Gunnar Henderson lit up football fields across the Rio Grande Valley as a star athlete wearing McAllen High’s purple and gold during his high school career.
His journey in college football has been a winding road that’s resulted in Henderson carving out a role as an every game contributor as a receiver for Texas Christian (TCU) and now will be playing in the Big 12 Championship this weekend. A win would all but guarantee Henderson and the Associated Press’ No. 3-ranked Horned Frogs (12-0) a spot in the College Football Playoffs with a chance to play for a national championship.
The Big 12 Championship game between No. 3 TCU and No. 13 Kansas State (9-3) kicks off at 11 a.m. today at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington.
“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.”
His path to TCU didn’t come without adversity. A surgically repaired broken wrist suffered while playing in high school never healed correctly, so Henderson fought through the pain during his junior and senior seasons at McHi in 2016-17 believing it was a new normal. The banged up wrist continued to bother Henderson during his first two years playing football at Incarnate Word in 2018 and 2019.
He decided he didn’t want to play football in 2020 and transferred to Texas A&M, but quickly realized a passion and desire to play the game remained. He walked on and made the team at Texas A&M, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Aggies cut all walk ons from their roster.
Henderson then chose to undergo surgery in August of 2020 to repair and rehab his wrist and ultimately found a home at TCU in Spring 2021. He made the Horned Frogs roster as a walk-on in 2021, and earlier this year on March 26, was awarded a scholarship to continue his playing career with TCU.
These never get old❗️
(Twitterless) Gunnar Henderson has def EARNED his scholarship.#GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/40taUE0v0C
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) March 26, 2022
“I living alone doing rehab on my own at a rehab center in College Station. Obviously it was a lot of uncertainty because I wanted to play big time college football, but I wasn’t even on a football roster in 2020,” he said. “I wasn’t even healthy, so I couldn’t really sell myself a whole lot. I got really lucky to land at TCU and I had to push through some hard times and I’m just very blessed to be in this position. I think I had to push through some really hard times and give it up to God because he’s the one who’s got me to where I am today.”
He had two catches for 12 yards and two tackles on special teams as a junior at TCU in 2021.
This season, Henderson has earned a role as a reliable receiver in TCU’s offense, which ranks No. 4 in the nation scoring 41.3 points per game, according to NCAA.com.
Henderson has appeared in all 12 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. He hauled in a 62-yard touchdown reception in a 55-24 victory against Oklahoma on Oct. 1. He also posted three catches for 52 yards and a score in a 29-28 victory over Baylor on Nov. 19.
“When I came to TCU, I was just trying to be a reliable guy that was going to get open and catch the ball when the ball is thrown to me. So far I’ve done that and I prided myself on being the quarterback’s favorite receiver whenever it’s crunch-time and they need a guy to throw to, they feel comfortable throwing to me. I’m just really thankful to be in the position I am today where I know that every Saturday we’re playing, I’ll be able to contribute and help the team win.”
