C. J. Henderson (American football)
| No. 23 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | September 30, 1998 Miami, Florida | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Christopher Columbus (Miami, Florida) | ||||||||||
| College: | Florida | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / round: 1 / pick: 9 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2020 | |||||||||||
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Christopher "C. J." Henderson, Jr. (born September 30, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida.
Early life and high school career
Henderson was born and grew up in Miami, Florida and attended Christopher Columbus High School. He played both running back and cornerback for the Explorers' football team and was invited to play in the All-America Bowl as a senior.[1] He was ranked a four-star prospect and initially committed to play at the University of Miami before de-committing to evaluate other offers.[2] Henderson ultimately signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Florida.[3]
College career
As a true freshman, Henderson appeared in 11 games for the Gators with five starts and made 22 tackles with four interceptions. He became the first freshman in Florida's history to return an interception for a touchdown in back-to-back games after doing so in his first two career games against Michigan and Tennessee.[4] In his sophomore year, his first full season as a starter, Henderson recorded 38 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles with two interceptions and a team-high seven passes defended and was named second team All-Southeastern Conference by the league's coaches.[5]
Henderson entered his junior season as a preseason first team All-SEC selection, third team preseason All-America, and on the Bednarik Award watchlist.[6] Henderson was also named a second team midseason All-American by the Associated Press despite missing four games due to injury.[7] Henderson finished his junior season with 33 tackles (three for loss), a sack and 11 passes broken up in nine games and was named first team All-SEC by the league's coaches and a second team All-American by the FWAA.[8] Following the end of the Gators' regular season, Henderson announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL Draft and also skip Florida's bowl game. Henderson finished his collegiate career with 93 tackles, 26 passes broken up and six interceptions in 33 games played.[9]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+3⁄4 in (1.85 m) |
204 lb (93 kg) |
31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.39 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) |
20 reps | |||||
| All values from NFL Combine[10] | ||||||||||||
Henderson was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round with the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[11] Henderson made his NFL debut in the season opener on September 13, 2020 against the Indianapolis Colts, starting and recording five tackles and his first career interception, picking off a pass from Philip Rivers and returning it for 22 yards, and defending three passes, including breaking up a pass on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter to secure a Jaguars' 27–20 win, as was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.[12][13] In Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers, Henderson forced a fumble on wide receiver Davante Adams which was recovered by teammate Myles Jack during the 24–20 loss.[14] He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2020 with a groin injury.[15]
References
- ^ Ivins, Andrew (September 2, 2016). "Miami CB Commit Henderson Invited to Army All-American Bowl". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Champlin, Drew (January 16, 2017). "Latest on 4-star Miami cornerback Christopher Henderson after Alabama visit". AL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Moriarity, Morgan (February 1, 2017). "4-star CB Chris 'C.J.' Henderson commits to Florida over Miami and Alabama". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Thames, Alanis (November 14, 2018). "Despite being quiet, this player's leadership at UF is clear by his intensity in games". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Smits, Gary (August 15, 2019). "C.J. Henderson leads Gator contingent on coaches preseason All-SEC". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Redman, Rob (July 15, 2019). "Four Gators on preseason award watch lists". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Goodall, Zach (October 15, 2019). "Florida's Greenard, Henderson Named to AP Midseason All-America Team". SI.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Goodall, Zach (December 19, 2019). "Gators CB C.J. Henderson named to FWAA All-America Second Team". SI.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ Andreu, Robbie (December 6, 2019). "CJ Henderson to skip bowl, declares for NFL". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "Christopher Henderson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ Hill, Cassidy (April 23, 2020). "Jaguars Select C.J. Henderson No. 9 Overall In First Round of 2020 Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Harvey, Demetrius (September 14, 2020). "Former Gators CB CJ Henderson Stars in Jaguars 27-20 Victory Over Colts". SI.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, James (September 18, 2020). "CJ Henderson wins Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week Award". Jaguars Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Green Bay Packers - November 15th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ Alper, Josh (November 19, 2020). "Jaguars place C.J. Henderson on injured reserve". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.