Sam Henderson discusses his recruitment as only Vols’ player from South Bend
No. 1 Tennessee (56-7) will host Notre Dame (38-14) in a NCAA baseball tournament Super Regional June 10-12 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Both schools have tradition-rich football programs.
Throughout Tennessee’s football history, one student-athlete has played for the Vols from South Bend, Indiana, the home of the University of Notre Dame.
Running back Sam Henderson signed with the Vols from South Bend, Indiana. He played at Riley High School in South Bend. After graduating from Riley, Henderson attended Tennessee Military Institute.
Henderson played for Tennessee from 1982-85, winning the 1985 Southeastern Conference championship.
“There was a coach on Tennessee’s staff (John Julies) that coached in South Bend while I was in middle school and was aware of me,” Henderson told Vols Wire of his recruitment by Tennessee. “He (Julies) ended up on the Tennessee staff and told them about me.
“I went to a prep school after graduation in Tennessee where UT really then got in the picture. At that point, coach (Phillip) Fulmer started the process of recruiting me. Coach (Johnny) Majors told me that I needed to be a Vol during our meeting.”
Dan Devine’s final season as Notre Dame’s head coach was in 1980. The Fighting Irish hired Gerry Faust in 1981.
Henderson said Notre Dame was not a school in his recruitment.
“They were going through a coaching change,” Henderson said of Notre Dame. “I visited Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina State, Memphis, Purdue, and Tennessee.
“My final choices came down to Tennessee and Purdue. The weather won out. I got stuck in a snow storm while on my visit to Purdue. I visited Knoxville in late January and it was 60 degrees, and the program was on the uptick and the campus was beautiful.”
