It's been almost a week since USC put an emphatic punctuation mark on its 2023 recruiting class with the signing of five-star TE/WR Duce Robinson -- the last remaining marquee prospect from that recruiting cycle -- and Robinson was a topic of conversation yet again Tuesday after practice.
This time, it was tight ends coach Zach Hanson's turn to share his reaction and thoughts to the Trojans winning that long and winding recruiting battle over Georgia and others.
"Obviously, we became a better team when that kid came on board," Hanson said.
So how much will Robinson, who was ranked as the top tight end prospect in the country, actually play tight end at USC?
"That's going to be the head man making those decisions. I'm excited to have him here," Hanson said, deferring to head coach Lincoln Riley.
Riley already shared his thoughts several days ago ...
"I certainly don't see him as a [traditional] tight end. I think he's a guy who you could conceivably do a lot of things with, which has been our excitement in recruiting him," Riley said.
Hanson echoed those sentiments.
"I think it's going to be just putting him all over the field, to be honest with you. We have a good plan for him coming in, and I think everybody felt good about where we were at by the end of it," he said. "He's just such a dynamic player. He's a 6-foot-6 kid who can really run, go up and elevate and get the ball. He's just one of those guys, man, he just pops off the film every time you throw it on."
The most important comment there was that USC does have a clear plan for Robinson, at least it pitched him on one during his recruitment to help him see how he would be utilized with the Trojans.
Robinson and his family definitely see him as more than a tight end, so it stands to reason the Trojans staff reciprocated that in their vision for him.
"It was a long haul for sure, and we all kind of knew it was going to be that way, I think. He was very open and honest with us from the beginning. He's just such a good kid," Hanson said of that recruiting process. "... So we had a lot of real conversations with him and the family. Definitely some highs and lows throughout the whole thing, but just kind of stayed true to who we are and knew if we mapped out that plan for him and showed him that we have everything figured out in regard to what we wanted to do and how it all worked for him that in the end we were going to get him."
Hanson wouldn't divulge when exactly he got the official word that Robinson was on board, but he shared his reaction from that moment.
"It was almost like surreal, like is it finally going to happen," he said.
Watch the full interview here:
This time, it was tight ends coach Zach Hanson's turn to share his reaction and thoughts to the Trojans winning that long and winding recruiting battle over Georgia and others.
"Obviously, we became a better team when that kid came on board," Hanson said.
So how much will Robinson, who was ranked as the top tight end prospect in the country, actually play tight end at USC?
"That's going to be the head man making those decisions. I'm excited to have him here," Hanson said, deferring to head coach Lincoln Riley.
Riley already shared his thoughts several days ago ...
"I certainly don't see him as a [traditional] tight end. I think he's a guy who you could conceivably do a lot of things with, which has been our excitement in recruiting him," Riley said.
Hanson echoed those sentiments.
"I think it's going to be just putting him all over the field, to be honest with you. We have a good plan for him coming in, and I think everybody felt good about where we were at by the end of it," he said. "He's just such a dynamic player. He's a 6-foot-6 kid who can really run, go up and elevate and get the ball. He's just one of those guys, man, he just pops off the film every time you throw it on."
The most important comment there was that USC does have a clear plan for Robinson, at least it pitched him on one during his recruitment to help him see how he would be utilized with the Trojans.
Robinson and his family definitely see him as more than a tight end, so it stands to reason the Trojans staff reciprocated that in their vision for him.
"It was a long haul for sure, and we all kind of knew it was going to be that way, I think. He was very open and honest with us from the beginning. He's just such a good kid," Hanson said of that recruiting process. "... So we had a lot of real conversations with him and the family. Definitely some highs and lows throughout the whole thing, but just kind of stayed true to who we are and knew if we mapped out that plan for him and showed him that we have everything figured out in regard to what we wanted to do and how it all worked for him that in the end we were going to get him."
Hanson wouldn't divulge when exactly he got the official word that Robinson was on board, but he shared his reaction from that moment.
"It was almost like surreal, like is it finally going to happen," he said.
Watch the full interview here: