University of Tennessee Athletics
Henderson Captures 2000 Outland Trophy
December 07, 2000 | Football
John Henderson Interview- Complete List of Outland Trophy Winners
Tennessee junior defensive tackle John Henderson was named the winner of the Outland Trophy tonight during a presentation during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla. The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation's top interior lineman and is presented by the Football Writers Association of America.
John Henderson was named the winner of this year's Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman. The unexpected news came from Henderson when accepting the award he announced that he planned to stay at Tennessee next season and complete his eligibility forgoing the riches of the National Football League.
"I'm happy with the decision that I made," said Henderson."I have no doubts about. I'm going to go out next year and work to get better. I know I can get better in a lot of areas, and hopefully help this team go out and win a championship."
"Winning the Outland Trophy is a tremendous honor for John and one that he truly deserves," Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer who accompanied Henderson to Orlando. "He's played as well as any defensive lineman we've had at Tennessee in a long, long time. Obviously, we are very excited about the great news that John plans to return to the 2001 season."
The FWAA selected Henderson as the winner in a vote over finalists Leonard Davis, an offensive tackle from Texas and Nebraska center Dominic Raiola. He is the first defensive player chosen for the award since 1993 when Arizona's Rob Waldrop won the trophy.
Henderson will be formally honored as the winner at The Outland Trophy Awards Banquet, held Jan. 10 in Omaha, Neb.
"It's a great honor," Henderson continued. "This award tonight is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication. I'd like to thank my teammates and my coaches for continuing to push me everyday to make me a better player."
The Outland Trophy is the most prestigious in a series of honors received by Henderson, who has been named a first-team All-America by three different sources and was named the Associated Press SEC Defensive Player of the year.
The Nashville native finished the season with an SEC-leading 12 sacks and 21 tackles for loss and ranked third on the Vol defense with 71 total tackles. His 12 sacks are third on the Tennessee single-season list, trailing only Reggie White's 15 in 1983 and Jonathan Brown who had 13.5 in 1997. Henderson was a key factor in the UT rush defense which ranked third nationally, allowing just 74.3 yards per game.
Tennessee's Steve DeLong won the Outland in 1964. Henderson becomes Tennessee's second Outland Trophy winner, joining middle guard Steve DeLong, a College Football Hall of Famer, who won the award in 1964. DeLong's son, Keith, was an All-America linebacker at Tennessee in the late 1980s.
"I watched him play a lot and he played well this year," DeLong said. "It's a great honor for him. Overall, he was consistent and ran to the ball well. That's what you have to do to win it. He was double-teamed quite a bit. His size was a factor and he also has good technique."
The Outland Trophy, presented since 1946, is the third oldest award in major college football. It is awarded annually to the best interior lineman in college football and named after the late Dr. John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn.
