A top target of USC offensive line coach Greg Adkins is OT Cason Henry (6-6 290) of Marietta, GA, and he was in on Thursday for an unofficial visit. Carson was not there to participate in the camp. He already had an offer from Adkins which he picked up in late May, so there was no reason for a workout. His purpose for visiting was to get closer to the program, Adkins and head coach Shane Beamer.
“I spent a lot of time with Coach Adkins and did a full campus tour. Just a basic unofficial visit,” Henry said. “Had long talks with Coach Adkins about how he would use me as a player, how early I would play if I went there. Then I had a big academic meeting which is extremely important to me. I’m very interested in the business school. Then we had a head coach meeting. I love Coach Beamer. He’s fantastic. Just a great day overall. Wasn’t too long, 4.5 to 5 hours. We got to go out there and watch the players practice for about 15 minutes while the coaches were out there to see how they did things. So, got a pretty in-depth look at South Carolina football and was very pleased with it overall.”
On thing Henry learned from his sit-down with Adkins, if he didn’t know already, is that he is Adkins’ kind of offensive tackle.
“He said the thing that he liked most about me, and this is literally word for word what he said, ‘You talk s**t, and I love that.’ He loves my grit and my determination and my nastiness as a player, and that’s what he’s looking for,” Henry said. “Obviously, I have the physical traits to play offensive tackle, and he knows that. He’s like, ‘Anybody can be 6-6, 295-300 pounds, whatever. I can find anybody to come play here, I’m looking for the right kind of people with the right kind of family, similar to my own family. People who will actually share the love of the program and people that love football.’ He talked to 40 people about me without me even knowing. He did a very in-depth background check on me before he pulled the trigger on me. He hasn’t offered many offensive tackles, many offensive linemen at all. It’s very special offer to me. I’m very glad to get it. We had a great visit. He’s just a great dude overall.”
USC was the final visit of June for Henry, so the Gamecocks got the chance to make the final impression.
“Definitely moved them up on my list. This visit was a very in-depth look,” Henry said. “I didn’t know a lot about Gamecock football. I grew up a Georgia guy because my dad when to Georgia and my mom went to Georgia, too. They were always like the adversary. I don’t care anything about that now that I’m going to play somewhere it doesn’t matter to me anymore. I never had an in-depth look at Carolina football until today, and I was really impressed with what I saw. I just had a great time overall and I think it was a great experience, and definitely moved them up on my board.”
Henry also visited North Carolina, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, Louisville and NC State. All have offered except Florida and Georgia. He said Florida continues to recruit him, and he has no interest in going to Georgia.
“I’m actually going to sit down with my dad tomorrow (Friday) and weigh my options,” he said. “I should be narrowing down the school list very soon and going on to make a decision relatively soon, hopefully. I really don’t know a timeline at this time, but it should not be too long.”
Henry is rated a three-star in the 247Sports Composite and is ranked the #75 offensive tackle nationally in the class.
