Kalen Henderson, senior quarterback and native of Laplace, Louisiana, has grown up in a life with love of football.

Henderson was born on June 24, 1992, in Kenner, Louisiana. His parents are Brandon Henderson and Uneika Robinson, and his stepmother is Tonya Henderson. He also has two younger siblings, Kyle and Kaden Henderson.

He played baseball and basketball in high school, but his passion since he was a little boy has been football. Henderson has been playing football for 16 years. He started when he was old enough to play peewee football.

Henderson attended East St. John High School, where he was a three-year letter-winner, and led the Wildcats to three playoff appearances. In his junior season, Henderson threw for 1,011 yards and 11 touchdowns, and rushed for 300 yards and seven touchdowns. His senior year of high school, he threw for 1,734 yards and 21 passing touchdowns. He ran for 534 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Henderson earned all-parish and second-team all-district.

“I love being in control at the quarterback position, knowing that nothing will go without my say so. I like being in control of those ten other guys,” Henderson said.

Henderson appeared in six games his junior season at Nicholls State University and made his debut against Oregon. He completed 59 of 115 passes for 785 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions. He threw two touchdowns against McNeese State University. His best performance was against Lamar University, where he passed for 221 yards and rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. Henderson ran for 87 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan University. Henderson missed half of the 2013 season with a leg injury.

“I enjoy playing football just for the thrill of it and the adrenaline of playing the game,” Henderson said.
Before he became a Colonel, Henderson played football at the University of Tulsa, where he started 11 games for the Golden Hurricanes in two seasons. He threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for over 100 yards with one score. Henderson also started one game in the 2012 season, where he led the Hurricanes to a 28-24 victory against the Rice University Owls, finishing the game with 201 yards and one touchdown.

Henderson committed to the University of Tulsa his senior year of high school, where he was a redshirt freshman. He saw playing time in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but he was not the starter. Henderson transferred to Nicholls State University in 2013, where he split time with quarterback Beaux Hebert.

“The difference between playing at Tulsa from playing at Nicholls is that financially, Tulsa has a bigger program,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the difference between Coach Steve Axman and Coach Stubbs is that there is more freedom with Axman.

“Both guys are very good in their special way, but Axman is more of a players’ coach, because he gives us a lot more freedom to do things within good means. He has a strict hand as far as discipline, but he lets us be ourselves,” Henderson said.

Henderson is majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies and is in his last season as a Colonel.