Blue-chip receiver Arjei Henderson chooses rival over FSU football— for now

The Seminoles hadn’t made much noise with receiver recruiting in this cycle, with just three-star WR Maurice Goolsby previously in the class. But Florida State remained in the recruiting spotlight tonight, as four-star WR Arjei Henderson (6’1, 183) of Fort Bend Travis High School in Richmond, Texas pulled a surprising misdirection and committed to the Florida Gators during the Under-Armour All-America game on Thursday night.

Henderson’s recruitment has been interesting, to say the very least. He committed to Oklahoma early in 2017, only to decommitt a couple of months later. He then committed to Oregon (under FSU coach Willie Taggart) during that summer and withdrew his pledge in November prior to recommitting to the Sooners in April of 2018 and then decommitting again the day before Thanksgiving. And now he’s on to his fourth commitment, with UF.

But where Henderson is presently verbally committed may wind up being a moot point. There are definite concerns as to whether or not he’ll qualify academically. Moreover, Henderson is expected to take a number of visits between now and National Signing Day in early February.

Still, an impressive reel like the one above is why Henderson has fielded interest from a number of prominent programs. In addition to the ’Noles, Sooners, Ducks, and Gators, he also has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, and many others. Henderson is considered the country’s 22nd best receiver recruit in this class, the No. 19 player out of Texas, and the nation’s 126th overall prospect for this cycle.

He can definitely play— the biggest question right now is if he’ll have to begin his collegiate career doing so at community college while he gets his academic affairs in order. As always, we’ll keep you posted on what has been a recruitment that more closely resembles a soap opera.