McAllen High alumnus and current TCU senior wide receiver Gunnar Henderson is set to play in the College Football Playoff national championship game when the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs face the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. Monday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Henderson’s college football career began with two years at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, a brief time as a walk-on at Texas A&M in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the past two years with the Horned Frogs of TCU.
“My time at TCU has been awesome. I’ve met a lot of cool people and been coached by a lot of awesome coaches, and I’ve had a great experience with football overall,” Henderson said. “I’ve been able to play at the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma in front of 100,000 fans and it’s been a dream come true for me. This year, obviously, us playing extremely well and having the season we’re having, it’s been awesome because we’re getting all the media attention and it’s truly given me a taste of what playing big-time football is like. I’m just really blessed to be in the position I’m in, and I’m soaking it all up.”
TCU is 13-1 this season and went 9-0 in Big 12 competition during the regular season to reach the CFP title game. Georgia, which won last year’s national championship, stands 14-0 overall and went 9-0 in the Southeastern Conference. TCU has two national championship wins in its history in 1935 and 1938.
Henderson earned a role as a reliable receiver in TCU’s offense this season, which ranks No. 4 in the nation, scoring 41.1 points per game, according to NCAA.com. He has appeared in all 14 games for TCU this season and has recorded 11 receptions for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks No. 1 on the team in yards per reception among players with more than one catch at 20.27 yards.
Henderson had two catches for 12 yards and two tackles on special teams as a junior at TCU in 2021 and earned second-team academic All-Big 12 honors.
The College Football Playoff national championship game between TCU and Georgia will be televised on ESPN.
