Junior offensive lineman Eli Henderson has received two scholarship offers from University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, and the first one was a very emotional.
Henderson, 6-4, 285 pounds, of Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes and his parents first met Pittman while attending a Georgia summer camp last year.
“When we first walked in he sort of eye-balled me and everything, and I really didn’t know what was going on,” Henderson said.
Pittman then had Henderson perform drills for about 30 minutes before they headed off to his office for a meeting.
“We weren’t expecting anything much more than we’re looking at you, we like you, we’ll see what happens,” Henderson said. “But he told us from the second rep, ‘I realized I was going to offer you,’ and I said huh, and he said, ‘yes sir, we’re going to give you an offer’. My dad started crying, my mom started crying, and I started crying.”
The tears startled Pittman, who didn’t realize the offer was Henderson’s first.
“He asked why we were so emotional, and we told him it was my first offer, and he started to tear up a little bit,” Henderson said. “It was special moment. It’s something out of a movie. I can’t really describe all of the emotion that was in that moment.”
Through his travels during the recruiting process, Henderson has come to admire Pittman.
“None of them I’ve really seen are as genuine and as real as Coach Pittman,” Henderson said. “My family loves that and loves that he’s a real dude.”
Henderson’s parents, Shane and Jacquie are equally impressed with Pittman.
“My mom loves him,” Henderson said. “They joke around every time they see each other. My dad wants me to be in good hands, and there’s not much better hands than Coach Pittman.”
Pittman extended an Arkansas offer to Henderson in less than two weeks of being on the job in Fayetteville. He and his parents visited Pittman several times for games in Athens and had plans to visit Arkansas this spring but had to cancel because of the coronavirus.
“I hate we couldn’t get down because I was suppose to come out and watch a spring practice and get a feel for the place,” Henderson said. “As soon as all the stuff is lifted we should be out there.”
In addition to Arkansas, Henderson has an offer from Georgia and is drawing interest from Penn State, Texas, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Virginia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Clemson and others.
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network believes Henderson can play guard or tackle in college.
“He’s a four-star talent with terrific versatility and great technique,” Lemming said. “I loved him on film. Aggressive and nonstop until the whistle.”
Henderson said he talks to offensive line coach Brad Davis at least once a week and Pittman every two weeks.
“I really like Coach Davis,” said Henderson, who has a 315-pound bench press and 450 squat. “Coach Davis told me straight up he wants me. He really wants me in the program and really wants to coach me. I feel confident if I went there I would be in a great hands.”
He ordered an Arkansas shirt online about a month ago and wears it proudly.
“I wanna represent the school that wants to represent me,” Henderson said.
The outgoing Henderson has a 4.3 grade-point average and is considering going into coaching after his playing days are over. He also might follow his father’s footsteps.
“I’m good at talking to people and good at being a people’s person, so I would like to go into sales,” he said.
Henderson explained his infectious personality.
“My mom and dad threw me out in the wild at a young age and told me to go talk to people,” he said.
Should he attend Arkansas or another out-of-state school, Henderson said there would be an adjustment.
“I’m a momma’s boy by all means but momma will be alright,” he said. “We have FaceTime calls. Heck, she might move out with us.”