Kaden Henderson feels the recruiting process beginning to tighten as timelines start to come into focus for the 2027 Florida linebacker.
“It feels great,” Henderson said of having his class take the center stage in recruiting.
“The time’s coming down, time’s ticking. I know it’s about to be overwhelming pretty soon. It’s absolutely just a blessing for sure.”
Henderson’s relationship with Notre Dame has shifted in recent weeks following linebackers coach Max Bullough’s move from South Bend to Michigan State.
Henderson said Bullough’s honesty during the recruiting process left a lasting impression.
“He told me straight up how it was,” Henderson said. “Things I need to work on, things I’m great at. He told me I’m one of the best backers in the ’27 class, if not the best.
“Recruiting has a lot of buzz in it, people say a lot of things recruits want to hear, but he was really just honest with me.”
With Notre Dame still sorting out its next hire at the position, the 6-foot-2, 213-pounder said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.
“Waiting to see who they hire, waiting to see who fills in that spot for the most part,” the Jesuit High School star said.
“It’s definitely hectic right now. There are so many coaching changes that just happened.”
The change at Notre Dame came as a surprise to the Tampa native.
“It was definitely surprising for sure,” Henderson said. “I thought he was going to be there. He’s a young guy. He’s only been there a couple years, so I thought he was just going to grind his way up. But that’s how college football is now.”
Even with that change, Henderson said the message from Notre Dame during the recruiting process has stood out, particularly when it came to long-term development within the position group.
“For the most part, really just building the best linebacker room,” Henderson said of the consistent message from the Irish.
“And the overall ’27 class and having these guys like Amarri (Irvin) and Ellis (McGaskin) around me so we can just all grow together and have one of the best linebacker rooms in the country.”
Those relationships have already started to form. Henderson spent time around Irvin and McGaskin, both early Irish linebacker commits, helping to create early chemistry.
“Amarri is my guy, Ellis, we’re all cool,” Henderson said. “I was at the Navy game and I know Ellis was there at the same time, we just bonded together. We all play linebacker, so we always got something to talk about.
“Amarri, I've known him for a little minute now since my freshman year, just bonding with him too. That's my guy. I know it's definitely going to be a good thing. I know we're all going to be competing for those spots.”
Visits remain a key part of Henderson’s process as he looks to narrow his list.
South Bend remains a place Henderson wants to see again.
“Notre Dame is definitely one of those schools I want to go back to,” he said. “I’ve only been there one time. If I’m going to go there, I definitely need to get there at least one or two more times.
“If I do end up going there, it’ll probably be for a spring visit and an official visit.”
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