Zach Hanson shifts from coaching USC tight ends to offensive line, filling a vacancy
Already poised to turn over most of its offensive line, USC has moved quickly to replace departed offensive line coach Josh Henson with a familiar face.
Zach Hanson, who spent the last three seasons as USC’s tight ends coach, will shift to leading the Trojans offensive line.
He’ll take the place of Josh Henson, who left Tuesday to become the offensive coordinator at Purdue. While Henson technically carried the same title at USC, he will step into a play calling role for new Boilermakers coach Barry Odom, who previously coached alongside Henson at Missouri.
Hanson’s move to offensive line coach also leaves USC without an assistant working with tight ends. It was unclear, as of Wednesday morning, how or if Lincoln Riley planned to fill that opening.
The exit of Zachariah and Zion Branch is an especially brutal blow to the Trojans, who have watched top prospects leave in droves the last two years.
“In addition to coaching our tight ends and being an outstanding recruiter, Zach has been instrumental in working with our offensive linemen at USC,” Riley said in a statement. “He’s had extensive experience coaching the offensive line at Tulsa and Kansas State. We’re excited to have Zach lead this unit and develop our offensive line.”
Hanson, a former offensive tackle at Kansas State, last coached the offensive line when he spent two seasons (2020-21) as offensive line coach at Tulsa. Prior to that, he was an assistant offensive line coach at Kansas State for one season (2018).
He takes the reins of USC’s offensive line with much less experience than his predecessor. Henson’s three seasons made him the longest tenured offensive line coach at USC in a decade. But his time leading the Trojans front will be remembered as a largely uneven one. After a strong showing in 2022, behind a veteran line, USC’s front took a step back in 2023, then struggled to start the 2024 season before steadying in the second half of the season.
It’s thought the quick decision to move Hanson to offensive line coach help limit any potential fallout from Henson’s exit, which was expected to leave USC’s offensive line on even shakier ground. Hanson will already have his hands full with three starters to replace and not a lot of depth from which to choose their replacements.
A look at all the players who are transferring in and out of UCLA and USC in the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2025 college football season.
Left guard Emmanuel Pregnon and center Jonah Monheim are off to the NFL, while right tackle Mason Murphy has already signed with Auburn as a transfer. Two key reserves on the interior, Gino Quinones and Amos Talalele, have also already entered the transfer portal, along with freshman Kalolo Ta’aga.
The departures leave USC in a precarious position ahead of its bowl game on Dec. 27, with just a few available backups for a patchwork line. Aside from its two returning starters, Elijah Paige and Alani Noa, the entirety of the returning offensive line room has just 161 total snaps among them, more than half of which belong to offensive tackle Tobias Raymond (86).
Paige, whose presence is now vitally important, assured last week that he planned to stay at USC. But that was prior to Henson’s exit on Tuesday.
“I committed here because I see coach Riley’s vision,” Paige said. “I believe in it. I trust it. I’m a part of it.”
Those plans have already been tested over the last week, as 18 players, four of them linemen, hit the transfer portal. USC will get some reinforcements soon enough, after signing four offensive linemen during the early signing window, including two top-150 tackles. The Trojans are also expected to target several linemen in the transfer portal.
That wasn’t the path that Riley and Henson had hoped to follow when they outlined their plans for the offensive line last fall. Then, both made clear they hoped to rely on high school recruiting as their primary focus up front.
But plans have since changed. Henson is now on his way to Purdue. And Hanson is set to take his place, with a tall task ahead of him.
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