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Illinois CB Tyrik Henderson commits to Minnesota; was targeted by CSU, New Mexico, and Wyoming

Minnesota beats CSU, New Mexico, Wyoming and 14 other schools for Illinois CB Tyrik Henderson’s commitment.

By Peter Elliott
Tyrik Henderson at The Opening’s Chicago Regional camp on April 2, 2017.
Peter Elliott

Glenbard North (Carol Stream, Illinois) junior cornerback Tyrik Henderson abruptly ended his recruitment Wednesday night, announcing via Twitter that he is “100 percent committed” to Minnesota, ending Colorado State, New Mexico, and Wyoming’s chances of picking up a pledge from the three-star prospect.

According to 247Sports, Henderson is ranked as the no. 752 player in the class of 2018, as well as the no. 12 player in the state of Illinois. Check out his junior season highlights:

He received his offer from Minnesota during his unofficial visit to their Minneapolis, Minnesota campus on March 25. According to 247Sports’ Crystal Ball Predictions for Henderson, the Golden Gophers were given the best odds down the stretch to receive his commitment.

With the commitment of Henderson, head coach P.J. Fleck and Minnesota move into the no. 10 spot in 247Sports’ 2018 recruiting class rankings with 11 three-star recruits locked down.

Henderson’s relation to the Mountain West is that he picked his latest of his 18 scholarship offers from Colorado State on April 5, and landed consecutive offers from Wyoming and New Mexico on February 22.

Colorado State and New Mexico were never considered favorites to land the 5'11," 165-pound Henderson, however, Wyoming has a strong pipeline to the state of Illinois. Their 2016 roster listed multiple former Illinois high school recruits, including freshman linebackers Drew Harvey and Jahmari Moore, sophomore tackle Zach Wallace, junior guard Kurtis Stirneman, and NFL Draft prospect and running back Brian Hill. In addition, the Cowboys reeled in commitments from six Illinois recruits from the class of 2017, including St. Rita (Chicago, IL) punter Tim Zaleski. So far, in the class of 2018, according to the Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming has extended offers to close to 20 recruits from the Land of Lincoln.

While I was covering Nike's The Opening Regional camp in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois for a different publication, I got the chance to interview Henderson. One thing notable from the interview, recorded on April 2, is that he stated he planned on committing during the summer. Take a look:

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