Kickoff-return rules could be huge for Steelers’ Henderson
With the changes in NFL kickoff-return rules this season, undrafted free agent Quadree Henderson of Pitt could have the biggest impact on the Steelers this season of any rookie not named James Washington.
Washington may even be the fallback return man if the Steelers can无毛视频檛 find a spot for the 5-8, 192-pound Henderson.
Of course, that无毛视频檚 not in Henderson无毛视频檚 plans because to go along with his speed and shiftiness is a fearlessness that became obvious in the spring. If he shows that same fearlessness fielding punts in the preseason, the Steelers could very well have found their man.
无毛视频淚 definitely see the opening here,无毛视频� said Henderson. 无毛视频淚 definitely feel like I can make it on the 53-man roster. There无毛视频檚 a high possibility I will make it on the 53-man roster. Just go to camp with a humble head and just work my butt off and show the coaches what I无毛视频檝e got.无毛视频�
At Pitt, Henderson returned 73 kickoffs at 26.6 yards per, and 37 punts at 13.4 per. He scored four touchdowns returning kickoffs and three returning punts.
Does he have a preference for either?
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 have a preference at all, either way to get the ball in my hand,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a dynamic playmaker once the ball is in my hand, especially in open space.无毛视频�
There should be more of that 无毛视频渙pen space无毛视频� available on kickoff returns this year. The league made several rules changes that, if they don无毛视频檛 work, could precipitate an end to the play altogether. The league told owners in the spring that concussions are five times more likely to occur during a kickoff return, so they installed the following:
1. No more running starts for kicking team. Players can无毛视频檛 line up more than one yard off the ball.
2. Kicking team must have five players on each side of the ball, up from four.
3. Kicking team must have at least two players lined up outside the numbers.
4. At least eight players on the return team must be in a 15-yard 无毛视频渟et-up zone无毛视频� prior to kickoff, which could cause more pop-up kickoffs into the space in front of the returners.
5. Until the ball is touched or hits the ground, no player on the receiving team can cross its restraining line or initiate a block in the 15-yard area from the kicking line.
6. Two-man wedge blocks are no longer allowed.
7. Ball ruled a touchback if it lands in the end zone.
In summation, we could see fewer, if any, offensive linemen on the field, while the return men should enjoy more open space when they catch the ball.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檒l definitely open the field,无毛视频� Henderson said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 definitely going to help a guy like me. Everybody knows what I can do in the return game.无毛视频�
Henderson has been labeled a 无毛视频渘o-nonsense无毛视频� return man. He was coached at Pitt to run north, 无毛视频渁nd I take that first hole and hit it,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not lolly-gagging back there, tip-toeing. I无毛视频檓 trying to get yards and put my offense in the best field position possible.无毛视频�
And if Henderson hits an open hole, he has the speed to go the distance.
Of course, he wasn无毛视频檛 happy with the 4.50 40 time he ran at the NFL Combine. He defers to the 4.37 40 he ran at Pitt无毛视频檚 pro day.
无毛视频淎t the Combine, with the lasers, if you无毛视频檙e not a track guy 无毛视频� speedy, speedy fast, like Usain Bolt fast, or somebody who progressed through track and was in track all his life 无毛视频� I don无毛视频檛 see any way in the world you can possibly get to a 4.3,无毛视频� Henderson said. 无毛视频淚 was down in Florida (training) at XPE. We were running on lasers. The fastest laser time I got was a 4.37, but I got to the Combine and ran a 4.50. It was shocking. I never ran a 4.5 in my life. I was always a low 4.4 guy.无毛视频�
In spite of his natural speed, Henderson was never much of a track guy.
无毛视频淚 ran track my sixth-grade year, middle school,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚n high school I didn无毛视频檛 run track at all, just basketball and football. But everybody kept begging me, 无毛视频楥ome run on our 4 by one (hundred) relay team无毛视频�; 无毛视频楥ome run the 100 for us.无毛视频� I went out my first meet my junior year, broke the school record, my first meet back from sixth grade. I never trained for track. The speed was just God given. I went out there and broke the school record (100 meters), 10.83. I qualified to go to states but instead of going to states I went to 7-on-7 football tournament instead. I don无毛视频檛 regret it at all. I knew football was where my heart was at and I was out there just to run.无毛视频�
Did the football tournament help him get Pitt无毛视频檚 attention?
无毛视频淵es, sir,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭he whole 7-on-7 circuit definitely helped me get to Pitt. I was a three-star coming out of high school. People came out to see all these top prospects and I was just ripping the whole 7-on-7 circuit. I was barely even touched. It无毛视频檚 a game of two-hand touch, once you catch the ball, but I was barely ever touched because I was so shifty in open space.无毛视频�
Henderson grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, where the 21-year-old said he was lucky to have survived.
无毛视频淭hat city is rough 无毛视频� rough growing up,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a blessing to make it to your 19th birthday there. It really is rough.无毛视频�
Henderson made it, he believes, because of his mother and father, close friends, and sports.
无毛视频淔ootball is my golden ticket out,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 never smoked, never drank, always surrounded myself with good people, people who were on the same mission as me.无毛视频�
Henderson无毛视频檚 friends back home also stayed out of trouble through sports, but Henderson was the only one to move on. Those friends are currently working jobs and living vicariously through a guy they believe can become the NFL无毛视频檚 next player out of their small state.
无毛视频淲e all grew up playing football together since the age of five,无毛视频� Henderson said. 无毛视频淭hey always call me every day and ask me how it is. They want to see me do my best. That无毛视频檚 why I无毛视频檓 hoping to be able to get out here and provide for myself, provide for my family, and make everybody back at home proud.无毛视频�
To make the Steelers, Henderson will need to improve his receiving skills. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 not going to do it just as a return guy,无毛视频� is what Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi told reporters when Henderson announced he was turning pro after his junior year.
无毛视频淢e and Coach Narduzzi had this talk before I declared,无毛视频� Henderson said. 无毛视频淚 know everybody wants to see me at receiver. I无毛视频檓 out here working my butt off at receiver. Coach (Darryl) Drake无毛视频檚 even saying good things about me in the meeting rooms. The offensive coordinator, Coach Randy (Fichtner), is in there saying good things about me, the way I run routes. Everybody sees that I无毛视频檓 progressing, so I just keep working my butt off, keep a humble head, keep a good head on my shoulders.无毛视频�
Henderson is the smallest in the group of receivers working for the Steelers, but he无毛视频檚 shown a get-dirty work ethic that no doubt will be appreciated by veterans in the locker room.
To that end, the Steelers put Henderson in James Harrison无毛视频檚 old locker, located in the back of the room, in a small neighborhood that includes Antonio Brown.
Henderson无毛视频檚 placement by the team is certainly no coincidence.
无毛视频淲e haven无毛视频檛 had a chance to actually work together yet,无毛视频� Henderson said of Brown. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 sure along the way, once he goes to work on extra routes, I think all receivers are going to be out there learning and picking his brain to get better.无毛视频�
The way Henderson sees it, there无毛视频檚 no going back to his old neighborhood. He无毛视频檚 either making the NFL 无毛视频� or he无毛视频檚 making the NFL.
After announcing he was leaving Pitt, Henderson tweeted 无毛视频淲anna take care of my family and move them out of the hood.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 just feel like the NFL is my ticket out of the hood, and their ticket out also,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 want to make them happy. This has been my dream since I was five years old playing little league football. This is my dream all around. I just want to live it, say I played in the NFL.无毛视频�