This QB led Boise State to a conference title. His pro career will continue far from U.S.
Jaylon Henderson was well traveled as a college quarterback.
Before he ended his career at Boise State as the MVP of the 2019 Mountain West championship game, Henderson spent two seasons at the University of Texas at San Antonio and one at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas.
Whether he was calling the shots in a run-and-gun offense at UTSA or going undefeated as a starter at Boise State, Henderson said those experiences helped prepare him for the adventure he’ll undertake this summer.
After a stint with the Indoor Football League’s newest franchise, the Las Vegas Knight Hawks, Henderson will continue his professional playing career in Japan. The 25-year-old has signed with the Panasonic Impulse, which is one of the most prestigious teams in the country’s most competitive professional league, the X-League.
“It’s one of those things where it’s too good of an opportunity for me to pass up at this stage of my life,” Henderson told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday. “It propels me toward exactly what I want to do, and I’m young, so why not go experience another country and add this to my resume?”
The Impulse team — based in Osaka, Japan — was founded in 1974 and has won 11 championships. The team was back in the X-League title game last year but lost 24-18 to the Fujitsu Frontiers.
Henderson said he plans to leave for Japan by early June.
“They see me as a major asset, which is exciting,” said Henderson, who has already had virtual meetings with his new team and is in the process of learning Japanese. “Outside of football, I’m excited to learn about a new culture, which is all about values, integrity and how you treat people.”
Henderson has a connection to the Impulse through one of his former teammates at UTSA: linebacker Les Maruo, who was picked No. 4 overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League global draft in April. Henderson said that when the CFL season is over, Maruo will head to Japan for the X-League season, which runs from August to January.
Henderson admits he still has a lot to learn before embarking on the next leg of his professional career, but establishing himself in a new program is nothing new. It has become his specialty, and he will strive to end his first season in Japan the same way he ended his college career at Albertsons Stadium — as a champion.
“I have the experience of playing in front of big crowds with the lights on,” he said. “All three of the colleges I played for were reps for the future, not an end destination. That gives me the confidence I need to go out and execute my job.”
Henderson transferred to Boise State in 2018. He saw the most extensive playing time of his career the following season while fellow quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Chase Cord were injured.
Bachmeier won the starting job in 2019, but his second injury of the season put him on the shelf and opened the door for Henderson to lead the Broncos to four straight wins, including the conference title game against Hawaii. Henderson completed 20-of-29 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score to earn MVP honors and help Boise State win its second conference title in three years.
Henderson stayed in Boise after graduating with a finance degree in 2020 and began work as a financial adviser. He did that for a little more than a year before he got a call from the newly formed Knight Hawks, who launched in August 2021 as the 14th team in the Indoor Football League.
Henderson said he’d been contacted by IFL teams before, but the situation never felt right. When his agent called him about the opening in Las Vegas, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Everybody knows about Vegas, but when you live there, you really experience the city and not just fun night life,” said Henderson, who is back home in Kingwood, Texas, spending time with family before leaving for Japan.
Henderson played in five games for the Knight Hawks, including the first game in franchise history, and racked up 15 total touchdowns (12 passing). He threw six touchdown passes in the second game of the season, but the team went 2-3 while he was taking the snaps, and Henderson said that didn’t cut it in what he described as a “cutthroat league.”
Henderson last played for Las Vegas in a 30-20 loss on April 16. The team has been led by former Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans in its past two games, but Henderson said he has no regrets about his time in the IFL. It was just more reps for the future, he said.
“We had a really young team and had to overcome a lot of adversity, but the guys came to work every day,” Henderson said. “We may not have been where we wanted to be, but there was elevation and growth every day.”
After adjusting to the faster pace of the indoor game — which features eight players on a field that is half as long and much more narrow than a traditional football field — Henderson will transition back to the 11-man rules he’s used to when he gets to Japan.
He said he’s not worried about the rules or how far he has to travel, though. He just wants to play.
“I’m back on the football train and trying to make the best of any opportunity I’m given,” Henderson said.
