Kaden Henderson was first considered an eventual Texas A&M commit earlier this winter. Then, in the spring, the 5-star linebacker was thought to be headed to Miami. Now, with the race for the talented Tampa prospect in the home stretch, Notre Dame looks like the winner of this derby.
Things changed quickly over the last few weeks after it looked like the Hurricanes were about to land one of the best defenders in the 2027 class. Conflicting reports, some claiming Mario Cristobal backed off and others saying Henderson simply had a change of heart, have muddied things further.
Whatever the reason, Kaden Henderson now has several predictions for the Notre Dame football team. In fact, given the number of predictions, the Fighting Irish could be about to see the pledge come in. On Sunday afternoon, Rivals analysts Mike Singer and Brian Simmons both entered their predictions within a couple of hours of each other. Early Monday morning, 247Sports joined the party with Zach Blostein filing an official Crystal Ball for Marcus Freeman and Co.
Should the predictions (which are also more confident than normal) be correct, this would be a massive addition for Freeman, new linebacker coach Brian Jean-Mary, and the Irish staff. Notre Dame is pushing incredibly hard for Kaden Hednerson and has been even when it looked like they might have run a distant third behind the Hurricanes and Aggies.
Kaden Henderson buzz has Notre Dame football closing in on elite 2027 pledge
The No. 1 linebacker and No. 3 player in the state of Florida, and the No. 22 overall player according to the 247Sports Composite, has a commitment date scheduled for July 1. However, there’s some indication he might pull the trigger quite a bit earlier than that.
Henderson has two unofficial visits to South Bend logged so far, and he’s expected in town next weekend for his official. He might give it a bit more time and wait until the first day of next month to make his official announcement. However, it stands to reason that the way things are rolling right now, he’ll officially join the 2027 class for the Fighting Irish during his visit.
If there’s any doubt as to why Henderson is so highly rated, look no further than the kind of season he had in his junior year at Jesuit despite missing a few contests due to injury.
In 10 games, the 6-foot-1.5, 218-pound defender managed to tally 49 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. Henderson added another 20 quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a blocked punt.
His rankings are also as impressive as they are in part because of how impressive the top linebacker’s offer list is. In addition to Notre Dame, Kaden Henderson received plenty of attention from Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, USC, Clemson, Miami, Auburn, Florida State, Missouri, South Carolina, and Nebraska, among others.
With the speed at which the predictions have come in, Notre Dame fans appear to have some good news coming very, very soon. The question now is just how long they’ll have to wait.
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