Josh Henson shares impressions of young USC offensive line

As USC continues fall camp, the integration of a large group of offensive linemen continues. There are plenty of young USC offensive linemen after the program signed five freshmen and brought in three transfers this offseason.

Getting them all up to speed will be key.

“So far I’m really excited about that group,” offensive line coach Josh Henson said. “For a young group they’ve got a shot. They’ve got to work really hard to develop their talent, but they’re talented.”

The Trojans signed three top-500 prospects in the 2023 class, along with two other three-star prospects. Four-star Elijah Paige joins three-stars Micah Banuelos, Amos Talalele, Alani Noa and Tobias Raymond.

Meanwhile, the transfer group includes Florida offensive tackle Michael Tarquin, Washington State offensive tackle Jarrett Kingston and Wyoming interior lineman Emmanuel Pregnon.

That’s quite a haul for Henson to work with this fall on a young USC offensive line.

“They’re very physical. They all are talented,” Henson said. “They’ve all got a ways to go as a player learning the offense, getting in the right spot and the more that they learn the offense the more they’ll be able to focus on technique and getting better at the technical things, the little things.”

Young USC offensive line can bolster run game

If there’s one thing the young USC offensive line hopes to contribute it’s additional depth up front on the offensive line. The Trojans are a playoff hopeful and firing on all cylinders will be key.

The team hopes to drastically improve a run game that finished last year ranked 53rd a year ago, averaging 171.1 yards per game.

“I think, any year, you can make strides. You bring in new guys, look at new schemes. We just try to become better,” running backs coach Kiel McDonald said. “We’ve got new guys up front. I think it can take a considerable jump this upcoming year.”

The Trojans rushed for 171.1 yards per game a year ago for 30 touchdowns. Travis Dye led the way with 884 yards and nine scores on 145 attempts while Austin Jones came in a close second with 705 yards and five scores on 135 attempts.

Jones will be back in the fold this season but, with Dye gone, one player who will receive a fair share of the carries for USC is MarShawn Lloyd. The transfer rusher from South Carolina had over 110 attempts for the Gamecocks last fall for 573 yards and nine touchdowns as their leader in the run game.