Jaylen Henderson explains why remaining at Texas A&M was important to him

Texas A&M got major news this offseason when quarterback Jaylen Henderson decided to stay put rather than enter the NCAA transfer portal following a coaching change.

Henderson played in five games during the 2023 season, serving as a valuable backup when some of the quarterbacks in front of him went down with injury. He has considerable upside, enough that his retention was a big deal in College Station.

Henderson explained what led to his decision recently while speaking with TexAgs.com.

“Here at Aggieland they embraced my family, and that was important,” Jaylen Henderson said. “We love relationships. And the new staff that came in, they were very up front and honest with us. That’s all I can ask for as a player. You don’t get a lot of that in the college football world anymore.”

Henderson managed to go 53-of-78 (67.9%) passing for 715 yards, with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 104 yards and two scores.

With the new coaching staff taking over, he’ll get a fresh start and the chance to compete for the starting job.

And one of new head coach Mike Elko‘s hires really seemed to intrigue Henderson: offensive coordinator Collin Klein.

“Just what the coaches were preaching, I was excited for it,” Henderson said. “And I feel like coach Klein, we can reach the ceiling and win a championship. That’s the whole reason why all of us came here, to win a championship, and we haven’t got one here in the SEC. So that’s our goal coming in this year.”

Henderson, like just about everyone under the new regime, will have to compete for his job. Nothing is ever guaranteed at quarterback.

He anticipates some stiff competition, but he’s ready to get underway.

“I feel like we’ve got the best quarterback room in the country,” Jaylen Henderson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys. We’ve all stepped up when we’ve had to and played, did a good job. We’re going to get better every day, and as a competitor I love that. I’m never going to run from a competition, I love to compete, get myself better and get those guys better as well.”