Nick Saban reveals freshman Emmanuel Henderson's progress with position change

Alabama is working out the kinks with its latest incredible recruiting class. Sure, Texas A&M edged the Crimson Tide out of the top spot this season, but Nick Saban’s staff still finished with a class worth celebrating. A group surely filled to the brim with future Heisman finalists and first-round picks. As the previous dozen or so were before this.

One of the shiny new toys in that ’22 class for Alabama is offensive athlete Emmanuel Henderson, the 44th overall player in the 2022 On3 Consensus. He came in as a running back and is already taking reps with the wide receivers. So Henderson is a bit of a tweener in that sense. Oh well, speed doesn’t discriminate. That skill will kill no matter where on the field you put a player. And he has plenty of it.

However, changing positions so immediately after arriving on campus as a freshman has to be tough. Especially at a place like Alabama, where the guys to your left and right are four and five stars apiece.

But Coach Saban isn’t worried about Emmanuel or his transition thus far. When asked about Henderson and his sharing reps now with the wide receivers as well, here was Saban’s answer about how the young playmaker could break into the lineup.

You can watch his comments here or read them in full below.

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Nick Saban on talented freshman Emmanuel Henderson

“Yeah, he’s making progress. I think, because of his speed, I think he could be a really good special teams player for us as well. He’s got, you know, great work ethic. Really good person. Very conscientious. And I think that’s helped his development. I think that he can help us at that position, and I think he will before the season’s out. And we’ll just keep working on, you know, helping him develop. But I’m encouraged by his athleticism, his ability, his attitude, his work ethic, and, you know, how is it — how he’s going about developing as a player.”

A lot of praise from Saban for traits on and off the field for Henderson. Clearly the youngster is making the right impression on the head coach. Who, by the way, has a great point for the kid. Even if Henderson gets buried on the depth chart at receiver since he’s so new at it, his skills will still come in handy on special teams. Impressive play there can then parlay into more snaps on offense.

Four-star athlete Emmanuel Henderson was the nation’s No. 44 overall prospect, according to the 2022 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. On3 ranks Henderson as the No. 44 player overall and the third-ranked “athlete” in the class.

So plenty of promise for Henderson. Who looks primed to be the next great Crimson Tide punt gunner this fall.