How Ramon Henderson is flattening his learning curve at a new position

Notre Dame safety Ramon Henderson provided an unexpected and refreshing answer Monday to a predictable training camp question.

When asked about position competitions during camp, players routinely default to the usual answers of, “may the best man win” and “I can only control what I can control.”

Henderson sure didn’t. 

Running in a three-man race against graduate seniors Houston Griffith and DJ Brown for the starting free safety spot, Henderson, a junior, admits to comparing grade cards each day to see how he stacked up against his teammates. 

Henderson explained how every player is graded after every practice based on everything from his pre-snap lineup to in-play positioning and production. 

Good plays (plusses), bad plays (minuses) and the dreaded MAs (missed assignments) are all part of the final grade formula.

“Let me see, how much did Houston [Griffith] get,” Henderson shared with a laugh. “I just want to know how far I’m behind, or how far I’m ahead. 

“I don’t think any of us are the type of people that want to be in the middle of the pack, or part of the pack. We’re trying to be out front of the pack.”

Having played safety for the first time out of necessity last season in mid-November against Virginia, the odds of Henderson beating out two veterans for the opening-day starting job at Ohio State seem long. 

But the potential and the promise — and frankly, the insurance — Henderson provides to this unit can’t be undervalued. 

Growing as a player

Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O’Leary on Monday explained Henderson’s development.

“He’s grown a lot,” O’Leary said. “He still does some stuff that frustrates me, but he’s a special talent athletically, and just his natural instincts.”

And, as far as the position competition, don’t tell Henderson he’s not in the thick of it.

“They think they are better than me, I think I’m better than them,” Henderson said of Griffith and Brown. “It’s healthy. We all pat each other on the back. But on that same day, we’re trying to be the best player each and every day. It’s good.”

Life at Notre Dame has been a whirlwind for Henderson. 

Recruited as a wide receiver in 2020 from Liberty High in Bakersfield, Calif., Henderson was first moved to cornerback and then flipped to safety late last season. 

Any career plans to play wide receiver were never on Henderson’s radar. “Defense fits me better,” he said. 

So when a switch from offense to defense was suggested to him, Henderson didn’t hesitate. 

The rest remains about mastering an unfamiliar position. And O’Leary said so far so good. 

“He has taken a step to the point where he’s handling everything we throw at him, and he’s understanding it,” O’Leary said. “There’s a difference between a guy that goes out there and just memorizes what he’s doing and a guy that understands what we’re doing. He understands it.”

What’s also impressed O’Leary through camp is Henderson’s growing leadership presence.

It’s a trait that even Henderson admits doesn’t necessarily come naturally.

Growing up as an only child in a single-mother household, Henderson said he’s more introverted than many of his teammates.

So when he was asked about becoming a vocal leader at a position that requires a strong voice, Henderson said “that’s the hardest thing.” 

“Anyone who really knows me, I’m an only child. I stick to myself,” he said. “I’m not going to go out of my way to say anything.”

With no siblings to compete against and learn from while growing up, Henderson said that his mother, Tia, was the force that pushed him into football and other sports as a youngster. And she remains his most important influence. 

“I had the best personal coach ever,” said Henderson, who still calls his “coach” every day. “Even though she doesn’t know that much about football.”