4-star RB Alvin Henderson names top five schools
Elba (Ala.) four-star running back Alvin Henderson is down to five schools in his recruitment, he told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Friday.
Among the remaining contenders are Auburn, Penn State, Miami, Florida State and Oregon. He plans to announce his commitment on July 13.
“One of the main things that is going to separate any school in my recruitment is somewhere where the coaching staff and my position coach will be stable,” Henderson told On3’s Chad Simmons last month. “I am also looking for somewhere where I’ll be able to engage with a head coach who pays close attention to the running back position and be successful and win on and off the field. Also, I want to go somewhere where me and my mom feel like home.”
Henderson is the No. 110 overall prospect and No. 7 RB in the 2025 cycle — according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Henderson breaks down top schools
The blue-chipper joined On3’s Phillip Dukes on ‘The Five Star Flex’ earlier this month to break down his interest in some of the top contenders gunning for his pledge:
Penn State: “Coach (James) Franklin, Coach (Ja’Juan) Seider, I think Penn State was my sixth offer, they’ve been in contact ever since Sept. 1. They’ve been recruiting me hard this whole process. When I think about Penn State, I’m talking to Coach Seider every day, he came down to watch me hoop twice, the assistant running backs coach came down … they both made instant relationships, the first impression with my mom was ‘I really like those coaches.’ Besides the coaching staff building a relationship with me and my family, the production that Coach Seider has had over these last few years. Penn State’s not close to home, it’s a while away. For them to be traveling down three times to watch me play in two weeks, then the coaches are always contacting me, that rang a bell for me to know that I for sure got to get up there and see what they have to offer before I make any type of decision.”
Florida State: “Coach (Mike) Norvell, Coach (Austin) Tucker’s been recruiting me ever since I was a freshman. Even Coach YAC (FSU RBs coach David Johnson), Florida State’s two hours away, I feel like Florida State’s done an overall good job just recruiting me, not only as a player, but as a person off the field. Every time I’m talking to Coach Norvell we don’t even talk about football, because the first thing he tells me is ‘I know what you can do on the field and I know what you can do off the field. I want you because of the kind of person that you are.’ Every time I’m communicating with them, they’re just letting me know ‘you are our guy.’ …This most recent visit I took, I sat down with Coach YAC, Coach Norvell and Coach Tucker. They took my game film and translated it into the offensive system they run.”
Miami: “I went to Miami when they played Virginia Tech and I liked it then, and I went back again a few months ago. The thing about Miami is, Miami is like nine hours away, and they let me know before, last year they had Kevin Riley, who was committed to them for a few months — me and Kevin trained together. I feel like with Kevin being committed, that kind of made our relationship grow stronger. While Kevin was committed, they were communicating with me, but I was always like ‘man, I don’t think Miami’s actually serious about recruiting me.’ When Sept. 1 hit, Miami was actually like one of the hardest schools to stay on me. Coach (Mario) Cristobal’s really the main reason — actually, the whole staff. We have a group chat called ‘A-Train to The U.’ Every time I’m talking to them, I’m face-timing like once a week, they’re letting me know ‘you’re our guy.’ I feel like the thing that separates Miami the most from any other school — they run that pro-style type of offense and Coach Cristobal is always going to get the best O-linemen no matter where he’s at. I feel like if I were to go to Miami I would produce early and make an early impact and would be surrounded by great coaches.”
Auburn: “Auburn’s in-state, an hour and 45 minutes away from me. Auburn has done a good job. Coach Lac (Cadillac Williams, former Auburn RBs coach) offered me my freshman season, that’s back when Coach (Bryan) Harsin was here. Me and Coach Lac just always had that day-one communication. The whole season, I know you said everyone thought I was gonna go to Auburn, cause it was the relationships I built with Coach Lac. I know last January when Coach (Hugh) Freeze took the job, he sat down with me and said ‘I know I’ve only been here three or four weeks, but you have been No. 1 on our board.’ Ever since that day me and Coach Freeze have had that instant connection. Even when Coach Lac was there, they were letting me know how much I am a priority to them and that I’m the No. 1 guy. Coach Freeze told me ‘why go to another state and do something that you can do here. You play in a great state where Alabama and Auburn is, but you can come here and be special.’ Even with Coach (Derrick) Nix, that’s still the main topic. Auburn considers me as a dude that can come in, make an early impact and get things rolling.”
Oregon: “They’ve got Coach Lock (Carlos Locklyn) out there, Coach Lock’s my dog. When he was at Western Kentucky he offered me, then when he translated over to Oregon he offered me. I actually went out to Oregon last spring, he told me ‘we get you out here, we just want to see what you think about it. It’s like 30 hours away from home, obviously it would be something different, it would shock the world if you were to come out here.’ Once I went out to Oregon, I fell in love. Not just with the facilities and everything, but just the different culture. When I went to Oregon, it was just different people out there. That’s what I’m about, I’m always looking to build new friendships and be around different people, because no matter where I go to college, I’m going to be around people that’s not from Alabama.”