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USC to hire Colorado State assistant Chad Savage as tight ends/inside receivers coach

Erik-McKinneyby:Erik McKinney•01/07/25•

ErikTMcKinney

Savage
Colorado State Rams assistant coach - wide receivers Chad Savage talks to his team during the second quarter against the San Diego State Aztecs at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. (Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images)

USC is set to hire former former Colorado State wide receivers coach Chad Savage as the Trojans’ new tight ends and inside receivers coach. The move was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Savage is known as a strong developer of talent and an incredible recruiter, especially in the Southern California region. He also served as the recruiting coordinator at Colorado State, with previous stops as the tight ends coach at Nevada, wide receivers coach at San Diego, and offensive assistants at both schools before that.

The 30-year old as been the Mountain West’s top recruiter for the past three seasons and coached both Tory Horton and Justus Ross-Simmons in recent seasons. Horton posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 before an injury cut short his 2024 season.

USC had a vacancy at tight ends coach when former position coach Zach Hanson slid over to the offensive line, replacing Josh Henson who left to become the offensive coordinator at Purdue. The “inside receivers” tag is interesting as the Trojans went with Dennis Simmons as the only wide receivers coach last season. Previously, Luke Huard had coached the inside receivers but took over as quarterbacks coach last season. The USC wide receivers seemed to struggle all season to get into a rhythm and the tight ends did not serve as much of a receiving threat.

At tight end, veteran Lake McRee is back for his fifth season with the Trojans and USC is hoping to get a big boost from three second-year players in Walker Lyons, Walter Matthews and Joey Olsen.

At inside receiver, Makai Lemon returns as maybe the team’s best offensive player. Jay Fair is back after a low-impact season in his first year with the Trojans. And former walk-on Josiah Zamora will be an option as well.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

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