CJ Henderson previews draft night

Sitting in the press box at his old high school Florida Gators cornerback CJ Henderson takes a break from working out to sit down with ESPN’s Maria Taylor.

It’s a different style of interview for Henderson, but one that he’s getting used to during this unconventional draft process. With the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changing everyone’s day-to-day life FaceTime and Zoom meetings have become the norm for Henderson as he meets with NFL teams. Normally teams would fly prospects in or meet them in person to conduct workouts and interviews but this year everything has had to be done virtually.

That hasn’t been an issue. Henderson showed out at the NFL combine and has cemented his stock as a first-round pick as the draft draws near. Most of the conversations have just been trying to get to know Henderson as a person more than as a player. They know the player. As a freshman, Henderson returned to interceptions for touchdowns. One thing he wants everyone to know is that he’s the best cornerback prospect in the entire draft.

“I feel like I’m the best because I go against the best week in and week out. I stepped on the scene early and played coming out of high school,” Henderson told Taylor. “Really college was the first three years of me playing corner, so me being able to do that at a high level and do it so quickly, I feel like I’m the best in the draft.”

Henderson was a four-star athlete coming out of Columbus High School but stepped right in at cornerback in 2017. His four interceptions were tied for the team-high as a freshman, playing for the first time exclusively as a cornerback.

“I had goals set up that I planned to accomplish and I achieved most of them,” Henderson said.

The next two years were more of the same for Henderson as he continued to mold himself into one of the best players in the country.

Henderson has spent his whole life in the state of Florida. A kid from Miami that chose to spurn the hometown Miami Hurricanes for the Gators and there is a chance that he could wind up staying in Florida when his name is called on Thursday night. The Miami Dolphins pick at 5, 18, and 26. The Jacksonville Jaguars have the 9th and 20th selections. Tamp Bay holds the 14th pick. The chance to stay at home is intriguing.

“It would be great,” Henderson said. “I’d be able to spend time with my family, still go back to my college and see my old teammates, friends, and coaches.”

Getting the chance to play close to home and close to Gainesville would be nice, considering how highly Henderson thinks of the Gators and their chances in 2020.
“I’m expecting playoff contenders next year, that’s what I’m expecting out of them,” he said. “I know every guy on the team is expecting that as well and trying to win a National Championship.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

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