Highly regarded defensive lineman Zaycoven Henderson committed to TCU in February, but reopened his recruiting earlier this month and Arkansas is one of the schools he plans to visit.
His lead recruiter, tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. has been recruiting him since the spring.
“They offered me while I was committed,” Henderson said. “They asked me if I had any interest and I told them ‘Yes, it’s Arkansas’.”
Henderson, 6-2 1/2 305, 4.96 seconds in the 40 yard dash, of Longview, Texas has 29 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, TCU, Baylor, Ole Miss and Texas, whom he officially visited over the weekend. Video highlights click here
He likes the Hogs because of the SEC, closeness to home and having a former teammate on the team.
“It’s not that far of a drive from Longview and Eric Hawkins, a former teammate goes there and he said he loves the place," said Henderson, who will most likely make his official visit to Arkansas for the South Carolina game on Oct. 12. "I can take his word,”
He likes how Lunney doesn’t hound him during the recruiting process.
“I’m not the guy that wants to have all of the attention, but it comes to me,” Henderson said. “I just have to humble myself and not too bigheaded about it. I just live life.”
Henderson’s talents aren’t exclusive to football. He earned first team All District while playing the post and small forward for Longview.
“I can shoot it anywhere on the floor,” Henderson said. “I guess because I’m pretty strong and pretty accurate with it. It’s not hard for me to step outside the three. Midrange, I like midrange a lot because it’s a high percentage shot.”
Basketball is a good way to improve his skills while also helping keep his weight in check.
“Playing basketball helps me with my quickness, my footwork and keeps me agile and mobile to be as big as I am,” Henderson said. “It helps me out a lot. It keeps my weight under control with all of the running and conditioning that we do. Instead of me, just sitting around after football season and eating and getting big."
"I keep my weight limited. I don’t want to get over 310, I don’t want to get that big. I didn’t want to get up to 305, but the weight lifting and working out and running this summer I got up to 305. I’m moving around pretty good with it.”
In addition to Arkansas and Texas, Henderson plans to take official visits to Alabama, Ole Miss and Baylor. He also excels in the classroom and has about a 3.4 grade point average.
“I’m thinking about engineering right now, mechanical or petroleum engineering,” he said.
While he’s not committed to TCU, it sounds like the Horn Frogs are still a strong contender for his signature.
“My family fell in love with the place,” Henderson said. “I fell in love with the place. I just felt like I needed to open up recruitment and go out and go out and see the country and see what ever everybody else has to offer. They have to be better than TCU.”