The reality of the situation at USC is layered regarding the program’s inability to land elite offensive linemen on the recruiting trail. On one hand, offensive line coach Josh Henson isn’t stacking one five-star recruit after another, but on the other hand, Clay Helton did so much damage to this program over several years that Henson can’t be expected to immediately fix everything.
Henson will be entering his third year on staff in 2024. In Year 3 of a coach’s tenure, we need to begin to see better results. In Year 3, the arguments about being hamstrung by the previous coaching staff aren’t as easy to sell. The clock is definitely ticking for Henson in his stewardship of the Trojans’ offensive line.
Remember when USC missed out on Josh Conerly and Francis Mauigoa?
We wrote this in 2022:
“The Trojans lost to Oregon for Josh Conerly. Now they have lost to the coach who led Oregon last year but then moved across the country to a new home.
“Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes beat out USC, Tennessee, and a few other schools for five-star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. The decision was announced on Monday afternoon, giving Miami yet another win over USC in 2022, the previous one being the NCAA Tournament first round.”
USC has plainly struggled to land five-star offensive linemen in recent years, but that drought was mostly a Clay Helton problem. Josh Henson is tasked with making sure Helton’s problem doesn’t become a regular fact of existence under Lincoln Riley.
He certainly has some work to do.
While USC sorts itself out on defense with so many staff transitions, Henson needs to give his offensive line — and the Trojans’ offense — high-level stability. It’s why offensive line recruiting and player development are central to the USC project right now.
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