Already poised to shed most of its offensive line, USC 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 lead the Trojans’ offensive line.

He will take the place of Josh Henson, who left the team on Tuesday to become offensive coordinator at Purdue. While Henson technically held the same title at USC, he will take on a playmaking role for new Boilermakers coach Barry Odom, who previously coached alongside Henson at Missouri.

Hanson’s move to offensive line coach also means USC doesn’t have an assistant to work with tight ends. As of Wednesday morning, it was unclear how or if Lincoln Riley planned to fill the position.

“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 has extensive experience coaching the offensive line at Tulsa and Kansas State. We are excited to have Zach lead this unit and continue to develop our offensive line.”

Hanson, a former offensive tackle at Kansas State, most recently coached the offensive line when he spent two seasons (2020-21) as the offensive line coach at Tulsa. He previously served as an assistant offensive line coach at Kansas State for one season (2018).

He takes charge 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 at the helm of the Trojans will be remembered as a largely inconsistent period. After a strong performance in 2022 behind a veteran line, USC’s brass took a step back in 2023 and then struggled to start the 2024 season before stabilizing in the second half of the season.

The quick decision to name Hanson offensive line coach is expected to help limit the potential fallout from Henson’s departure, which would likely leave USC’s offensive line on even more shaky ground. Hanson will already have his hands full as he has to replace three starters and doesn’t have much choice in picking his replacements.

Left guard Emmanuel Pregnon and center Jonah Monheim are headed to the NFL, while right tackle Mason Murphy has already signed with Auburn as a transfer. Two key interior backups, Gino Quinones and Amos Talalele, have already entered the transfer portal along with freshman Kalolo Ta’aga.

The departures put USC in a precarious position ahead of its Dec. 27 bowl game, with few replacement players available for a patchwork lineup. Aside from returning starters Elijah Paige and Alani Noa, the entire returning offensive line room has only 161 total snaps, with offensive tackle Tobias Raymond (86) accounting for more than half of those snaps.

Paige, whose presence is now crucial, assured last week that he plans to stay at USC. But that was before Henson’s departure on Tuesday.

“I got involved 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 were already tested last week when 18 players, four of them lineman, entered the transfer portal. USC will be getting some reinforcements soon after signing four offensive linemen, including two top-150 tackles, in the early signing window. The Trojans are also expected to target several linemen in the transfer portal.

That wasn’t the path Riley and Henson took when they laid out their plans for the offensive line last fall. Then both made it clear that they wanted to focus primarily on recruiting university graduates.

But the plans have now changed. Henson is now on his way to Purdue. And Hanson is ready to take his place, with a big task ahead of him.