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OU football All-American Zac Henderson, true freshman starter on 1974 title team, dies at age 64
by BERRY TRAMEL
Published: Mon, April 20, 2020 6:30 PM Updated: Mon, April 20, 2020 6:48 PM
Zac Henderson, one of the most underrated OU football players of all time, died overnight Sunday/Monday at his home in Oklahoma City. He was 64.
Henderson was a four-year starter at free safety and a 1977 unanimous all-American. The New York Athletic Club named Henderson college football’s defensive back of the year in ’77, in those days before the Jim Thorpe Award. Henderson had seven interceptions that season.
Henderson, out of Burkburnett, Texas, started all but the season opener as a true freshman on OU’s undefeated, 1974 national championship team, a defense that included Lee Roy Selmon, Dewey Selmon, Jimbo Elrod, Rod Shoate, Tony Peters and Randy Hughes. Henderson was the first full-time true freshman starter after the NCAA reinstated freshman eligibility in 1972.
Henderson went on to make all-Big Eight three times. Henderson had 15 career interceptions, which still is tied for fourth all-time in OU history, and remains the all-time leading tackler among Sooner defensive backs, with 299.
“He was a great player,” said Barry Switzer, Henderson’s college coach. “He’d jump right to the top right away.”
Henderson started as a true freshman, Switzer said, not because the Sooners were shallow in the defensive backfield, but because “he was that good. Hell, this was ’74. He could run. First thing you gotta do, you gotta know how to run, how to practice. If you know how to practice, and you’re smart…”
Henderson played one year in the NFL, then played four seasons in the Canadian Football League. With the Toronto Argonauts in 1982, Henderson was named the Eastern Conference defensive player of the year.
Henderson was a great high school baseball player, and Switzer recalled that Henderson was a high school sprint champion and often beat out his prime competition, Art Briles, of nearby Rule, Texas.
Years later, Briles told Switzer of the many races against Henderson. “Always Zac Henderson, always Zac Henderson, I had to compete against,” Briles told Switzer.
Henderson is the namesake of Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor’s father, Sherwood, was a fellow OU defensive back in the 1970s.
A memorial service for Henderson will be planned in the future, after the coronavirus pandemic.
OU football All-American Zac Henderson, true freshman starter on 1974 title team, dies at age 64
by BERRY TRAMEL
Published: Mon, April 20, 2020 6:30 PM Updated: Mon, April 20, 2020 6:48 PM
Zac Henderson, one of the most underrated OU football players of all time, died overnight Sunday/Monday at his home in Oklahoma City. He was 64.
Henderson was a four-year starter at free safety and a 1977 unanimous all-American. The New York Athletic Club named Henderson college football’s defensive back of the year in ’77, in those days before the Jim Thorpe Award. Henderson had seven interceptions that season.
Henderson, out of Burkburnett, Texas, started all but the season opener as a true freshman on OU’s undefeated, 1974 national championship team, a defense that included Lee Roy Selmon, Dewey Selmon, Jimbo Elrod, Rod Shoate, Tony Peters and Randy Hughes. Henderson was the first full-time true freshman starter after the NCAA reinstated freshman eligibility in 1972.
Henderson went on to make all-Big Eight three times. Henderson had 15 career interceptions, which still is tied for fourth all-time in OU history, and remains the all-time leading tackler among Sooner defensive backs, with 299.
“He was a great player,” said Barry Switzer, Henderson’s college coach. “He’d jump right to the top right away.”
Henderson started as a true freshman, Switzer said, not because the Sooners were shallow in the defensive backfield, but because “he was that good. Hell, this was ’74. He could run. First thing you gotta do, you gotta know how to run, how to practice. If you know how to practice, and you’re smart…”
Henderson played one year in the NFL, then played four seasons in the Canadian Football League. With the Toronto Argonauts in 1982, Henderson was named the Eastern Conference defensive player of the year.
Henderson was a great high school baseball player, and Switzer recalled that Henderson was a high school sprint champion and often beat out his prime competition, Art Briles, of nearby Rule, Texas.
Years later, Briles told Switzer of the many races against Henderson. “Always Zac Henderson, always Zac Henderson, I had to compete against,” Briles told Switzer.
Henderson is the namesake of Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor’s father, Sherwood, was a fellow OU defensive back in the 1970s.
A memorial service for Henderson will be planned in the future, after the coronavirus pandemic.
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