Alvin Henderson, the four-star running back and two-time Class 1A Back of the Year from Elba, has committed to the Auburn Tigers, a significant departure from his prior commitment to Penn State, according to Hugh Freeze.
Henderson posted a statement on Instagram on Friday afternoon announcing his commitment to Auburn.
In April, a week after making an official visit to head coach James Franklin’s team, Henderson committed to Penn State.
Henderson, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, is listed by 247Sports as the eighth-best running back in the 2024 class and the eleventh-best talent in Alabama overall, regardless of position. In the 2025 class, Henderson is rated somewhat outside of the top 100 players nationwide.
With Henderson joining the team, Auburn has signed a running back since the 2023 recruiting cycle, making 16 commitments overall for the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class. Henderson’s pledge came just before Auburn’s 2025 class was ranked sixth nationwide by 247Sports, and Henderson is currently among the top five players in Auburn’s class.
With Henderson joining Auburn, the class is anticipated to leap into the top five nationally. Five of the top 15 in-state recruits have committed to Auburn thus far.
Less than a week has passed since Eric Winters, a well-known high school athlete from the same state, committed to Auburn. Winters has an Enterprise safety rating of four stars.
In addition, Auburn is still vying for a number of other elite in-state recruits, such as four-star safety Anquon Fegans and edge rusher Zion Grady.
Henderson made his official visit to Penn State just one week before switching to Auburn in May, having previously committed to Penn State.
Following a 2023 season in which he averaged 15.7 yards per carry and 251 yards per game while rushing for 3,523 yards and 61 touchdowns on 225 carries, Winning Henderson is back. This past fall, Elba completed 13-1 with Henderson in the backfield. The Tigers’ season concluded in the state quarterfinal, where they lost 27-24 to Leroy, the eventual state champion.
In addition, Henderson had offers from Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
According to Henderson’s 247Sports profile, there was some movement in Henderson’s recruitment following the departure of former running backs coach Cadillac Williams. Derrick Nix, Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, and Charles Kelly, the team’s co-defensive coordinator, took charge of Henderson’s recruitment.
Though he was “hurt” by Williams’s departure, Henderson told AL.com’s Ben Thomas that he was optimistic he could develop a relationship with Nix, following his second Class 1A Back of the Year victory on January 30.
In an interview on February 1, Henderson stated of the Auburn staff, “Coach Nix and coach (Hugh) Freeze and coach (Charles) Kelly came down to my school last Monday.” “Coach Nix told me he will attend my game on Thursday over FaceTime last night. Even though he’s only held the job for about two weeks, we’re already growing close.
Henderson’s dedication suggests that Nix and Kelly have adapted to their new jobs rather swiftly.
Lamar Jackson will have to accept that Pat Mahomes is the NFL’s “face of the league” until he adds a Super Bowl victory to his resume; at least, this is what Auburn football legend Cam Newton says.
During the most recent episode of his 4th & 1 podcast, Newton stated that Patrick Mahomes is the NFL’s current face in the modern era (source: ClutchPoints). Even though Lamar Jackson is and has always been exceptional, no one has ever dominated the MVP race and polls to emerge victorious more than Jackson has. But Patrick Mahomes will always be Patrick Mahomes for one reason and one reason only: three Super Bowl championships.
Newton is the one who is closest to understanding Jackson’s situation. Despite not being able to lead the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl, “Superman” was the 2015 NFL MVP and never received the credit he deserved. But as a result, Newton was treated disrespectfully after retiring and his time with the New England Patriots was frequently exploited against him.
Despite never having made an official retirement announcement, Newton has had to see more and more backup roles go to less gifted but more reserved quarterbacks. He has no choice but to acknowledge that his playing days are probably finished.
Lamar Jackson plays the game extremely similarly to Cam Newton, which puts him at risk of having a similar outcome. Mahomes is a last-ditch scrambling threat, but Jackson and Newton aggressively seek contact and have built careers off of injuring opponents.
Regretfully, Jackson’s and Newton’s hazards are comparable. And that’s aged, as we’ve seen.
Jackson has missed 11 games in his career overall; the Louisville product missed five games in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In the upcoming years, as he attempts to eventually catch up to Mahomes and avoid having his NFL career end tragically due to injuries, his durability will be something to watch. Newton’s journey was cut short by injuries.
