Evaluating coaching staffs is harder in modern recruiting landscape

Did Eric Henderson suddenly cease to be a good recruiter these past two months? No.

USC football has a new coaching staff. That staff put in some good, hard (dawg) work to flip Justus Terry from Georgia, and to bring aboard Isaiah Gibson. That’s real work done in pursuit of the kinds of players who would make USC better. Eric Henderson and D’Anton Lynn did a really good job in March to make Terry and Gibson choose USC.

Months later, UGA Wire wrote this about Isaiah Gibson:

“On3’s Steve Wiltfong changed his recruiting projection for four-star EDGE rusher Isaiah Gibson from Southern Cal to Georgia. Gibson, originally from Warner Robins, Georgia, first committed to the Trojans in March. Gibson is considered by many services to be the top EDGE rusher in the class of 2025.

“Gibson is listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds. He led Warner Robins High in sacks and hurries a season ago with 17 and 55 respectively, making a habit of terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. In addition to football, Gibson also plays basketball at the school. He visited Georgia on May 31, and has upcoming visits scheduled to Ohio State and Auburn as well.”

Did Eric Henderson suddenly not do a good job? Did D’Anton Lynn lose the mustard on his fastball in the past two and a half months? It all seems rather unfair to make that assessment. They put in the work. They got a good result. A young athlete changed his mind two and a half months later for reasons which probably didn’t have much to do with Henny or Lynn themselves. It all makes evaluating coaching staffs harder. This is how it is in the current world of recruiting.

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