Trojans for when he left because USC's special teams coach departed when Pete Carroll did.

Ironic, eh?

Wait, the road still turns.

Today, it was reported that USC's kicker, Jordan Congdon, a devoutly religious young man, will leave USC to attend Princeton's Theological Seminary.

Of course, Congdon was a senior last year and would not have returned anway.

Nonetheless, USC is looking for a new kicker and Fresno State is looking for a new special teams coach.

Funny how things work out...

Funny, that is, until a missed kick costs either program a game they should have won.

How this turns out is still a story ending that remains to be written.