Big Sky Conference

Winding path leads Henderson to Montana State

on

Montana State has been on JoJo Henderson’s mind for a few years. After two collegiate stops, he will call Bozeman home for the foreseeable future.

Former MSU head coach Rob Ash’s staff recruited the talented defensive back from Salt Lake City during Henderson’s senior season at Olympus High in 2014. Early in 2015, Henderson took an unofficial visit to Bozeman to see the MSU campus for the first time and “really liked it.”

He ultimately signed with Lamar in February of 2015. After a year at the Southland Conference member and another at two-year Snow College, Henderson will finally play for the Bobcats. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder signed his National Letter of Intent with MSU last week and is in Bozeman working out with the team.

“JoJo is an extremely driven, highly competitive, very intelligent young man,” MSU second-year head coach Jeff Choate said in a school press release. “He’s an outstanding student with high character who was a very, very productive player for an excellent junior college program at Snow. I’m excited to add him to our program.”

Three recruiting seasons ago, MSU recruited Henderson, extending a scholarship offer. As the Bobcats entered a paramount season filled with Big Sky Conference championship expectations, one that would prove to be Ash’s last at the helm, Henderson did not make the final cut of signees.

Instead, the Bobcats signed Alabama-Birmingham transfer safety Desman Carter and Iowa Western transfer safety Bryson McCabe as part of a 30-player class in Ash’s final recruiting season. The signing class of 2015 also included Belgrade native Brayden Konkol, a starter at safety next to McCabe for the second half of last season, and Sidney Holmes, a Texas product who has since left the program.

Snow College DB JoJo Henderson / by Al Bornhordt, contributed

Snow College DB JoJo Henderson / by Al Bornhordt, contributed

Meanwhile, Henderson weighed an offer from Lamar and local Weber State, eventually signing with the Cardinals. The long, rangy safety chose Lamar — a football program that was dormant from 1989 until 2010 — because of its top-notch facilities, the promise of early playing time and the intrigue of playing college football in the pigskin holy land of Texas.

“Lamar was a last-second option,” Henderson said. “I visited them two weeks before signing day. Looking back at it, I was a high school kid and I was intrigued. It was a Texas school and they have no shortage of funds out there. They have really good facilities, better than most FBS programs. Of course, they told me what I wanted to hear, which was early playing time. So I chose them.”

Although playing time was promised, Henderson redshirted his first season. Halfway through his first semester in Beaumont, a few of Lamar’s defensive coaches left the program. Henderson could feel the uncertainty and his intuition proved true even as he left the program following his redshirt year. A year later following last season’s 3-8 campaign, Lamar fired seventh-year head coach Ray Woodard.

“Being an unproven, redshirted freshman, I didn’t want to be lost in the numbers with a new coach who was bringing in his new recruits so I transferred to a JC because of that 4-3-4 rule,” Henderson said. “I graduated and I’m eligible to go back and I was eligible to leave, and I wanted to leave so I could play three years at my next school.”

Henderson spent last season at Snow College, the only two-year college in Utah. Although he entered the college ranks as a safety, Henderson exclusively played cornerback, notching 54 tackles and 10 pass breakups in eight games as a freshman.

“Really, my eyes, was the biggest adjustment,” Henderson said. “At Snow, we played a lot of man and man-free. Normally, I’m the free guy reading the quarterback so a lot of times, I would look back at the quarterback and read him rather than playing my man. It’s really just a repetition thing since I’m new to it, but other than that, I think it was a pretty smooth transition.”

Snow College cornerback JoJo Henderson/ contributed

Snow College cornerback JoJo Henderson/ contributed

Henderson’s position versatility defensively made him a coveted FCS prospect. He kept in touch with MSU recruiting coordinator Michael Pitre, the lone holdover from Ash’s staff still employed by second-year Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate, throughout the recruiting process. Pitre first reached out to Henderson early in 2017. A slew of circumstances during the spring heightened MSU’s need for a defensive back.

In May, Henderson made his official visit to Montana State. All of his offers out of high school were as a safety but his rapid development at corner meant reigning Big Sky champion North Dakota, potential preseason favorite Northern Arizona and a collection of other FCS programs like Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Stephen F. Austin, Incarnate Word and Austin Peay all extended offers.

“If I was going to go to the FCS, I wanted to go to the Big Sky,” Henderson said. “Closer to home and other than that, it’s the best conference in my opinion. They sent four teams to the playoffs last year. I do want to win. I know Montana State has a great tradition of winning and it’s a great conference.”

Revisiting Montana State two years after his initial introduction to Bozeman proved to be too much to pass up for Henderson. He signed with MSU the third week of June and joined the team June 24.

“I like that (Montana State is) one of two universities in Montana and it’s not taken lightly,” Henderson said. “Some of the FCS schools in more populated areas, they don’t really get as much attention because they have bigger FBS schools around them. I like that Montana State is what they have up there. I think it will make for a great college experience.”

“Where I live in Salt Lake City, the area, the terrain is very similar. I like the outdoors. It’s really nice, really pretty up there.

Snow College DB JoJo Henderson / by Al Bornhordt, contributed

Snow College DB JoJo Henderson / by Al Bornhordt, contributed

The articulate, well-spoken Henderson said academics rank high on his list of priorities. He will be eligible academically right away and plans on pursuing a double major in business marketing and management with an eye on earning his master’s degree in accounting by his fifth and final year.

On the field, Henderson said first-year MSU defensive backs coach Mark Orphey has told him he will play wherever he feels more comfortable but has stressed that MSU’s most pressing need is as cornerback, a position group thinned by Tre’Von Strong’s transfer and the indefinite suspensions of Naijiel Hale and Darren Gardenhire.

Henderson said Choate’s “energy” and “straight forward honesty” during his recruitment also played a factor in him choosing the Bobcats. He spent his official visit with McCabe, a returning team captain who earned second-team All-Big Sky honors as a junior last fall.

Henderson will likely compete for playing time either boundary or field cornerback. The Bobcats graduate All-Big Sky cornerback John Walker, who started all 11 games during a 4-7 campaign at boundary cornerback. The “field” position was a revolving door that included Strong, Hale, senior-to-be Bryce Alley, and Chris Harris, a sophomore who left the program in the off-season.

Regardless of what position Henderson occupies, he is thrilled to finally land in Bozeman years after Montana State first landed on his radar.

“It means a lot to me to get this shot,” Henderson said. “I think one thing the coaching staff at Montana State knows is that I take my academics really seriously. I think not many kids take full advantage of the opportunity they have with a full ride scholarship. I’ll be able to leave Montana State with a master’s degree and two B.S. degrees. That means a lot to me because really without football, it would’ve been a struggle financially to get in school and make something of my life.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity and I’m proud because in the end, I worked hard for it and it wasn’t an easy road. There was a lot of sacrifice but I’m glad that sacrifice is paying off. I’m looking forward to the next three years in Bozeman playing for a Big Sky championship each and every year.”

Photos contributed by Henderson and taken by Al Bornhordt, freelance photographer. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Recommended for you