Super 16 Team #10: Delaware Valley

At 6'0", 205 lbs, Delaware Valley middle linebacker Jason Henderson has a nose for the football.

"I really don't know," Henderson tried to explain. "I guess it just comes to me naturally. Since I play middle linebacker, I can jump higher, I can see over the ball to get a good read in the backfield and I'm a harder hitter."

Instincts, strength, and one more thing.

"The speed that Jason (Henderson) plays with is at an elite level," Delaware Valley head coach Keith Olsommer said. "It's not the speed that you see at the high school level very often. He's a guy that can change the momentum of the game with a single play. He's just the ultimate competitor."

The perfect description and a perfect trait for a potential all-state linebacker.

"Everything's a competition to me," Henderson said. "I hate losing. I love winning. I try not taking it easy on anyone, not even myself. I try to work everyone else the way that we should all be working each other."

"He's wired a little bit differently and that's what makes him a special athlete, that gene where you're a little bit more competitive than most high school kids and with that, he is unbelievably successful." Olsommer said.

Henderson broke the school record for tackles in a season last year. 140 in his sophomore campaign, a record that he hopes to break as a junior.

"It drives me a lot," Henderson said. "It really pushes me in practice because I know I can't just walk around an do stupid stuff because it's not going to help me get better. If I don't get better, I can't beat my record."

Or earn a spot on our Super 16 Dream Team for a second consecutive season.

"The recognition itself felt amazing to me," Henderson said. "It really made me feel like I was doing something right and it motivates me because I don't want that to be the last thing I'm accomplishing in my life. I want to make bigger and better goals."
