Behind Eric Henderson, USC making national splash by selling NFL pedigree to recruits

The recently minted defensive line coach’s presence has gone a long way toward bringing future talent into USC’s program.

LOS ANGELES — They had recruits by the boatload coming in from SEC territory, and so USC’s recruiting staff tailored their weekend’s host events specifically to their personnel: a crawfish boil, complete with specially-customized USC seafood bibs.

When a slew of defensive prospects arrived to USC’s spring practice last Saturday, there was a special guest on top of it all: recently retired Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, observing and sporting a “99” hat. There was pomp. There was certainly circumstance. And come Monday, USC had made a national-level recruiting splash: five new commits, three of them on the defensive line, all five from SEC territory.

Yes, a slew of factors coalesced, perhaps, toward one of the best recruiting days in recent USC history. Crawfish. Donald. But the key, beneath it all, lies in the deep-bassed voice of Eric Henderson, the recently minted defensive line coach whose presence is rapidly changing life around USC.

“The pathway to the NFL – especially when you talk about the defensive linemen that are able to come through here, and have come through here – I mean, that’s everything,” Henderson said after USC’s spring practice Thursday, savvily delivering a quasi-sales pitch through media lenses. “If that’s what you want, then where else are you looking to go? I mean, there’s not a better place … I think people are starting to realize that.”

The belief in Henderson’s vision was evident Monday, the torrent starting with the commitment of highly touted Georgia defensive linemen Isaiah Gibson and Justus Terry. It ended in one final verbal from Texas DL Gus Cordova, whose recruitment has been highly controversial after reports he intentionally placed peanuts in the gear of a teammate with a peanut allergy. In the midst, two prospects in the secondary – Florida’s Hylton Stubbs and Dominick Kelly – both committed Monday, too, under new USC secondary coach Doug Belk.

“That’s a good feeling that what I’m seeing, other high-level recruits are seeing,” Kelly told the Southern California News Group this week. “And not just regional – not just guys on the West Coast.”

As USC has gradually made a greater recruiting push into SEC territory under Riley – Texas now their most-heavily-targeted state by total offers in recruiting classes since 2021 – Henderson is the figurehead, a gregarious presence who brings a background thriving as the Rams’ defensive line coach to USC. He is a relationship person, Henderson has described repeatedly, someone who simply loves meeting people and carries an unabashed confidence. At the same time, he’s been described by players in their first taste of spring ball as highly technical, carrying a wealth of knowledge from five years coaching Donald and other luminaries in the NFL.

“Just the way I line up, playing with my hand in the ground now is actually comfortable,” sophomore defensive end Braylan Shelby said on Henderson’s teachings last week. “I’ve learned … playing on the edge, playing with more of a base, having more of a pop when you get off the ball. So he’s been teaching me some things I haven’t even known yet.”

Behind Henderson – and a new-look defensive staff – USC can sell legitimate NFL pedigree. Donald showing up on Saturday was simply good timing, stopping by to show support Henderson; “it just happened to work out,” a poker-faced Henderson said, “that people were able to see him.”

Worked out pretty well.

“To see it firsthand, and guys like Aaron Donald and other pros … it lets you know the magnitude at which you’re playing at,” Kelly said.

New defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, too, comes from a pro background, spending the first 10 years of his career climbing through coaching ranks in the NFL. When he arrived at USC for an official visit in the winter, Texas A&M transfer defensive tackle Isaiah Raikes said Thursday, Lynn broke down how Raikes’ versatile fit in his scheme at USC could prepare Raikes for the NFL.

Raikes has one year of eligibility remaining, seeking the best fit in the portal that’d launch him pro. Lynn was the catalyst. Henderson’s hire was the cherry on top – for Raikes, and for the growing momentum, too, around USC’s defensive future years down the line.

“I know he can show me exactly what I need to do,” Raikes said of Henderson, “and know exactly what he wants to see out of me to get drafted as high as possible.”