Henderson Handles Key Role as UCLA Safety

Othello Henderson, UCLA’s sophomore free safety, expects to be challenged, but some of those challenges come in the strangest places.

When UCLA played San Diego State on Sept. 26 in San Diego, a character dressed as an Aztec came onto the field before the game brandishing a flaming spear.

He threw it close to Henderson’s foot. Henderson’s training didn’t prepare him for a hot foot. But he reacted immediately.

“I just kicked it,” he said. “It almost caught the grass on fire, and the fans booed me.”

There is a different reaction in Westwood, where Henderson is being compared to some of UCLA’s prominent safeties, such as Kenny Easley, Don Rogers, James Washington and Eric Turner.

Even though he has missed two games because of a hamstring injury and was in on only one play in another, Henderson has been a defensive force.

He has made 45 tackles, ranking third on the team, and has two interceptions.

“Othello is a very fine safety man and one of our best defensive players as a sophomore,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “He has two important years ahead of him, (and) if he continues to improve, I think he could be a very talented player.”

Henderson, who grew up in Killeen, Tex., was counseled by his mother, Jean, a schoolteacher, and his grandparents that academics were more important than athletics.

“If I didn’t keep up my grades, I wasn’t going to play,” Henderson said.

He had to prevail on his mother to let him play high school football when he was in the ninth grade.

She wanted him to stay in the band, for which he was a drummer. Jean Henderson finally relented.

As a free safety and wingback at Ellison High, he earned All-American honors.

He was recruited by Notre Dame, Louisiana State, Nebraska, USC and UCLA.

“I liked Notre Dame,” Henderson said, “but when I went there the weather was 28 degrees below zero and that wasn’t for me.”

He said he canceled a visit to USC because he had already committed to UCLA.

Henderson said he had some anxious moments Oct. 16 when he learned of the mass killing in a cafeteria in Killeen. George Hennard shot and killed 22 people and wounded others, before turning the gun on himself.

“My mother knew a few people that ate lunch there, and some of them got shot but weren’t killed,” Henderson said. “My grandmother used to eat lunch there a lot, but she didn’t go that day.”

Henderson tried to call home, but the phone lines were busy. Then, his grandmother called to assure him that she was all right.

Henderson’s mother moved to the West Coast when her son enrolled at UCLA.

She teaches school in Oakland but attends UCLA’s football games. Henderson said his mother also watched him compete in track meets last spring.

Henderson is a high hurdler who also filled in on UCLA’s sprint relay team in the Pacific 10 track meet.

At 6 feet 1 1/2, 205 pounds, Henderson has the ideal size for a free safety.

He likes the position because “I like hitting people,” he said.

Turner, who preceded Henderson as UCLA’s free safety and was a No. 1 draft choice of the Cleveland Browns, recognized his potential last year.

“Eric took me under his wing,” Henderson said. “If I made a mistake, he would tell me what I was doing wrong, and he never yelled at me.”

Othello is not an unusual name in the Henderson family. He is a third-generation Othello, named after a Shakespearean tragedy.

And he was the featured performer in two strange plays in UCLA’s 27-10 loss to Stanford last Saturday night in Palo Alto.

He was covering a tight end on a pass play, but when the ball went deep to Stanford wide receiver Jon Pinckney, Henderson raced downfield to help cornerback Carlton Gray in coverage.

“I was going so fast I couldn’t stop, and we (Gray and Henderson) ran into each other and Pinckney got away (for a third-quarter touchdown),” Henderson said.

Earlier, Henderson tipped a pass thrown by Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom. It was seemingly a good defensive play, but the ball caromed into the arms of wide receiver Steve Walsh for a touchdown.

“I just said, ‘Oh, man,’ and put my head down in the grass,” Henderson said.