NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Ricky Rahne remembers his final playing days as a quarterback at Cornell. There were no Ivy League playoffs, he didn't think his NFL chance was very high and he had some time to come to grips with the finality that accompanied with his senior season.
Jason Henderson's situation was quite different.
"Not knowing when it's over and then all of a sudden having to deal with it being over is an incredibly emotional time in most people's lives," the Old Dominion head coach pointed out.
Henderson announced Sunday that he's walking away from the game he loves. The linebacker suffered a serious knee injury during Old Dominion's regular season finale in November of 2023 against Georgia State and revealed the severity of the damage in his statement. Henderson sustained a torn ACL, MCL, MPFL and meniscus and worked vigorously to return to the field over the course of the last two years. He just reached a point where it became too much.
"I have tested my mental and physical strength to the max," Henderson said on Instagram. "I have done everything in my power to be as physically and mentally prepared to give it my all one last time. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get to the point where I can maintain playing at a competitive level again."
"He made the decision," Rahne said. "While it's emotional, I know that he thought deeply about it. It was well-thought-out. It was certainly a rational decision."
The senior also noted that football gave him a second family. His gridiron brothers have been digesting the news during the last couple days and, while they'll miss sharing the field with Henderson, they're ready to step in a offer any support needed at a moment's notice.
"It hurt because I love Jason," said redshirt junior linebacker Jahleel Culbreath. "Jason's a brother. I've been playing with Jason for about three or four years now. I know he loves the game, so we're always there for him, we're going to be there for him, so he'll be alright."
"We are probably [among] the five or six guys who stayed at Old Dominion all five years here," redshirt senior offensive lineman Stephon Dubose-Bourne added. "We came in together, I love him to death and I respect his decision. We're going to stand by him, keep uplifting him and God has a plan for him."
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Old Dominion's Henderson stepping away from football
Henderson gave his heart and soul to the ODU program since arriving on campus in 2021. He's a two-time All-American, pulled in numerous Sun Belt honors, including a spot on the All-Sun Belt First Team twice. 2022 saw the linebacker lead the country in total tackles and topped the national list in tackles per game the following season. He leaves the program as its all-time career leader in total tackles. Rahne said Monday that Henderson is always welcome around the program, but added it may be awhile before we see him on the sidelines.
"I watch guys who are out for a week and I watch them cry before a game when they're out for a week," he noted. "To know that you're not going to play again, that's an emotional time for any of us."
"We're all uplifting him," Culbreath said. "He's still around because he's still our brother. We're going to uplift him, make sure that he's alright and he's going to keep supporting us and we'll do the same for him."
There's a Dr. Suess quote- "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened-" and Henderson should do just that. He career was cut short, but he created a legacy that will reign on in history.
"I'm very proud of him, of the process he went through to get to this," Rahne said.
Henderson boasts a career-high of 22 tackles in a single game, accomplishing that mark three times. Throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he racked up double-digit totals in tackles in 20 of the 22 games he played. The two games in which he fell short of 10 or more tackles were contests that he left due to injury.
