5 Questions with offensive coordinator Josh Henson

New Purdue offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Josh Henson has a long history with Barry Odom.

Henson had been OC/offensive line coach at USC the last three seasons working for Lincoln Riley, assuming the OC title the last two years. Henson helped groom Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Before USC, Henson was offensive line coach at Texas A&M (2019-21) for Jimbo Fisher and at Oklahoma State (2016-18) for Mike Gundy. 

Henson was the OC/offensive line coach for Gary Pinkel at Missouri from 2009-15, when Odom was on the staff in Columbia from 2004-01 and then in 2015. Odom was Missouri head coach from 2016-19.

A native of Tuttle, Okla., Henson was an offensive lineman at Oklahoma State (1993-97) for Pat Jones and Bob Simmons.

As Purdue heads to the start of spring practice on March 4, Henson discussed a variety of topics. Here are five questions with him.

Q: What did you learn working with Lincoln Riley at USC?

A: I thought the thing he did the very best was make decisions early in the week about what schemes, what concepts that we were going to run that week. And then because we’ve made that decision so early, and got it into the game plan so early, we had a chance to rep it more than anywhere else I’ve ever been throughout the week. There was a lot of volume to what he does. But in any given week, there’s simplicity, and that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to make sure that we are multiple enough as a offense that we keep people off balance, but we’re simple enough so that we can go out and execute on Saturdays.

Q: What can we expect from the offense?

A: The number one thing on offense is, in my opinion, is score points and obviously try to eliminate turnovers. That’s the biggest two things that we’ve got to be able to do. So, we’ve got to be disciplined in protecting the football. And I know that sounds cliche. Everyone says that, but it’s the truth. But we’ve also got to be aggressive in creating opportunities for us to have game-breaking plays down the field and score points.

The flip side of that is you have to be methodical at times running the football. If you look at the stats in this league about running the football over a certain amount of yards and winning, they’re pretty eye opening. That, in a nutshell, what we’re going to do.

If you look at us the last few years, I know that Caleb Williams and the Heisman Trophy winners and all those things, but that was also the first place I had been that where I had a tailback average over seven yards per carry. So, we’re going to be very effective doing both. At the end of the day, our number one job is to score points and limit turnovers.

Q: What was the draw to Purdue for Barry Odom and you?

A: I think number one, it’s Coach Odom, and who he is as a person, and knowing the program that he’s going to bring to Purdue and that program has so much more to do than just offense. It’s about becoming a better person. It’s about the way Coach Odom says, it’s smart, hard, tough, and it’s about being disciplined and doing things right on a daily basis. And that really attracted me to Coach Odom knowing who he is and how he’s going to run this program on a daily basis. Because, in my mind, what that does is that empowers your really good players and really good kids to lead the team and to buy into it and to be a part of something that they’re going to look back on for the rest of their lives and be proud that they were part of it.

Number two, I will tell you some of being attracted to Purdue is history. The last game that I played in as a collegiate player, I was beat by Purdue in the Alamo bowl in 1997. They were strong, physical and tough. They played a technique brand of football. When I think about Purdue football, that’s what I’ve always thought about my mind. So the goal is to bring that back to West Lafayette and win games.

And I did not know that Purdue football, from a facility standpoint, is as good a place as it is. That has actually been a very pleasant surprise. And so I’m very excited about our future, very excited about what we can do. And you know, in a nutshell, that’s what attracted me to come here.

Q: Tell us about the Canadian OL you got via the portal from Canada: Giordano Vaccaro.

A: Gio brings brings a very physical nature to the game with the way he plays. He’s a very high effort player from his film and time in Canada. So, that’s the biggest thing to me, is Gio is going to bring a physical nature and a presence about him, about how he does things. Now, the competition he was playing against in Canada, vs. the United States and the Big Ten, I would guess is going to be a level up, so he’s going to have to learn to be even more technically consistent and sound than he was in that league to have the same success.

But, overall, he’s a guy that weighs 310 pounds and moves the way he does, and plays as hard as he does, I don’t think that that’s going to be any different for a 6-3, 310-pounder in Canada than was in America.

Q: You were involved in bringing QB Evans Chuba to Purdue from Washington State in the portal. What can you tell us about him?

A: Evans is a very talented individual. He’s got a very live arm. He can change arm angles. His arm is strong. He cannot use his lower body and just kind of flick the ball and sit at 40 yards on a very direct trajectory and so he’s got a ton of talent. I think Evans, his biggest thing is just becoming a football player now. So, it’s all the little things like, How are my feet? Are they loaded when I need to get the ball thrown? My reads, you know? And all the little technical details that go on playing the position. But I think from a talent standpoint, he has a lot of upside.

MORE: Offensive depth chart | Defensive depth chart | Special teams depth chart | 2025 roster distribution | Purdue official roster | Spring preview: QBs