2019 Holiday Bowl Practice: Notes

With Holiday Bowl practice open to the media for the first time, all the topics were about the many happy returns.

First and foremost, the head coach is back. Clay Helton was overwhelmed by the reception he received from the team when they heard the news that he was staying put. "That was something that I knew was going to happen," said captain Michael Pittman Jr. "I feel like he deserves that and I feel like he's been going a good job. He's brought us a lot of stability and I feel like everything is going up. Actually so next year I think will be even better. I wish I had a fifth year, so that I could come back and play, but sadly I don't, so I got to go."

Not only did new AD Mike Bohn show faith in Helton, he vowed to the head coach that he would add "support and resources" to continue building the program up. The athletic director backed up his promise by signing coveted OC Graham Harrell to a multi-year extension. "To step up to the plate and to keep Graham Harrell here, that's huge," Helton said. "Those are the things that have got to happen when you are trying to win national championships."

Harrell was offered big money to leave USC, but he values "the people you are around in the office and the players you have" over dollars. "When you have something special, you know it," Harrell said. "That's a hard thing to leave."

While Texas will always be home for Harrell, his family is getting comfortable in Los Angeles. "My wife thinks she lives in paradise, and my son, he lives with Mickey Mouse and the beach, so what's not to like," Harrell joked.

Harrell also has tremendous belief in the personnel that this offense returns, so he is excited about what this team can achieve next season. "This is a really special place because you're at one of the few schools in the country that legitimately could win a national championship every single year."

While the questions over Helton's job status hurt the program on the recruiting trail this month, Harrell was impressed by how his head coach handled the situation. "Clay was awesome," Harrell said. "He's the same guy every single day. No matter if we won or we lost, when things are being said good about him or things are being said bad about him, he never changed."

Helton is not interested in discussing any staff changes until after the bowl game. At that point, he explained that he will look at the totality of the program and how the team can get better next season.

WR Tyler Vaughns and LT Austin Jackson, both potential candidates to enter the NFL Draft early, were also not divulging any information about their futures. "I don't have a timeline," Vaughns said. "I haven't really thought about it."

Pittman is headed to the NFL, but he is not skipping the bowl game like some high profile players around the country. "As a captain, it's my duty to finish with my team and help them get this last win," Pittman said.

Staying on the return theme, RB Markese Stepp is back from injury and hopes to be able to play in the Holiday Bowl. "Of course it was frustrating, but everything happens for a reason," Stepp said about getting hurt. "I'm just excited for the whole [running back] room, everybody got their chance. You just have to take it on the chin, know that greater things are ahead and just be patient."

And finally, freshman WR Bru McCoy, who remains ineligible to play, is back on the practice field in pads after an illness cost him the season. "It's kind of like getting a new toy at Christmas," Harrell said about McCoy.

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