Vet stands his ground in Alzheimer’s battle
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Coaches, players get final tune-up
September 2, 2014
Kalen Henderson won the quarterback competition at Nicholls State during the team’s fall camp last month.
Now the senior and University of Tulsa transfer just has to hold on to it.
Neither Henderson nor the Colonels as a whole had the debut they wanted in their season-opener last Saturday, a 44-16 loss at Air Force. For the day, Henderson was 12-of-25 passing for 136 yards with only one net yard rushing and was victimized by an offensive line that yielded four sacks and never allowed him to get settled in and comfortable throughout the game.
He remained in Saturday’s contest until the Colonels’ final drive, when Nicholls coach Charlie Stubbs inserted back-up Beaux Hebert, who proceeded to lead the team on an 11-play, 75-yard scoring march that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Darryl Watson.
Despite the late breath of life Hebert was able to inject into the Colonels’ offense, Henderson is not in any immediate danger of losing his starting job, particularly after doing so much to separate himself from the rest of the pack during the team’s fall camp.
Stubbs officially named Henderson as his starter just a week prior to the team’s season-opener. He said it was important to name a quarterback when he did because the team had to know who they were going to rally around, and that Henderson had earned the nod.
“The thing about playing quarterback is to make the other 10 guys in the huddle better,” Stubbs said. “That’s the challenge that he’s been given. He’s taken over the reins really well.”
Henderson appeared ready to take the reins last year after seeing significant playing time in the Colonels’ season-opener at Oregon and then leading the team to a 21-9 first-half lead at Western Michigan. But Henderson sustained a knee injury just before halftime of that game, which resulted in him missing the next six weeks. He returned later in the season but was never 100 percent healthy and by then, freshman Tuskani Figaro had taken a firm hold of the Colonels’ offense.
Stubbs had been planning to red-shirt Figaro then, but with injuries to Henderson, Hebert and Landry Klann – the latter was out for the season before even taking a snap – Figaro was thrust into the spotlight and proceeded to lead the team to a surprising 4-2 start. With Henderson now healthy again, the Colonels’ coach is hoping to apply the red-shirt tag to Figaro this season.
One thing that makes Stubbs favor Henderson is the quarterback’s mobility. Given the success the Colonels had last year behind Figaro, who rolled his way into the Nicholls record books with a school-best 1,103 rushing yards, Stubbs believes his team has to have a mobile quarterback.
Coupled with Henderson’s arm strength, the Louisiana native and East St. John alum has the potential to be a dual-threat quarterback and is someone Stubbs views as a hybrid type of player.
“He can do it,” said Stubbs. “I feel very strongly that he can run it and throw it, and he’s got a tremendously strong arm, so he can get the ball out of there in a hurry and into tight windows. I’m excited about watching him play. It’s the first time he’s been healthy in a long time.”
For Henderson, being named the starter was a sigh of relief after the intense battle he and others went through during camp. Now that he’s fully recovered from last season’s injury, Henderson says he’s ready to take control of the Colonels’ offense.
It was frustrating, he said, having his season interrupted right when it appeared he was ready to break out – particularly since he’d never gone through a major injury before.
“It was very disappointing,” Henderson said. “Trying to come back off the injury, things just weren’t where they had left off. I had some limitations on what I could and couldn’t do, so it was very frustrating, but through a lot of rehab, I’ve gotten back to 100 percent.
“Since I’ve been playing sports, I’d never been sidelined due to injury. That was kind of hard for me to deal with at the time. I just had to (accept it) and get over it.”
Last Saturday’s disappointing start to the season notwithstanding, Henderson realizes it’s a new year and with that, a fresh chance to show his teammates and coaches what he’s capable of.
“I wouldn’t say I’m anxious to show off, but I love to play the game,” he said. “I’m excited to be out here with my teammates and hopefully we can get a lot more victories than we did last season.”
The Colonels’ quest for their first victory this season takes them to Arkansas for the school’s first ever meeting with an SEC opponent this Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.
Nicholls State University quarterback Kalen Henderson makes a move down the field during a game last season against the University of Oregon. Henderson was named the Colonels’ starter after competing with backups Tuskani Figaro and Beaux Hebert throughout summer practices. Henderson had some good and bad moments in the team’s season opener with Air Force.
