Continuing His Run: Origin Of Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson

TreVeyon Henderson is a folk hero in his hometown.

“He’s a legend here,” said Ricky Irby, the head football coach for Henderson’s three seasons at Hopewell High (Va).

Henderson was the top running back in the country, even though he barely played the position in high school. He didn’t move into the backfield until his junior season when he compiled nearly 3,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 50 touchdowns. His older half-brother, Ronnie Walker Jr., who played at Indiana and Virginia, was the starting running back during Henderson’s freshman season. Robert Briggs, who went on to play college football himself, was featured in the Blue Devils’ backfield during their sophomore campaign. They were always a stellar running back-wide receiver tandem, Irby said.

Henderson, however, was very much on the radar.

“He had major Division I offers at four different positions,” Irby said of the New England Patriots second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Notre Dame recruited Henderson as a cornerback, Clemson wanted him as a safety and Tennessee and Syracuse targeted the five-star prospect as a wide receiver. Those offers — and others — came in the spring of 2019. The second-ranked player in Virginia and 23rd national recruit received 39 offers in total, per 247 Sports.

“I had Lincoln Riley call me when (Henderson) first started getting recruited,” said Irby, referencing the then-Oklahoma coach. “He’s talking to Trey and said, ‘Man, you can come here and be a kicker if you want to be a kicker. You can play anywhere you want.'”

Those types of conversations ended a few months later.

“By the time he made the full-time transition to running back, everybody wanted him at running back,” Irby said.

Henderson’s performance as a wildcat quarterback the season prior put those wheels in motion. The wildcat package for Henderson initially was inserted on short notice after Hopewell’s quarterback suffered an injury two days before the Blue Devils traveled to face Dinwiddie High, which was riding a 35-game home win streak.

In a scoreless game late in the fourth quarter, Henderson took a direct snap and went 80 yards for a touchdown. It looked a lot like his track meets when he ran sprints and relays. He secured the 7-0 victory with a game-sealing interception.

“That was his coming-out party right there,” Irby said. “It was, ‘OK, this kid’s special.'”

Henderson’s junior season stats are so ridiculous that they look fake. He ran the ball 198 times for 2,424 yards (12.2 average) with 45 rushing touchdowns and added 18 receptions for 283 yards (15.7 average) and five receiving touchdowns.

The craziest part?

“Most of the games he didn’t even play the second half,” Irby said.

Henderson was named the 2019 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year after he led Hopewell to a 15-0 record and second straight state championship. Unfortunately for Henderson and the Blue Devils, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 campaign. Hopewell would’ve earned itself a three-peat that season, Irby believes.

Henderson, who was a straight-A student and graduated with a 4.0 GPA, enrolled early at Ohio State. That was always his plan, Irby said, and understandably so.

Henderson burst onto the scene as a freshman in Columbus when he compiled 1,560 yards from scrimmage with 19 touchdowns. He recorded 1,000-plus yards from scrimmage in three of his four campaigns against Big Ten competition, including his senior season when he rushed for 1,016 yards on 144 attempts (7.1 average) with 10 of his 11 touchdowns coming on the ground.

“The biggest strength of his game is his short-area burst and overall speed,” said Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn. “Once he gets his foot in the ground and gets his shoulders square, his speed can actually translate to power. He’s not a big, big, big guy, but he runs with so much speed and has so much velocity.”

Locklyn recruited Henderson out of high school when he was on the Florida State staff.

“The kid is an elite running back,” Locklyn said. “He has great hands. He can run routes. He’s the total package.”

Part of that package, of course, is Henderson’s ability in pass protection. Henderson was the best in college football when it came to pass blocking, Locklyn said. Others, including Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard, agree.

“We had two rules in the running back room,” said Locklyn, who also coached Bucky Irving at Oregon and Antonio Gibson at Memphis. “We don’t put the ball on the ground and we don’t give up sacks. Trey didn’t do neither one of them. So he’s like the poster child for me saying that.”

His work ethic and character are what really makes him great.

Those who know Henderson won’t let you forget who is off the field. They paint the picture of the exact kind of player any team should want in its building, which played into New England’s selection.

“We have all these football questions, but I think the thing that makes him such a wonderful football player is he’s such a wonderful young man,” Locklyn said. “I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss his leadership. I’m going to miss him being in the room, he’s the ultimate professional.”

Irby added: “His work ethic and his character are what really makes him great.”

Irby also recited the story he told college coaches.

When Henderson was a junior in high school, he and another Hopewell teammate were invited to the local market for a “grocery dash” before Thanksgiving. The store specifically asked for Henderson, the star football player, to be there. Well, Henderson’s teammate won the competition, earning both himself and Henderson a $50 gift card.

“Everyone’s celebrating, and I look around and Trey is gone,” Irby said.

Irby then saw Henderson in the back of the store, and an elderly woman who lost the “grocery dash” was near him.

“I said, ‘You gave her your gift card, didn’t you?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, coach. She needed it more than me,'” Irby recalled. “It just speaks to the character of a kid at 17 years old to think about others the way he does.

“Even to this day, what he gives back to our community — he’s a legend here. He’s a folk hero. He’s an inspiration to everybody in our city.”

Perhaps he’ll continue such a run in his new home.