There was plenty of talk that the door was open for the rest of the Pac 10 to make a big jump by taking advantage of the issues at USC. From Pete Carroll leaving, to a disappointing 2009, to the potential NCAA sanctions, there was plenty of ammunition for the rivals to use. UCLA, Oregon, and California were able to get their hands on a few prospects who might have gone to USC had Carroll been in place and if the Trojans were coming off a Rose Bowl season. Kiffin did more than fine.
Besides getting Henderson, snagging top WR Markeith Ambles out of Georgia was a nice pickup while keeping sure-things like corner Nickell Robey out of Florida to go along with top-shelf wide receivers Kyle Prater out of Illinois and Robert Woods out of Gardena, Calif., showed that the loss of Carroll wasn’t that big a deal. For all the great things the rest of the Pac 10 did, USC’s recruiting class was still the best in the league. However …