De’Angelo’s Draft Diary (First entry): With no more books, focus all on gridiron
Coastal Carolina graduate and all-time rushing leader De’Angelo Henderson of Summerville is working with sports writer Alan Blondin to provide The Sun News with a diary entry fortnightly through the NFL Draft from April 27-29. He is training for three months at the Michael Johnson Performance sports complex in McKinney, Texas, has been invited to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl all-star game on Jan. 21 at StubHub Center at California State University and the NFL Scouting Combine from Feb. 28-March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and has CCU’s Pro Day on March 31.
Jan. 14 Diary Entry:
Everything with working out at Michael Johnson Performance has been great. The people here are professionals. I feel like I’ve got some of the best trainers and nutrition people I can ask for. They’re very smart, knowledgeable and detailed. They have a reason why for every little thing we do, and to me that’s important because knowing why we’re doing something mentally makes everything a little bit better.
We’ve got one-on-one sessions every week. I work out six days a week, twice a day, off on Sundays, which is a blessing. The main lifting workouts are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We do speed stuff every day – running, three-cone L-drill, 5-10-5 shuttle drill, 40 starts, bursts, all kinds of stuff. Position workouts are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The thing I really like about everything is I get a chance to really focus on taking care of myself and being a professional. I joke around with my friends that one of the benefits is I don’t have to worry about writing a paper and going to work out in two hours. All I have to do is worry about working out, then recovering and resting my body. That’s one of the cooler things about this whole process, making that transition from college to being a professional and not having to worry about classes, papers, study hall, exams, etc.
The running backs with me are T.J. Logan from North Carolina, I’Tavius Mathers from Middle Tennessee and Elijah McGuire from Louisiana Lafayette, another Sun Belt guy. As far as big-time people, we have Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr., Ohio State receiver Dontre Wilson, Florida State defensive back Marquez White and Houston outside linebacker Tyus Bowser. He’s a freakish athlete, probably one of the best overall athletes we have here. We’ve got Houston cornerback Brandon Wilson and Baylor center Kyle Fuller, a big guy who is as talented and athletic as can be for a big guy. One of the guys I’ve made a close connection with so far is Deatrich Wise, a defensive end for Arkansas.
I leave Sunday for the NFLPA all-star game and will be there through Sunday. I’m really excited about the PA game. My agent, Hadley Engelhard of EnterSports Management based in Atlanta, works with those people a lot and without him I probably wouldn’t get that invite. A couple guys I’m here training with will be in the PA game, so it will be fun to be around all those guys. I’ve never been to California before. I’m from a small town, I’m an old country boy, so when I get a chance to see a different part of the world I’m always excited. I definitely think it will be beneficial. With these all-star games I know practices are very important, way more important than the games. A lot of times they come see how you practice, how you block, how you do one-on-ones, how you run the ball, all that stuff. It will be fun just to play football again, throw the pads on one last time. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully I’ll keep the touchdown streak going. To end college football with a touchdown, that would be nice.
I want to have a good week there and definitely compete, and just help everybody learn what and who Coastal Carolina is. A lot of people still will see the logo and squint their eyes and look a little harder. I just want to help promote the brand. Coastal has been a wonderful part of my life and anything to promote the brand, I’ll do it. Going to Coastal is one of the greatest decisions I’ve made in my life. Being a part of that family means a lot to me. It gave a lot to me and I gave a lot to it.
This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 4:19 PM with the headline "De’Angelo’s Draft Diary (First entry): With no more books, focus all on gridiron."