ESPN top 300 recruit Damian Henderson commits to Colorado State

Colorado State’s latest verbal commit for the 2023 recruiting cycle is Damian Henderson.

An ESPN top 300 recruit (No. 260) and a four-star prospect according to the world wide leader, Henderson is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound athlete out of Los Alamitos, California.

CSU originally offered Henderson back in January, shortly after Jay Norvell and Co. came over from the University of Nevada. Although the Rams were not the first program to offer him, that was the University of Arizona, CSU was one of the early teams invested in signing the versatile prospect and it seemingly paid off. Since being offered by CSU, Henderson has been pursued by Oregon, San Jose State and Washington, but the Rams were the one he chose to commit his future to.

Official. Committed. @CSUFootball @CoachChadSavage @CoachFin_ @CoachJayNorvell @LosAlFootball @bruce_bible @lsporch2 @tfent2 #FutureIsFoCo pic.twitter.com/Kbj9X1Sl7f
— Damian Henderson II (@DamianH118) August 3, 2022

Henderson is coming off of an impressive junior campaign for Long Beach Jordan High School in which he rushed for 1,023 yards on just 127 carries (8.1 AVG), according to MaxPreps. He also had 12 receptions for 300 yards (25.0 AVG) and scored 12 total touchdowns in 14 games played. This upcoming season he will be playing for Los Alamitos High School after transferring over in the spring.

Based on his numbers and Hudl film, Henderson appears to be a natural fit in Matt Mumme’s Air Raid system. He already has experience running and receiving out of the backfield in both shotgun and pistol formations. Henderson has lined up out wide and functioned as a true wide receiver as well.

Regardless of what function Henderson serves at the collegiate level, it’s clear that he is the type of explosive prospect that this coaching staff covets. It will be interesting to see what they ultimately decide to do with him.

Obviously it’s much too early for Ram Nation to start counting their eggs before they’ve hatched. A whole lot can happen between now and the early signing period in December. Having said that though, it’s encouraging to see the type of high school talent that the staff has been able to recruit.

It made a ton of sense to heavily lean on the transfer portal for the 2022 cycle because the staff had less than 10 days to essentially overhaul the entire roster. But if CSU is going to be competitive on a yearly basis, you have to be able to build the foundation of the roster with guys you find in high school and then develop. Norvell, recruiting coordinator / wide receivers coach Chad Savage, and the whole crew deserve praise for the work they have done this summer.