Hasaan Henderson is an exceptional athlete on both the football field and on the basketball court. Enough so that he has many schools that are recruiting him for both sports. The University of Washington happens to be one of those schools.
He isn’t the only athlete that has a chance to play either (or both) basketball or football for his university of choice, Zach Banner is also being recruited heavily in the class of 2012 for both sports by many colleges.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the starting tight-end for the Husky football team, saw recruiting letters and phone calls from both basketball coaches and football coaches. He eventually decided to play football at UW but still hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of walking-on to the basketball team. However, playing two sports in college takes a lot more dedication at the college level than at the high school level.
For most recruits with this plan to play both football and basketball, the plan doesn’t work out as well as they had originally thought it would. Typically, the athlete just picks one sport over the other. Nate Robinson was the last UW player to do this and eventually he quit the football team to focus on his basketball career.
Football:
Henderson a 2-star quarterback out of Las Vegas, told me by phone interview that he is being recruited at the
QB position by the Huskies. He says that he also plays the cornerback position and some schools are interested in developing him as a safety in college. He is listed at 6’4 and 200 pounds and makes plays with his feet as much as he does with his arm.
He says he isn’t concerned that UW has already signed two other quarterbacks in the 2012 recruiting class, “I don’t pay much mind to that, because to land a spot you have to work hard and it is very hard to out work me. So, I am still interested (in UW).” He went on to say that he developed this mindset when he came into high school as a freshman and he wanted to start. The starting quarterback from the previous year wasn’t a hard worker and Henderson beat him out as a freshman. That is when he knew that he could just out work anyone above him on a depth chart.
UW isn’t the only one interested in him, as he also has interest from UNLV, Oregon, Fresno State, Montana, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Nevada, Utah, Utah State, and LSU. UNLV has extended an offer to him and are coming at him hard, as is Nevada, Fresno State, and Montana.
What is he looking for in a college? “I just want to go somewhere where I would enjoy myself in class and on the field with good coaches and a nice legacy.”
Basketball:
When it comes to basketball, football is first. He wants to play football at a university but is gaining a lot of ground in the basketball world. As of now his plan is to “play football and maybe walk-on for basketball.”
He plays the guard position with the mindset of a quarterback. His work ethic doesn’t stop on the football field as he focuses on out-working everyone on the court too.
As for what schools are interested in him for basketball, many are similar, but he told me that his basketball coach handles all of that for him. He is focusing on his homework and continuing to become a better athlete whether he is lacing up cleats or sneakers.