Arkansas has beaten out Alabama and numerous other schools for the commitment of 4-star junior defensive lineman Kavion Henderson.
His relationships with Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman, defensive line coach Deke Adams and others on the coaching staff lured him to Fayetteville even after the Crimson Tide extended an offer Sept. 2.
“The relationship I have with all of the coaching staff,” Henderson said of what led to his pledge. “Even when the in-state school offered me they stayed on me and never let up. They kept recruiting me and checked on me and my family.”
He visited the Crimson Tide twice and Auburn once this season while previously visiting Oklahoma and Georgia earlier this year.
Henderson appreciated Pittman always picking up the phone when he called.
“Coach Pittman is a cool guy,” Henderson said. “Every time I called him he picked up the phone no matter what, no matter where he was at. He let me know he cared about me like all the other coaches, like Coach Adams. He’s just a cool guy like my head coach. He’s down to earth. He’s a funny guy.”
Henderson also praised the recruiting efforts of Arkansas assistant defensive line coach Keith Jones and special teams coordinator Scott Fountain.
Henderson, 6-3, 238 pounds, of Leeds, Ala., had narrowed his list of more than 40 scholarship offers to Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Auburn on Sept. 20.
He announced his decision at his high school on his late grandfather Clifford Henderson’s birthday. His grandmother Rhonda Henderson and grandfather raised him from the time he was six months old.
The Razorbacks made sure to stay in contact with his grandmother, which scored points with Henderson.
“That meant a lot. They not only cared about me, but cared about my grandmother, too, so that meant a lot to me,” Henderson said.
Henderson’s close friend and Razorbacks cornerback commitment Dallas Young of Gardendale, Ala., invited him take a look at Arkansas after his pledge to the program last year. The two visited Fayetteville three times together, with the Cincinnati game on Sept. 3 being the most recent.
“He told me what we could have in the future,” Henderson said. “You can make me better, I can make you better. He wasn’t just on me to commit, though. He wasn’t saying anything like that. He was saying we can make a change. I think after they lost to Mississippi State, he was like, 'We can make a change.'"
ESPN rates Henderson a 4-star prospect, the No. 9 defensive lineman and No. 36 overall recruit in the nation in the 2024 class.
Henderson’s current ESPN grade of 86 is one of the highest for an Arkansas commitment since ESPN began ranking prospects in 2006. With another year until he signs, his grade could go up or down based on his play.
Only quarterback Mitch Mustain in 2006 and defensive lineman McTelvin Agim in 2016 had higher ESPN grades than Henderson. Former Razorbacks running back Alex Collins had a grade of 86 in 2013.
Henderson and Young also visited the Razorbacks on Jan. 22 and March 12. He privately pledged to Pittman in the late evening after the March 12 trip, but was urged by someone close to him to take more time with the recruiting process.
He stayed strong to his commitment despite the offers from Alabama and other programs.
“I wanted to commit early to them out of respect and show them they really recruited me well, and there’s no place like that in how they treated me and me talking to the head coach,” Henderson said. “When I was committed, I had to be loyal because I knew more offers would come in, and they did. I just felt like there’s no place like Arkansas and no head coach is like Coach Pittman, so I stayed loyal through the process.
"They really wanted me and I wanted the program, too. I was just happy and knew what I wanted no matter what came.”
Adams was relentless in pursuing Henderson as soon as he was announced as a member of the staff in January.
“When he first got the job, I didn’t know too much about him, but I did know one of my friends that went to Ole Miss,” Henderson said. “He told me he was a great recruiter at Ole Miss and that’s why he went to Ole Miss.”
Henderson is the lone commitment in Arkansas' 2024 class.