University of Delaware Athletics
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Nolan Henderson Enjoys Strong Finish to First Professional Season
6/13/2024 3:34:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – Former University of Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson recently completed his first professional season with the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). While it was an up-and-down first full year as a professional football player, Henderson had a strong finish that has left him confident for the future.
The two-time All-CAA honoree finished his Delaware career ranked third in program history in completions (547), fourth in pass attempts (859) and fifth in passing yards (6,413). As a senior in 2022, the Smyrna native set the UD record with 32 passing touchdowns and became the second in program history to surpass 50 career touchdowns, finishing with 56.
Henderson signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens following the 2023 NFL Draft but was released prior to training camp. In January, he signed with the Roughnecks in the newly-formed UFL, which came from a merger of the XFL and United States Football League (USFL).
Training camp started in late February as all eight teams in the league descended upon Arlington, Texas ahead of the start of the 10-game regular season. Each team called Arlington home for training camp and in-season practices before flying out to the site of their weekend games. Henderson entered his first professional training camp not only fighting to earn Houston's starting quarterback job, but also learning the ropes of being a professional football player.
"It was big for me to see how different people worked and what worked for them," Henderson said. "Just navigating how to be a professional, how to take care of your body, investing in your body, using all the resources you can. I tried to tag along with some of the older guys that have been in the NFL and knew what to do and knew how to manage their time.
"So I think it was it was a little bit of the things I learned at Delaware but then also taking as much as I could from the older guys that had kind of been through this and maybe had been in the league before. Just picking their brains and trying to figure out what works for me and my routine."
Henderson learned a lot from players like Chris Odom, a defensive end in his seventh professional season who has been a part of four NFL organizations as well as teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and USFL. Additionally, fellow quarterback Reid Sinnett who was a former FCS player and Walter Payton Award finalist. Sinnett has been on the practice squad of four different NFL teams and had spent a season in the XFL.
"The cool thing about the UFL is we had guys that were straight out of college and then guys that are further along in their careers. So, just hearing their journey, hearing what worked for them and maybe some decisions they made that didn't necessarily help. I think that always helps."
Things didn't start where he wanted as he opened the season third on Houston's quarterback depth chart. He did not make his debut until Houston's fourth game against Kedrick Whitehead's Michigan Panthers when he came in late in the game and completed three of four passes. He did the same a couple of weeks later against the Birmingham Stallions.
Henderson got his first significant playing time on May 18 against Birmingham when he completed 9-of-14 passes for 97 yards while also rushing nine times for 37 yards and his first professional score. His performance earned him starts in each of Houston's final two games where he passed for a total of 385 yards and two touchdowns and led the Roughnecks in rushing each game.
"Any time you get a chance to play after a while you kind of remind yourself of things you're capable of outside of practice. You can do a lot of great things in practice but once you get into a game and do those things, that's when you start to have the confidence and the belief you had in yourself to begin with. But also, it helped me the most because it gives you a framework for your offseason.
"I had no shortage of emotions felt during all that whole process. Going into camp with the chance to start. Now you're the three, then you start playing a little bit more. Now you're the two. And then eventually at the end of the season, ended up getting some starts. But I was glad at the end of the season, I was able to get an opportunity to play and put some good things on tape."
Overall, Henderson finished the season with 531 passing yards, 143 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. While only playing in five games, he ranked fifth in completion percentage among those with at least 50 pass attempts, completing 43-of-74 passes (58.1%). Following the season finale on June 2, Houston's head coach C.J. Johnson gave a vote a confidence when he stated 'we found a quarterback' while nodding to Henderson in the postgame press conference.
"I think we're aligned with the things I need to work on, the things I do well, what they like, how they would change their offense to kind of build around me. We're all in alignment with what the plan was for me and what I need to do to put myself in position to make it back."
With Houston's season over, Henderson has returned to Delaware where he continues his work with Henderson QB Training, a company he started a few years back to train high school-aged quarterbacks. Meanwhile, he will begin his offseason workout program to prepare for next season and any potential training camp invites he may receive from NFL organizations.
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The two-time All-CAA honoree finished his Delaware career ranked third in program history in completions (547), fourth in pass attempts (859) and fifth in passing yards (6,413). As a senior in 2022, the Smyrna native set the UD record with 32 passing touchdowns and became the second in program history to surpass 50 career touchdowns, finishing with 56.
Henderson signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens following the 2023 NFL Draft but was released prior to training camp. In January, he signed with the Roughnecks in the newly-formed UFL, which came from a merger of the XFL and United States Football League (USFL).
Training camp started in late February as all eight teams in the league descended upon Arlington, Texas ahead of the start of the 10-game regular season. Each team called Arlington home for training camp and in-season practices before flying out to the site of their weekend games. Henderson entered his first professional training camp not only fighting to earn Houston's starting quarterback job, but also learning the ropes of being a professional football player.
"It was big for me to see how different people worked and what worked for them," Henderson said. "Just navigating how to be a professional, how to take care of your body, investing in your body, using all the resources you can. I tried to tag along with some of the older guys that have been in the NFL and knew what to do and knew how to manage their time.
"So I think it was it was a little bit of the things I learned at Delaware but then also taking as much as I could from the older guys that had kind of been through this and maybe had been in the league before. Just picking their brains and trying to figure out what works for me and my routine."
Henderson learned a lot from players like Chris Odom, a defensive end in his seventh professional season who has been a part of four NFL organizations as well as teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and USFL. Additionally, fellow quarterback Reid Sinnett who was a former FCS player and Walter Payton Award finalist. Sinnett has been on the practice squad of four different NFL teams and had spent a season in the XFL.
"The cool thing about the UFL is we had guys that were straight out of college and then guys that are further along in their careers. So, just hearing their journey, hearing what worked for them and maybe some decisions they made that didn't necessarily help. I think that always helps."
Things didn't start where he wanted as he opened the season third on Houston's quarterback depth chart. He did not make his debut until Houston's fourth game against Kedrick Whitehead's Michigan Panthers when he came in late in the game and completed three of four passes. He did the same a couple of weeks later against the Birmingham Stallions.
Henderson got his first significant playing time on May 18 against Birmingham when he completed 9-of-14 passes for 97 yards while also rushing nine times for 37 yards and his first professional score. His performance earned him starts in each of Houston's final two games where he passed for a total of 385 yards and two touchdowns and led the Roughnecks in rushing each game.
"Any time you get a chance to play after a while you kind of remind yourself of things you're capable of outside of practice. You can do a lot of great things in practice but once you get into a game and do those things, that's when you start to have the confidence and the belief you had in yourself to begin with. But also, it helped me the most because it gives you a framework for your offseason.
"I had no shortage of emotions felt during all that whole process. Going into camp with the chance to start. Now you're the three, then you start playing a little bit more. Now you're the two. And then eventually at the end of the season, ended up getting some starts. But I was glad at the end of the season, I was able to get an opportunity to play and put some good things on tape."
Overall, Henderson finished the season with 531 passing yards, 143 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. While only playing in five games, he ranked fifth in completion percentage among those with at least 50 pass attempts, completing 43-of-74 passes (58.1%). Following the season finale on June 2, Houston's head coach C.J. Johnson gave a vote a confidence when he stated 'we found a quarterback' while nodding to Henderson in the postgame press conference.
"I think we're aligned with the things I need to work on, the things I do well, what they like, how they would change their offense to kind of build around me. We're all in alignment with what the plan was for me and what I need to do to put myself in position to make it back."
With Houston's season over, Henderson has returned to Delaware where he continues his work with Henderson QB Training, a company he started a few years back to train high school-aged quarterbacks. Meanwhile, he will begin his offseason workout program to prepare for next season and any potential training camp invites he may receive from NFL organizations.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware football, follow the Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.
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