**As National Signing Day arrives today, The Roost will continue introducing Coastal Carolina's 2011 football recruiting class one by one.**
Most every high school football coach can and will make a compelling case this time of year as to why their player is going to succeed at the college level. It's part of the fun of National Signing Day, where many recruits are projected to be impact additions before they even arrive on campus.
But when Summerville High School coach John McKissick -- the winningest high school football coach in the country -- says that Coastal Carolina-bound running back De'angelo Henderson is one of the best players he's ever coached, well, that does seem to resonate a bit.
"I'm going to tell you what, they're getting a good one," McKissick told The Sun News. "He's as good as I've had here in the 59 years I've been here in terms of an all-around football player. They're getting a jewel. He could play for anybody."
Henderson, listed at 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, rushed for 2,407 yards and 27 touchdowns in 251 carries last season, caught 18 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns and even threw for a score. He was rated a three-star prospect (out of five) by Rivals.com.
"I think they're getting the best running back coming out of South Carolina this year," said Summerville offensive coordinator Joe Call.
McKissick and Call expected one of the FBS programs in the area to scoop up Henderson, but with both Clemson and South Carolina committed to bringing in other high-profile running backs, Henderson will instead head to Coastal Carolina.
And he's just fine with that.
"I was expecting anything to happen," Henderson said of the recruiting process and getting overlooked by larger programs. "Coastal's not really a small school. ... I'd rather go there than any other place."
In the end, he said he also had offers from Charleston Southern, South Carolina State and Newberry.
"When I went down there, they made me feel I was at home," Henderson said of CCU.
"They were real happy to get him," McKissick said. "They recruited him hard. ... [None of the FBS programs] had really come right out and offered him. They were in touch with him and said if somebody else turned them down, he' d be next on their list.
"He was going to wait, but then he went up there and visited [CCU] and fell in love with them."
Call said Henderson runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and "combines the elusiveness with speed."
Henderson should have a chance to compete for playing time immmediately with Coastal Carolina having to replacing 2010 leading rusher Eric O'Neal. Rising juniors Marcus Whitener, Jeremy Height and rishing sophomore Aaron Jones will also be in the mix for significant playing time, but Henderson hopes to thrust himself right into that mix as a freshman.
"I know their starting runnning back graduates," he said. "They said the starting position is up for grabs."
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKgk7eEfkTY
| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com
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