Houston 5-star QB commit Keisean Henderson shuts down recruitment

Houston Legacy SSS five-star quarterback Keisean Henderson committed to the Houston Cougars on May 27, 2024. He’s kept other programs warm and was set to take an official visit to Florida State this weekend.

That trip is no longer on the table.

Henderson told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Thursday evening that he’s officially shut down his recruitment and is locked in with head coach Willie Fritz and the Big 12 program.

“I felt the love from day one and I feel like there is nowhere I would rather be,” Henderson said.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pounder is the No. 16 overall prospect and No. 4 QB in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 2 player in Texas.

His early pledge to the Cougars came as a surprise last summer, but he’s continued to maintain that he’s locked in, despite his process taking off during the fall and spring. A slew of big-time programs have since offered, but he remains the jewel of the Houston 2026 class.

Fritz and his staff played a crucial role in Houston’s charge to keep Henderson home:

“The way (Fritz) moves, the way he’s able to pick up stuff, be a leader. Everywhere he went he’s always turned the program around. Just watching that from the past couple of years when he was at Tulane, he flipped that program,” Henderson previously told On3. “I’ve known coach Nagle since he was at Tulane, between coach (Shawn) Bell and coach Nagle, those were the first two that pulled the trigger on me at quarterback my sophomore year.”

He’s currently one of six commits in a class that ranks No. 45 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Scout’s Take on Keisean Henderson

On3’s Charles Power writes this of the elite signal-caller:

“Henderson is one of the top athletes in the country regardless of position. With everything we had seen going into the Navy All-American Bowl, we knew that his dynamic ability as a runner and deep ball were quite impressive as a quarterback prospect. However, we felt the junior film left us questioning his consistency and accuracy as a touch passer in the deep/intermediate levels of the field. We knew he had the fastball, but could he throw the slider or the changeup? As we have seen in his ability as a passer throughout his high school journey, we were able to see steady improvement each day of practice, culminating with an On3 MVP performance by the end of Navy All-American Bowl week. Henderson displayed whippy arm action to get the ball out effectively from multiple arm slots. He also showed the fastball during the routes-on-air and 7-on-7 periods in practice.”