Tre’Jon Henderson, a redshirt sophomore, made his mark on Tomlinson Stadium while playing Western New Mexico state during CWU’s home opener. 

Henderson said, “I felt loose, I felt confident and everything was just kind of quiet.” 

Henderson ran for 154 yards and secured three touchdowns with 26 attempts and an average of 5.9 yards per rush. 

Henderson transferred this year to CWU from Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) where he played Division I football in the running back position.

“Transferring for me was really a business move,” Henderson said. “I love my old school, but sometimes you gotta do what’s best for you.”  

The transfer portal is not easy to endure, according to Henderson, who said the most difficult aspect of being in the transfer portal, “is the uncertainty of where are you going to go and even if you’re going to play … it’s really not an easy thing to go through.” 

On the other side of the transfer portal, there’s the coaches of potentially interested schools. 

Head Coach Chris Fisk said, “We have some relations with the staff there [SFA] that goes back a long ways; so when we saw his name in the transfer portal we made a couple calls and made sure he was the right type of character and person to bring into Central Washington University. Once he checked all those boxes and the film matched that he was a good player, we started building a connection and relationship with him.”

Henderson said he appreciated the effort the CWU football coaches put into the recruiting process.

 “At first, I was just thankful for the opportunity to talk to them,” Henderson said. “They were really interactive and asked me real questions, not just football questions.”

The hardest thing Henderson said he has had to adapt to since being at CWU is being without his family. Luckily, the CWU football team has been a solid alternative, according to Henderson.

“It’s really a brotherhood up here, these are my guys,” Henderson said.

According to his coach and his teammates, nothing has stopped Henderson from being a great teammate and leader. 

“Tre’s got an infectious personality,” Fisk said. “People enjoy being around him and he genuinely cares about his teammates. When you’re a good football player and your teammates know you care about them, it’s easy to step into a leadership role and that’s what’s happened to him.” 

CWU’s starting quarterback, Quincy Glasper,  said that, “Tre is a passionate teammate and he wants what’s best for everybody … and he’s not going to let his other teammates slack off.”

With a recent season-ending ankle injury to another CWU running back, Tyler Flannigan, Henderson looks to be slated as the starting running back for the rest of the season, according to Fisk.

“Right now he has [the starting running back position] he knows he needs to come in and work everyday to maintain that,” Fisk said. “Here, we try not to get too far ahead of ourselves. My expectation for him is to come in tomorrow and do great and when we’re done with that day we’ll move onto the next one.”