Miami defensive back commit C.J. Henderson (6-1, 175, Miami, FL. Columbus) has been a big target on the Florida Gators recruiting board since earlier last year and that continues still.
Henderson says that Florida has continued to recruit him including hearing from head coach Jim McElwain on a regular basis.
“Florida is still recruiting me hard,” Henderson said. “I talk to Coach [Torrian] Gray, Randy Shannon and I talk to Coach Mac a lot. Really I talk to all of the coaches from Florida. They’ve been showing me love since the start and they’re still showing it.”
McElwain hasn’t put any pressure on Henderson, despite multiple visits to Gainesville and the defensive back says that remains the case today.
“Coach Mac just tells me that he knows that I’m going to be a Gator and stuff like that,” he said of McElwain’s message. “He told me to take my time with everything and that I’ll have a spot waiting on me there. We have a real good bond with each other and text with each other a lot so I trust him.”
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray met with Henderson for a long time during his most recent trip to Gainesville and during that meeting the two talked about Florida’s defensive scheme and where the defensive back would play.
“Coach Gray says that they need defensive backs like me and that he’s a good defensive backs coach,” Henderson said of his talks with Gray. “He said that he’s a good technician coach and that I have the tools to be a good defensive back. He says that I can play corner, nickel and safety in their defense.”
Henderson has the best relationship with linebackers coach Randy Shannon and the two don’t talk too much football when communicating with each other.
“He just talks to me regular conversation because he knows where I come from,” he said of his talks with Randy Shannon. “We talk mainly about life and what’s going with me and my family then we talk football.”
Not only are the Gators coaches recruiting Henderson hard but a few Florida commits are also after him.
“Elijah [Blades] and Marco Wilson have both been recruiting me to Florida,” Henderson said. “I also talk to [Kemore] Gamble about Florida and what they have going on up there.”
This fall Henderson plans to visit Gainesville and he will also visit two other schools before he takes official visits.
“I plan to visit Florida, Miami and Tennessee this fall for an unofficial,” he said of fall visits. “I haven’t decided on when and who I will take official visits to right now. I still have to think about that.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Henderson says that he remains solid to Miami and didn’t want to name a number two school, but the Gators are the team that seems to be in that place. Henderson has said from the beginning that he wanted to take his recruitment until the end so that he can evaluate what the schools do this fall.