C.J. Henderson

Early life

Henderson was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and attended Christopher Columbus High School. He played both running back and cornerback for the Explorers' football team and was invited to play in the All-America Bowl as a senior. He was ranked a four-star prospect and initially committed to play at the University of Miami before de-committing to evaluate other offers. Henderson ultimately signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Florida.

College career

As a true freshman, Henderson appeared in 11 games for the Gators with five starts and made 22 tackles with four interceptions. He became the first freshman in Florida's history to return an interception for a touchdown in back-to-back games after doing so in his first two career games against Michigan and Tennessee. In his sophomore year, his first full season as a starter, Henderson recorded 38 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles with two interceptions and a team-high seven passes defended and was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) by the league's coaches.

Henderson entered his junior season as a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, third-team preseason All-America, and on the Bednarik Award watchlist. Henderson was also named a second-team midseason All-American by the Associated Press despite missing four games due to injury. Henderson finished his junior season with 33 tackles (three for loss), a sack and 11 passes broken up in nine games and was named first-team All-SEC by the league's coaches and a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. Following the end of the Gators' regular season, Henderson announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL draft and also skip Florida's bowl game. Henderson finished his collegiate career with 93 tackles, 26 passes broken up and six interceptions in 33 games played.