Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox will move from field to booth

One USC coordinator is going up, the other coming down.

Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox will move from the field to the coaches’ booth in the press box for games this season, Coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

USC opens its season against Arkansas State on Saturday night at the Coliseum.

“I think it will allow [Wilcox] to have really good eyes in the box and have a good sense of comfort calling the game,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian announced last week that offensive coordinator Clay Helton would call plays this season and move from the coaches’ booth to the field.

USC ranked tied for 76th among 125 major college teams in total defense last season. The Trojans gave up averages of 407.9 yards and 25.2 points a game.

Wilcox worked from the field as defensive coordinator at Washington and last season at USC. Sarkisian said Wilcox had experience in the booth at Tennessee and Boise State.

Defensive coaches are not made available to reporters on Thursdays during game weeks. But Wilcox said this week the Trojans would substitute more often than last season. Defensive position coaches will determine their own player substitution patterns, Sarkisian said.

“There’s a real sense of confidence with the guys we have on the field to make proper adjustments in Year 2 in the system,” he said.

Sarkisian’s relinquishing of play-calling to Helton should, ostensibly, free him up to oversee and assist with units besides the offense.

He said he had immersed himself in special teams and could be “another set of eyes” for Wilcox, providing information about how opponents are scheming against the Trojans.

“Utilizing my expertise on the offensive side of the ball to be able to tell him, ‘Hey, this is what’s happening. This is what they’re trying to do’ and he can make the calls,” Sarkisian said.