Henderson ready to carry load for NAU

Alex Henderson grew up in Southern California, so it is no surprise he aspired to compete in the Pac-10.

On the track, that is.

“When I did watch football, it was UCLA or USC,” Henderson said. “I really didn’t watch football a lot, though.”

His road to college track stardom was detoured by a switch of schools prior to his junior year, for which the Northern Arizona football program is grateful. Henderson’s path led him to Flagstaff, where he has been a two-time All-Big Sky Conference selection as a running back.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior is the offensive spark for the Lumberjacks, who open the season at Arizona State on Saturday before turning their focus on making the Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs for the first time since 2003.

“Going into the season, we are really confident,” said Henderson, who has rushed for 1,913 yards in two years. “We have a lot of good veterans and good freshmen coming in. Everybody is ready to play. We think that we have a great chance to have a good record and advance in the tournament.”

Henderson’s role in the NAU offense should expand this season, for two reasons. He is the main guy in the backfield after splitting carries in 2007 with since-departed Lionel Scott, and the Lumberjacks might need time to reestablish their passing game after a three-way quarterback duel in camp.

“He’s gotten better every year,” NAU coach Jerome Souers said. “He’s a talented open-field runner who is learning to have more patience. We’re excited about his potential. He and Lionel basically split time last year, and both averaged 6 yards a touch.

“Now that Lionel has moved on, I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles the additional load.”

There were doubts about Henderson’s ability to be an every-down back in high school, after he quit football due to frequent headaches. He concentrated on track, aiming to earn a scholarship as a sprinter.

However, after switching schools, Henderson managed to talk his parents into letting him play football again. He was named the most valuable player in his conference and decided to pursue football for good.

“I was meant to play football,” Henderson said. “I wanted to be on a team. Track is an individual sport.”

Henderson redshirted in 2005 and, in his first college game, had 44 yards on 14 carries in the Lumberjacks’ 35-14 loss at ASU two years ago. Things took off from there, as he became the first freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards.

NAU’s annually productive passing attack was inconsistent last season, and Scott was added to the running back fold. Still, Henderson rushed for 899 yards and, most important, started believing he could be the difference in the team winning or losing.

The doubt-erasing game came at Portland State.

Coming off a blowout loss the week before, the Lumberjacks fell behind 14-0, but Henderson scored twice to tie the score, and NAU went on to a 44-43 victory.

“The only expectation I had when I got to NAU was to get better and try to help the team win,” Henderson said. “Whatever the statistics say, I want to have a big role for us. I did at Portland State, and that built my confidence.”

More sure of himself than ever, Henderson is capable of comfortably passing 1,000 yards this year. Souers said he has no concerns about durability.

“(Last season), we didn’t have to put Alex in a situation where he was the man,” Souers said. “You look across the country, and that is happening fewer and fewer times. There is a lot of depth out there, more kids that can play, so you want to keep them fresh on the field.

“Alex wants to play a lot more, and he has the experience and understanding of the offense. We have high expectations of him.”