Coach Henny gets headlines, but don't forget what Shaun Nua is doing at USC

Coach Henny, Eric Henderson, has grabbed a lot of headlines at USC, and rightly so, but we can’t and shouldn’t ignore how much good work Shaun Nua is doing for the Trojans. He was retained by Lincoln Riley and surrounded by a lot of newcomers on staff. Riley’s choice to keep him is looking better by the moemnt. Consider the recent success Nua had in landing a new defensive lineman. South Jordan (Utah) Bingham 2026 defensive lineman Viliami Moala announced his commitment to USC on Tuesday following a weekend visit to the Trojans’ campus for the game against Utah State.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Moala chose the Trojans over Oregon, BYU, Utah and Arizona State

According to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Moala is a 4-star prospect and the No. 37 defensive lineman in the class of 2026. He’s also ranked as the No. 6 player in Utah and the No. 349 overall player in the nation.

“First and foremost I wanna thank all the coaches that have recruited me since my journey began,” his post says, “with that being said I’m proud to say I’m a TROJAN!!! My Recruitment is shut down!

“Meeting Coach Riley and the rest of their staff, they treated me and my family with so much love and respect. It was just different and I knew it was home for me.”

Shaun Nua played a key role here. It’s very important that Riley decided to retain this particular defensive assistant coach. We are seeing the returns grow for that decision.

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