Christmas is coming early for USC's new offensive line coach James Cregg, who is surely exhaling a big sigh of relief after today's news that number one O-Line recruit in the nation, Seantrel Henderson, will officially sign a letter of intent with the Trojans later this week. Henderson, hesitant with the loss of Pete Carroll and Pat Ruel, as well as possible disciplinary action from the NCAA, decided to hold off his Herbie Hancock on February 3rd, National Signing Day. With the April 1st deadline for recruits drawing near, signing Henderson is a definite feather in Kiffin's cap and will likely ease the transition for Cregg - who has some giant shoes to fill.
Here is a play by play of Seantrel Henderson’s decision to come to USC from Kevin Armstrong at SI.com. One thing we learned from this article is that Ed Orgeron thinks Sandra Bullock is hot:
Enthusiastic wooing came from ace USC recruiter Ed Orgeron as well. Henderson, who saw The Blind Side with his girlfriend on Thanksgiving and has been compared to the movie's star, Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens, for his size and backstory, recognized Orgeron's distinct Cajun voice from the movie. Orgeron had landed Oher while head coach at Ole Miss.
"He's gonna kill me for saying this, but he was telling me about being on the set of The Blind Side and how hot Sandra Bullock was," Henderson said. "When she hugged him at the end of the shoot, he said he just held onto her."
The top offensive lineman prospect in the nation is coming to USC.
Seantrel Henderson chose the Trojans over Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, Minnesota and Miami. Henderson is a 6’8 300 lb. offensive tackle and considered by many the top recruit in the country.
In just over an hour, action will kick off in the 2010 Under Armour All-America Football Game in Tampa Bay, Florida (televised on ESPN). The full roster of players is littered with future Trojans; but perhaps more enticing is the promise of a few highly sought-after recruits making their signing announcements during the broadcast.
You can see exclusive video highlight reels of two of the players who've indicated they may make their decisions today -- the talented wideout Chris Dunkley of Pahokee, Florida (almost surely SEC-bound, but said to be considering USC) and the beast linebacker Jordan Hicks of Lakota West, OH (who's deciding between USC, Alabama, Texas, Florida and Ohio State) -- after the jump.
Here are our thoughts on the guys that stood out in last nights presentation. Full bios and direct quotes from Pete Carroll after the jump.
John Martinez, OL, 4-STAR
Just a nasty, pancake blocking guard. He can get down field too (a la Jeff Byers). Highlight after highlight he would pull from his guard position, run and then just destroy someone. They want him to play center. He will be a cornerstone of a future O-line group.
Kevin Graf, OL, 4-STAR
This guy is 6'6" and 315 pounds. He looked like the green giant against his high school peers.
Matt Barkley, QB, 5-STAR
Not much needs to be said. #1 player in the country. Big arm. Can read defenses. Dedicated. His eyes were nearly popping out of his head when he spoke to the coaches following Mark Sanchez's departure.
De'Von Flournoy, WR, 4-STAR
Holy cow. Not sure if we have ever seen a highlight reel like his. There were over 20 plays. And not one that didn't go for a touchdown. Very impressive speed and sense of other players around him.
Jacob Harfman, K, 2-STAR
A little shorter than David Buehler but definitely of the same mold (a big, physical kicker). He can do it all — placekicking and punts. He was 3 for 3 over 50 yards and has kicked a 70 yarder in practice. He has incredible hangtime on his kickoffs if anyone ever does decide to take it out, they will be met with the Trojans special teams before getting to the 20. The ball just explodes off his foot.
Hebron Fangupo, DT, 4-STAR
Great penetration up the middle, even while drawing double teams on every play.
James Boyd, DE, 4-STAR
An incredible athlete that was actually the starting QB for his high school too. He is a freaking defensive end! He plays basketball too (and averages 25 points and 22 rebounds).
Devon Kennard, DE, 5-STAR
A prototypical freak defensive end. Hopefully with a more malleable attitude than Everson Griffen.
Frankie Telfort, LB, 4-STAR
He ran a 4.39. He is a cerebral player. He wants to major pre-med. He has a cool name. He has potential to be a really, really special player.
Jarvis Jones, LB, 4-STAR
A mean hitter that doesn't take any wasted steps before blowing up his opponent. Impressive.
Jawanza Starling, DB, 4-STAR
Another mean hitter. He is going to play baseball for SC too.
The class is ranked No. 4 by Rivals and No. 4 by ESPN.
Jarvis Jones and Frankie Telfort (the first Miami native to choose USC in the Carroll era) were nice last minute additions.
It is still tough to ignore all the chatter about the loss of four highly-touted early commits: Vontaze Burfict, Morrell Presley, Randall Carroll and Alshon Jeffery. Hey, the loss is theirs. But Pete Carroll might rethink getting such early commitments — painting gigantic targets on these guys for other schools to come and hone their attack on USC.
We'll be back tomorrow with more thoughts from tonight's recruiting dinner.
Very good sources say five-star LB recruit Manti Te'o will be committing to USC where he will wear either 55, 5 or 58.
On the flip side of the coin it looks like ASU has grabbed the other highly touted five-star LB recruit Vontaze Burfict. For Burfict to be eligible at SC next season he would have to pull off night classes and online courses that he would not have to complete at ASU. This information is not definite but comes on good authority.
Although the signing date is Wednesday, USC is expected to host wide receiver Orson Charles of Tampa, Fla., next weekend and possibly tailback Bryce Brown of Wichita, Kan., who is ranked the No. 1 tailback in the nation.
Want to see future Trojans like Matt Barkley in action? Check out this highlight reel from the 2009 Under Armour All-American Game, held a couple weeks back:
Love the Jesus cross in the background; it deifies him nicely, but he could stand to lose the dyed hair. What we love about him most though is his straightforward confidence.
"I've been given abilities to be able to play football and throw the football and a mind to be able to comprehend quite a bit, so I really don't settle for anything."
Matt Barkley will be leading his Monarchs against the Carson Colts and Morrell Presley (another gem from USC's 2009 recruiting class) tonight, Wednesday (ESPN2, 6 PST).
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