"It's the final days before the Alamo Bowl, the last gasps of USC's football season, and Rock Hanson is still getting over a fever. For USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson and his wife, Annie, who previously was Trojans recruiting director, the timing isn't ideal to be tending to a sick 1-year-old. The Trojans are shorthanded in trying to finish out a 10-win season on Tuesday against Texas Christian. The transfer portal opens three days after that. And the coaching carousel is already in full swing, with one assistant already gone and Zach garnering outside interest, namely from his alma mater, Kansas State."
"But they've been parenting long enough now to know not to stress over a fever. And they've been working in college football long enough to know the timing is never ideal. Their past decade together has been a testament to that. Last December, Rock was born on early signing day, hours after Annie had wrapped up USC's 2025 recruiting class. Two weeks after that, Zach was thrust into a new role as USC's offensive line coach. They spent the bowl season in a Las Vegas hotel, walking the Strip with a three-week old, in a new-parent-induced delirium, their whole lives having suddenly turned upside down."
"There aren't many in college football who have navigated all that the Hansons have during the past two seasons at USC. But their resilience has been the beating heart behind an unexpectedly strong season for a Trojans offensive line that overcame its own harrowing hurdles. Even as injuries forced USC to reshuffle the line on a near weekly basis, Zach still guided the group to its best season since 2022. "To lose all that we lost, then to have all the reshuffling on the offensive line we had, normally that could almost be a death sentence for an offense," coach Lincoln Riley said. "We've had some big challenges. We've been able to respond.""
The Hansons balanced newborn parenting and high-pressure college football responsibilities during the run-up to the Alamo Bowl while their 1-year-old recovered from a fever. Annie previously served as USC's recruiting director, and Zach navigated external coaching interest amid a shifting staff and the impending transfer portal. Rock's birth coincided with critical recruiting and staff changes, thrusting Zach into the offensive line coach role midseason. Despite frequent injuries and weekly reshuffling, Zach guided the offensive line to its strongest performance since 2022. Leadership, adaptability, and resilience sustained the unit and helped the team respond to major challenges.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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