Football recruiting: MUS lineman Marcus Henderson considering Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, among others

When he's not in the weight room prepping for his senior season, Marcus Henderson likes to spend some of his free time learning to use Photoshop. He enjoys seeing what he looks like wearing different jerseys.

 "You know the edits that people do on Twitter? I like to learn about that and try to make them myself," said Henderson. "Just like to mess around. I don’t ever post them or anything.”

The four-star Memphis University School offensive lineman said that he's even considered making his own edit to announce his commitment. 

"I was thinking about it. If it looks clean enough when I do it, yeah. But if not, I’ll just get someone else to do it," he said. 

That announcement will likely come quite a bit later, as Henderson is still considering around six or seven schools. He said that he knows three schools that will "for sure" make his top six. They are Alabama, Auburn, and Ohio State. 

He's the No. 9-ranked player in Tennessee in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 12 offensive guard in the country.

Alabama's success at sending players to the NFL is what stands out to Henderson about the Crimson Tide. Ten Alabama players were selected in this year's NFL draft, including first-round selections Quinnen Williams, Jonah Williams and Josh Jacobs.

"Bama is in there for sure because they put people in the league, that’s what they do," said Henderson. "If you want to go to the next level, that’s where you go."

The 6-5, 298-pound senior mentioned his relationship with offensive line coach J.B. Grimes and the campus environment as what draws him to Auburn.  

"I like Coach Grimes. He’s a good offensive line coach," said Henderson. "I just like the environment out there. It has a good family feel. I could see myself going there even if I wasn't playing football."

As for Ohio State? Henderson says he grew up liking the Buckeyes and initially wanted to go to school there. 

"Ohio State is just one of the schools I grew up liking," he said. "That's kind of where I wanted to go at first, but I had to switch it up and make the right decision for me." 

Henderson said that he's also considering Oklahoma. He likes how much attention the coaching staff has given him. 

"During (NFL) draft night, coach B (offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh) was just texting me the whole night telling me, ‘If you come play for me you’re going to be here’ and he’s put an entire offensive line in the NFL over the past two years so you can’t go wrong with that," said Henderson. 

“During the year, (head) coach (Lincoln) Riley, coach B and (associate head) coach (Dennis) Simmons, were there after school just watching me work out for like a week straight. They just kept on coming back in town back to back to back. It just showed that they were interested in me.”

Henderson also noted that Ole Miss, Tennessee and Mississippi State are the schools that have been recruiting him the longest. 

He visited Washington two weeks ago as part of a family vacation. He was born in Tacoma and has family still in the area. Henderson doesn't have an offer from the Huskies but said that if he gets one he'll likely take an official visit there. 

"When I was out there, they just took the whole day and like dedicated it to me and my family," Henderson said. "I had my little cousins with me, all the coaches were messing with them and playing around with them. It was just a good time."

Henderson said that he and two teammates — three-star cornerback Devonte Nelson, and junior linebacker DJ Brown—  are planning to take a recruiting trip together soon. 

"I’ll be down in Bama soon. We’re planning a trip right now to go to Louisville, Indiana, Vandy and Ohio State," said  "Me Devonte, DJ Brown and (MUS assistant) coach (Mark) Chubb." 

You can reach Khari Thompson via email at KAThompson@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @_KhariThompson