How Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame football ‘found one’ in DB Ramon Henderson
If you were at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 13 and heard a repetitively loud thumping noise just before 9 p.m., it was not a Virginia fan banging on the stadium bleachers because Notre Dame was taking it to his Cavaliers on their home turf.
Well, it might have been an angry, beyond frustrated UVA supporter. But it also might have been Fighting Irish safeties coach Chris O’Leary. Animated, beyond elated.
When sophomore defensive back Ramon Henderson covered half the width of the field to jump in front of a Virginia wide receiver and secure the first interception of his career, O’Leary banged on the glass window in front of him in triumphant excitement.
“I think I almost broke the press box window because I was so fired up,” O’Leary said.
It was the first start of Henderson’s career. He had never played safety safety until then, either. Henderson came out of Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty High School a wide receiver and cornerback. He slotted in as the latter his entire freshman year and played very limited snaps in 2020.
A position change wasn’t entirely warranted for Henderson to get on the field as a sophomore. He worked his way into the rotation with senior TaRiq Bracy at nickel corner to start the season. He was on the field for 23 defensive snaps against Toledo. That number dwindled to nine, four and three in the following three weeks, though. Bracy started to gain more control over the nickel job.
Junior Cam Hart and sophomore Clarence Lewis locked down the two outside cornerback positions. Henderson stayed behind them on the depth chart and rotated with Bracy when he could but once it became clear the two outside guys weren’t going anywhere and Bracy was playing well in the slot to stay there, the Notre Dame staff came to a consensus.
“We knew that we eventually had to move him,” cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens said. “We wanted to get him on the field.”
The true turning point was All-American safety Kyle Hamilton’s knee injury Oct. 23. Henderson has played 193 snaps since then. He played 57 in the first six games. Senior DJ Brown was a viable replacement for Hamilton against North Carolina and Navy, but the Irish turned to Henderson as the starter against Virginia, Georgia Tech and Stanford.
He didn’t disappoint. His speed and athleticism wouldn’t let him. Henderson said it’s easier for those traits to show up at safety as opposed to corner.
“Playing safety, you can be all across the field,” Henderson said. “With corner, you’re zoned in on your own guy. Kind of on a direct island. Me being able to run around, move around and get into some things kind of fits me a little more. I feel I can play either one. It’s just right now, this is going pretty well for me.”
Moving around and getting into some things — à la Kyle Hamilton. Nobody on Notre Dame’s roster — and maybe even in the entire country — could go from one area on the field to another and make a disruptive play as fluidly as Hamilton.
That is why when Henderson was asked if he felt like Hamilton when he made his interception at Virginia, he scoffed and said no. There’s only one Hamilton. He’s likely going to be a top-10 NFL Draft pick this spring for a reason.
“I don’t ever look at Kyle and be like, ‘Oh, I look like him, I play like him,’” Henderson said. “Some people have told me that. ... Me running over there and making that play, that’s just me.”
Hamilton isn’t a bad player to be compared to, though. A quite good one actually. From Hamilton’s freshman season, the Notre Dame staff had to prepare itself with a mindset that Hamilton would be gone after three years. As it turned out, those three years were cut short by five games because of Hamilton’s knee injury and the decision to opt out of the Fiesta Bowl to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Brown is a senior. His future with the question is up in the air after the bowl game. Henderson technically has three years of eligibility remaining after this one. At 6-1, he’s not as eye-popping size-wise as Hamilton. He plays longer than 6-1, though, so that could give him a lengthy college career even if it doesn’t translate to elite pro prospect status.
The final month of the regular season essentially became a tryout for Henderson to be the next starting field safety at Notre Dame. Early returns suggest he hasn’t failed. And that’s thanks to a little help from Hamilton himself. The surefire first-rounder went out of his way to directly help Henderson in his very first practice after switching from corner to safety.
“He taught me how to play and position myself on a certain coverage,” Henderson said. “I look at him and see the success he’s gotten for himself, and that’s nothing but respect from me. And I’m trying to do everything he can do and possibly even more. When he teaches me something or tells me this, I’m going to listen to him because every time I’ve seen him do something he’s alway right with it.”
Henderson has the luxury of learning from not only Hamilton, O’Leary and Mickens but also a new defensive-minded head coach. Marcus Freeman spent the season as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, so he’s obviously aware of what every player brings to the table.
He is also aware of what Notre Dame is losing with Hamilton’s departure. Namely, speed and length. Freeman said he knew the Irish had some of that in Henderson but not to the extent of which he displayed it against Virginia and in subsequent games thereafter.
The next few years are Henderson’s for the taking in the Notre Dame defensive backfield.
“It was really after that game where I said, ‘Oh, we found one,’” Freeman said. “Ramon Henderson is a guy that can make plays. He’s a guy that can do exactly what we need him to do at the field safety position.”
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