Mario Henderson (October 29, 1984 – October 21, 2020) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was an
offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
in the
National Football League (NFL). He spent the first four years of his career with the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
, after being selected from
Florida State in the
2007 NFL Draft.
High school and college career
Henderson originally attended
Bishop Verot High School in
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
. Henderson was a 375-pound freshman who'd never played football. His first year of football was his Freshman year. He also played varsity in the 2000-2001 season at Verot.
After his sophomore year, Henderson transferred to
Lehigh Senior High School
Lehigh Senior High School is located in Lehigh Acres, Florida, a suburb of Fort Myers. It is one of the largest high schools in Lee County. The current principal is Jackie Corey. It is part of the Lee County School District. Lehigh currently has ...
. Due to transfer rules, he was not able to play during his junior year. He used that time to change his physique and, in his senior year, earned a scholarship to Florida State University. His senior year, he averaged 28 points per game and 14 rebounds, and was 1st team all state and 1st team all county as a member of Lehigh Senior basketball team.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
After starting only one year his senior year of college, Henderson was selected by the Raiders in the third round of the
2007 NFL Draft. In his second year, he started several games at left tackle in place of injured veteran
Kwame Harris, and was the Raiders' full-time left tackle in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Colorado Ice
Henderson played with the
Colorado Ice of the
Indoor Football League for the 2011 season.
San Diego Chargers
Henderson signed with the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
on April 13, 2012. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2012.
Utah Blaze
Henderson signed with the
Utah Blaze of the
Arena Football League (AFL) on November 9, 2012. He was placed on the reserve/refused to report list on March 1, 2013.
Colorado Ice (second stint)
Henderson re-signed with the Colorado Ice in May 2013.
Tampa Bay Storm
Henderson signed with the
Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL in March 2014. He re-signed with the team after the 2014 season on October 9, 2014. He was placed on the reserve/refused to report list on March 5, 2015. He was placed on reassignment on March 1, 2016.
Personal life
On March 17, 2011, Henderson was arrested in Fort Myers on the charge of carrying a concealed firearm.
On October 21, 2020, Henderson died at the age of 35.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Mario
1984 births
2020 deaths
Sportspeople from Fort Myers, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
American football offensive tackles
Florida State Seminoles football players
Place of death missing
Oakland Raiders players
San Diego Chargers players
Utah Blaze players
Colorado Crush (IFL) players
Tampa Bay Storm players