John Henderson (defensive tackle)

John Henderson

Henderson in the 2011 NFL season.
No. 98, 79
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1979-01-09) January 9, 1979 (age 38)
Place of birth:	Nashville, Tennessee
Height:	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:	335 lb (152 kg)
Career information
High school:	Nashville (TN) Pearl Cohn
College:	Tennessee
NFL Draft:	2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2002–2009) Oakland Raiders (2010–2011)
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl (2004, 2006) Second-team All-Pro (2006) Consensus All-American (2000, 2001) First-team All-SEC (2000, 2001) Outland Trophy (2000) USA Today High School All-American (1997)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 146 Games started: 125 Tackles: 493 Passes defended: 44 Quarterback sacks: 29.0 Forced fumbles: 8 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

John Nathan Henderson (born January 9, 1979), nicknamed Big John or Big Hen, is a former football defensive tackle who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee and was a two-time consensus All-American. The Jacksonville Jaguars chose him in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and he was selected for the Pro Bowl twice.

Henderson was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended Pearl Cohn Comprehensive High School in Nashville, where he played defensive tackle and tight end for the Pearl Cohn Firebirds high school football team. His teams won back-to-back state championships during his junior and senior years. He was named All-State as a junior when he had 145 tackles and 15 sacks, along with 37 catches for 470 yards and 9 touchdowns. As a senior, he finished with 150 tackles and 2 sacks, to go with 45 catches for 560 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also selected as a High School All-American by Parade magazine, USA Today, Blue Chip Illustrated, National Recruiting Advisor, and Super Prep. He was ranked as the 7th best high school player in The Sporting News Top 100 and was ranked 1st in the state of Tennessee by the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Henderson also was named All-State in basketball.

While attending the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Henderson played for coach Phil Fulmer's Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1998 to 2001. At Tennessee, he lined up at left defensive tackle next to Albert Haynesworth. He played in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, 2000 Cotton Bowl Classic, and 2001 Citrus Bowl. As a sophomore, Henderson recorded 43 tackles and four sacks in seven starts. As a junior, Henderson recorded 71 tackles (21 for a loss) and 12 sacks. He won the Outland Trophy as college football's top interior lineman and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 2000, having received first-team honors from the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, Football News, CNN/SI, and Rivals.com. After finishing with 48 tackles (nine for a loss) and 4.5 sacks in 10 starts, Henderson was again recognized as a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 2001. He finished his college career with 165 tackles (130 solo and 39 for loss) and 20.5 sacks (5th in school history), seven pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.