Clay Helton feels like it’s Christmas in August as USC opens camp

The modest crowd had trickled out and the air was cool as Clay Helton stepped in front of the row of television cameras Thursday after the first evening of his first training camp as USC’s coach.

“For a football coach, this is kind of like Christmas,” Helton said, smiling. “The last three days, I’ve felt like an 8-year-old at the top of the stairs waiting to go down and open his presents.”

The field lights overhead buzzed. Otherwise, it was quiet. There’d been no celebrities at practice. There’d been no music. There’d been just moderate hype.

It was, in short, Helton’s ideal opening practice. The calm of an off-season devoid of turmoil extended into the first day of practice, an unusual phenomenon at USC.

“It’s definitely been a little chaotic at times for sure since I’ve been here,” quarterback Max Browne said. “But I think to an extent it’s almost allowed us to grow. We have a relatively young team, but a lot of guys have seen a lot of ball and a lot of, just, stuff happen.”

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Zach Helfand and Lindsey Thiry recap opening day of USC training camp as Max Browne and Sam Darnold compete to be the starting quarterback. 

Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said this season’s team felt less selfish.

As an aside, he added, “And it actually feels like a real team.”

The practice was not perfect. General sloppiness festered. Quarterback Sam Darnold remarked that, “The energy was really good but the fundamentals were off.”

But the focus was on football, and the quarterbacks in particular. Browne, the older competitor, has waited three seasons to ascend to the starting role. Darnold’s vigorous challenge became the surprise of spring practice, when Helton announced the competition would extend into training camp.

The first day of battle bore few highlights. The quarterbacks split time with the first and second teams, an arrangement Helton expects to continue and a departure from spring, when Browne mostly worked with the first team.

The execution, at times, was a bit messy. Each botched a few snaps. Neither connected on an unusual amount of deep strikes. There were no interceptions.

“It was tight,” Helton said. “Today both of them played well. I thought they made good decisions.”

Helton said the coaches will convene on Aug. 20 to pick the starting quarterback.

The timing of the decision could leave Browne, a redshirt junior, in a pinch. If he wins the job, there is no issue. Darnold, a redshirt freshman, will be groomed as his successor. If not, Browne could opt to transfer. A spring decision meant he could have transferred as a graduate student in the summer, if he desired.

Still, Browne said the timing “makes sense. If I was the head coach I’d do the same thing.”

Whoever wins the job will then have two weeks to prepare for the season opener, against defending national champion Alabama. For Helton, the study has already begun.

“I got my couch up in my office,” Helton said. “I watch film until I find myself passed out in the chair, then I plop in the couch and wake up, get a cup of coffee and start again.”

Helton said he’s focused on USC, but the specter of Alabama can’t be avoided.

“It’s all-encompassing,” he said.

Quick hits

Noah Jefferson, a potential starter on the young defensive line, did not participate in most team drills. Helton said Jefferson is nursing a back issue and working on core strength. … Center Toa Lobendahn and linebacker Cameron Smith were limited in team drills as both ease back from knees injuries sustained last season. … USC added two scholarship players to the roster: kicker Michael Brown, a “blueshirt” who will count toward next year’s signing class, and defensive tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, a graduate transfer from Utah.

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Twitter: @zhelfand