USC O-line coach Henson leaving for Purdue OC job

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Josh Henson, who was USC’s offensive line coach for three seasons under Lincoln Riley, is departing the Trojans to take the position of offensive coordinator at Big Ten rival Purdue. David Crane / staff photographer

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Staff and wire services

LOS ANGELES — It was hard to picture USC’s offensive line room getting any thinner in the winter months, the Trojans’ front looking thoroughly depleted by veteran departures and transfer portal movement heading into a 2025 season.

Now, in addition to replacing three starters, Lincoln Riley will have to settle on a new position coach.

Josh Henson, who has coached the Trojans’ offensive line for three years under Riley, is departing USC for the offensive coordinator role at Purdue, multiple sources familiar with the situation confirmed to the Southern California News Group on Tuesday. FootballScoop.com first reported Purdue had targeted Henson for the job as part of new head coach Barry Odom’s regime; the two had overlapped multiple times in Henson’s stint at Missouri from 2009-2015, where he served in later years as the Tigers’ offensive line coach and OC.

Henson informed USC’s team on Tuesday that he was leaving, according to a source familiar with the situation.

It’s a chance for the coach to return to a role as a play-caller, after spending a mixed three years developing USC’s front.

— Luca Evans

FRISCO BOWL

Seth Henigan threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns in his final game for No. 25 Memphis, matching the American Athletic Conference career TD passing record with 104, as the Tigers held on to beat West Virginia 42-37 in the Frisco Bowl on Tuesday night.

Memphis (11-2) reached 11 wins for only the second time in its 109 years of football, and improved to 4-0 in bowl games under fifth-year coach Ryan Silverfield.

West Virginia had scored on six consecutive possessions (four touchdowns) before one more chance in the final minute after the Tigers missed a 50-yard field goal. But the Mountaineers’ final push ended when Elijah Herring had an interception.

Henigan is the only current four-year FBS starting quarterback to do that all with the same school, and his 50th game for the Tigers came just over 20 miles from his hometown of Denton, Texas. He completed 18 of 26 passes.

Indiana’s Cignetti is AP Coach of the Year

When Curt Cignetti took the Indiana job last fall, he promised immediate success.

It wasn’t boastful bluster.

After daring the doubters to Google his winning pedigree, the son of a Hall of Fame football coach delivered on his word by leading the Hoosiers to a school-record 11 wins, a top 10 ranking and an improbable first playoff berth that set up a Friday night game at No. 3 Notre Dame.

Cignetti was named The Associated Press Coach of the Year on Tuesday, collecting 30 of 45 votes from AP Top 25 voters. Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham finished second with eight votes, Oregon coach Dan Lanning received five and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee got two.

UCF hires Grinch as defensive coordinator

Alex Grinch is a defensive coordinator again as he joins new UCF coach Scott Frost’s staff after spending this season coaching Wisconsin’s safeties.

UCF announced the hire of Grinch on Tuesday.

Grinch previously worked as a defensive coordinator at Washington State (2015-17), Oklahoma (2019-21) and USC (2022-23). Grinch was a safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2018, and he also had the co-defensive coordinator title at Wisconsin this year.

He was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award given to college football’s to assistant coach in 2017 at Washington State and in 2019 at Oklahoma before his stock fell during his disappointing stint at USC.

USC fired Grinch with two games remaining in the 2023 regular season, one day after a 52-42 loss to Washington in which the Trojans allowed 572 yards.