Will highly-touted offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson wind up playing for the Miami Hurricanes? Time will tell, but this much looks certain – he isn’t headed to USC.
Reports continue spilling out regarding where Henderson will eventually play his college ball. He was reportedly in Miami this past weekend re-visiting the premise of playing for the Canes.
A week ago Lane Kiffin and USC coaches boarded a private jet for Minneapolis – twice – in an effort to lure Henderson back in, but it hasn’t seemed to work. Kiffin has confirmed that he’s “re-recruiting” the top prospect who he originally sold with the belief that USC wasn’t going to get hit heavy with penalties. Months after Signing Day the Trojans received a two-year bowl ban and lost upwards of 31 scholarships over the next few seasons.
Lane’s silver tongue could be the difference- maker here. The fact that Kiffin told Henderson that no major penalties were forthcoming – that evidence will be used in a waiver request to get Southern Cal to let Henderson out of his scholarship. As it stands now, the only way Henderson would be free to leave and play this season is if USC bows out gracefully (or is forced to let him go.) If not, Henderson would have to sit out the standard one-year before transferring to another major program.
Miami fans seem split regarding Henderson’s future. Some welcome the 6-foot-8, 350-pound man child with overly extended open arms. Other have the “we don’t play second fiddle” attitude, feeling too proud to take another’s sloppy seconds.
With offensive line a weak link for the Canes since the 2001 title run, every overly zealous Miami fan needs to put their ‘swagger’ aside should this top prospect choose Coral Gables as his final destination.
Henderson looks that once-in-a-decade type prospect that you give a second chance too. Miami was on his radar and seemed like his legit number two down the stretch (something Ohio State fans disagree with, even though a warm weather climate was a top his college wish list).
Some feel Henderson has a little primadonna in him, based on how the recruiting saga has played out. That said, he’s no Antone Smith, Willie Williams or Bryce Brown – guys the Canes chased down the stretch and sacrificed more to get (with both Smith and Brown making Miami look quite foolish down the stretch, while Williams bailed on a UM program that put out its collective next for him.)
Henderson is one of those immediate impact player – the type of player Miami failed to get during the probation era and the type of player Southern Cal won’t reel in these next few years, needing more versatile, two-way players to make up for the lack of scholarships.
Henderson has become friends with Bryant McKinnie, a two-year Miami lineman who currently plays for the Minnesota Vikings and was the last true Behemoth offensive lineman the college game has seen in recent memory. That combined with the So Cal fallout help bolster all this “Henderson-To-The U” chatter.
If the big guy wants in, let him in. There have been past occurrences where Randy Shannon and Miami turned down a kid who wanted to transfer after a year of playing somewhere else – and I can respect that snub. But not in this case. Not when Signing Day was five months back, not under these circumstances, not when the kid is yet to even show up on the “enemy’s” campus and not when the Canes were 1b to the Trojans’ 1a. (And also not if his father – rumored to be in search of a career in entertainment – might’ve pushed his kid towards Hollywood, CA instead of a city forty miles south of Hollywood, FL.)
With the Canes landing Latwan Anderson and now possibly landing Henderson – two HUGE five-star pick ups – it would seem a lot of apologies would be owed to the UM staff who supposedly didn’t “close strong”. It might also send some recruiting geeks back to their computers to update those Signing Day class rankings.
Nerd stats aside, let’s get Henderson in the orange and green as his presence and Anderson’s would absolutely help the 2010 Canes.
YES!!!
Absolutely agree! Shannon and staff can put whatever spin they want on the 2 and 3 star players they recruited recently, but Anderson and Henderson would be huge gets in putting the U back on the recruiting map and players for the nations top prospects. Prospects the Gators have been reeling in by the bunches, and thus has had them winning 2 national titles.
so lets say we get him and then what? what does Miami do with him? what would you do with him if you were Miami…
and Lane Kiffin shouldn't have lied to the young man. now he is leaving.
zarokon
I agree with you 100%. I realize that there are alot of Canes fans that will be quick to shout "We don't need him", and those fans need to watch footage of our offensive line or look at the sack totals the past 4 years. Seantrel can come in and make an instant impact on our o-line. As you stated, kids with his size, strength and physical attributes don't come around often. Passing on a young man like this would be a foolish thing to do especially when Miami needs to strengthen it's line. I agree that there might be some pre-madonna issues or drama attatched, but I think Shannon, being the disciplinarian that he is, will iron those wrinkles out with him if need be. I think he would be a nice fit though. COME TO THE U SEANTREL!!!
I'm all for adding more talent to our depth chart if the talent (Seantrel) really wants to be there. I guess in a way I'm still feeling the sting of the whole Bryce Brown saga. I think we should be focused on what we have now. If he comes then I'll welcome him with open arms…. if not then let's move on. It's no sweat off our back as he didn't sign with us in the first place. It's a bonus for us if we get him.
Seantrel is definately done with USC.
If the U was truly his second choice, then I guess he will indeed be a Cane.
That's great news for #12.
We'll see!
Its official the Trojans have released him without restrictions… curious to see how this one plays out. Come on down to Coral Gables Seantrel!
My issue really isn't so much of a "he didn't want us in the first place so we don't want him" mentality. I really feel like this is another disaster waiting to happen. Here are my issues with this guy:
1) He delayed commitment to USC based on pending sanctions, then signed with them before sanctions were unveiled.
-He's a moron for three reasons here: First, he signed with USC when he didn't know what sanctions there would be, second, he didn't do his research to understand that sanctions were inevitable, and third, he trusted Lane Kiffin, of all people.
2) I'm willing to wager he comes in and wants playing time immediately, and isn't willing to work for it. We've seen this before with top recruits, and it almost never works out well.
3) The father is clearly an issue. When Henderson expresses frustration over having to work for his starting role, daddy is more than likely to go crying to the media.
4) He signed with Lane Kiffin, of all people, in the first place. Kiffin and Shannon could not be more different.
I'm not saying we shouldn't take him based on a trumped-up notion of 'Cane pride. I just see how this is going to pan out well in advance. He's going to come on board, expect to not work to start day one, not be good enough, complain to daddy, then daddy is going to go to the media and bash Shannon and Co. I don't another Marve on our hands. I really hope I'm wrong.
Some points here I'd like to respond to:
1) He delayed commitment to USC based on pending sanctions, then signed with them before sanctions were unveiled. He's a moron for three reasons here: First, he signed with USC when he didn't know what sanctions there would be, second, he didn't do his research to understand that sanctions were inevitable, and third, he trusted Lane Kiffin, of all people.
Playing Devil's Advocate here… he's still a kid with an influential dad that seems to have been steered wrong by both his parental units and was schmoozed by a charismatic coach.
Kiffin may be a jagoff to fans of other programs, but to an 18-year old kid, dude knows how to recruit and can sell a kid.
USC just reeled in another solid class, on the heels of many solid classes in a row. Either a lot of kids are "idiots" or a lot of us are just seeing things through the eyes of a UM fan or anti-Trojans fan.
As for the sanctions which came down, there was a lot of speculation about what would actually happen.
Kiffin probably snowed some kids, but after years of talk, many thought USC was untouchable. Look at the UM message boards. For years people b!tched that nothing was happening or was going to happen.
A lot of college football fans expected the Trojans to escape unscathed – so why wouldn't a recruit or prospect think the same?
I think sometimes the folks that post on message boards or write into this blog forget that these are high school seniors we're talking about.
USC is a recent powerhouse and people believe what they want to hear at times. If that was the case here, so be it. Calling him a three-fold moron is a bit harsh.
2) I'm willing to wager he comes in and wants playing time immediately, and isn't willing to work for it. We've seen this before with top recruits, and it almost never works out well.
Maybe, maybe not … but offensive line prospects like Henderson are worth giving a second chance. Offensive line is a huge weakness for Miami and this kid could be the second coming of McKinnie. You roll the dice on a prospect like that – barring Randy Shannon has done his homework and feels he's worth it.
If a hard-ass like Shannon approves, do fans (who only know what the media tells them) really have a right to question?
3) The father is clearly an issue. When Henderson expresses frustration over having to work for his starting role, daddy is more than likely to go crying to the media.
The dad definitely comes off like it's all about him – but you're playing the worst case scenario. If Henderson comes in and doesn't get it done, is the real issue his dad "potentially" talking to the media?
A bigger disappointment would be another five-star can't-miss prospect missing.
You leave out the best case scenario in your assessment. What IF Henderson comes in and gets it done? Daddy becomes a non-factor.
4) He signed with Lane Kiffin, of all people, in the first place. Kiffin and Shannon could not be more different. I'm not saying we shouldn't take him based on a trumped-up notion of 'Cane pride. I just see how this is going to pan out well in advance. He's going to come on board, expect to not work to start day one, not be good enough, complain to daddy, then daddy is going to go to the media and bash Shannon and Co. I don't another Marve on our hands. I really hope I'm wrong.
A lot of speculation here. We don't know this kid. We just know the bullshit that's been reported on message boards and by the biased sports media – always looking to take an angle and create a story.
I've heard more about Henderson's braids (while Shannon waited to meet him) and a father that's a wannabe rapper than I have about his athletic ability and skills. Again, the issue with the media.
Shannon and Kiffin aren't the issue here — it's Miami and Southern Cal, two VERY alike universities. Both are private. Both are in big cities. Both are powerhouses that have had recent and traditional success. Both put out similar types of NFL-reacy players. Both have swagger. Both are warm climates.
A kid like Henderson has probably met both coaches a handful of times, but has followed both programs for years – watching on TV, seeing them win titles, seeing who they put in the league.
Shannon and Kiffin being different will play itself out in the long-term — but before a kid has even stepped on campus and hasn't yet played for the coach, he's more sold on the program and premise of how the future could go as opposed to the personality of his future head coach.
All the 'complaining to daddy' and media shitstorm stuff is speculation. Whether it plays out that way or not, to just assume or 'feel' that it will because other top prospects have flamed out — that's sort of a skewed view on the situation.
I don't think any Miami fan truly knows enough about Seantrel Henderson to start calling him the next Robert Marve on the drama front. Let it play out. Should it go that way, great, you called it. Should it work out, then the Canes landed a much-needed prospect.
AllCanes – I totally agree with you and understand my comments are all based on speculation. It's just a feel I have. End of the day, I trust Shannon's judgment and evaluation 100%. That said, my point is that I'm concerned that this alleged "can't miss, 100% all-world prospect" is worth the potential issues he might bring. We heard the same thing with Willie Williams and he ended up hardly ever seeing the field.
If Henderson signs, I'll welcome him with open arms and wish him all the best. I just hope he's willing to work for it.
Really all that any Canes fan can do at this point is patiently await the outcome of Seantrel's decision and trust in Shannon's judgement. I'm a fan who will welcome Seantrel if he decides to be a cane because we are desperately in need of a dominant offensive lineman to strengthen our line. He possesses size, strength and is possibly the most polished lineman to come out of high school the past 5 years. Miami can utilize and benefit from the physical attributes he brings to the table. In my opinion, I'm more concerned about how instant of an impact he can be and how much he can contribute to our o-line than what kind of drama his father will create. The team's needs to me at this point totally overshadows those issues because If he doesn't like the way Shannon runs things, I'm sure the door will be shown to him by Shannon from the very beginning. I happen to think he will be a nice fit for us though, if he signs.
I've been hearing about this for months, and I think UM has a really good chance (maybe the best chance) at landing him.
1. Would it be fair to say UM has at least a 60% shot at getting him?
2. We know nothing about him or his family. As stated previously, Shannon's standards are high. That's good for UM, and good for Henderson.
3. How long could this thing play out?
4. Say he comes in and does well… where does he fit? Does Franklin move back to guard (where Washington is now)? Does he jump to right tackle? Just curious of your thoughts.