DALLAS β Old Dominion Football linebacker Jason Henderson was named a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the FWAA announced on Friday, becoming ODU's first FBS All-American.
Henderson leads the country with 186 tackles, 49 more tackles than the No. 2 tackler in the country, Cedric Gray of North Carolina. The 186 tackles are the third most in FBS history. Henderson recorded double figures in tackles in 11-of-12 games and is the only player in the country to have multiple 20+ tackle games this season. He led the team with 10 tackles for loss along with a sack and three pass breakups.
Henderson broke ODU's single-season record for tackles in the eighth game of the year at Georgia State and surpassed the Sun Belt Conference record in the 10th game of the season.
His 186 tackles are the third most in a single-season in FBS history behind only Lawrence Flugence's (Texas Tech) 193 tackles in 2002 and Luke Kuechly's (Boston College) 191 tackles in 2011. Henderson's 15.5 tackles per game are the third most in FBS history behind Keuchly's 15.9 per game in 2011 and Rick Sherrod's (West Virginia) 15.6 in 2001.
Henderson is one of just four Group of Five players on the 54-player team, joining linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. of Cincinnati, wide receiver Rashee Rice of SMU and kick returner Milan Tucker of App State.
A native of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, Henderson is the 10th player to earn All-America honors in ODU history, joining FCS All-Americans, punter Jonathan Plisco (three-time), long snapper Dustin Phillips, defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron, quarterback Taylor Heinicke, wide receiver Nick Mayers, long snapper Rick Lovato, defensive tackle Chris Burnette and linebacker Craig Wilkins.