Nolan Henderson

Nolan Michael Henderson (born June 26, 1998) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens.

Early life Henderson was born on June 26, 1998, and is a native of Smyrna, Delaware. He attended Smyrna High School and was a three-year starter and two-time team captain. He was twice named first-team all-state, set several state records, including career passing touchdowns (104), single season passing yards (3,380) and passing touchdowns (36), and in 2016 was given the Maxwell Jim Henry Award for best player in Delaware, as well as Gatorade State Player of the Year and DIFCA Offensive Player of the Year honors.

In addition to football, Henderson also started four years on the Smyrna High School baseball team as an outfielder, playing under his father who was the head coach. As a true freshman in 2017, Henderson saw no game action, being a redshirt and operating the scout team. The following season, he appeared in a total of three games, making his collegiate debut against Lafayette In his first career start, against Penn, he threw for three touchdowns and 260 yards. His completion percentage ranked first in the CAA and third in the FCS, and he was named first-team all-conference. and led Delaware to the FCS playoffs, where they lost to eventual national champion South Dakota State 42–6, in a game that saw Henderson break his fibula on the first drive.

Although Henderson had one year of eligibility remaining coming into 2023, he opted to declare for the NFL draft. He finished his college career second all-time in Delaware history for touchdown passes (56), and completed 550-of-850 pass attempts for 6,429 yards.

Baltimore Ravens After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Henderson was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2023. He was released by the Ravens on June 6.

Houston Roughnecks / Gamblers On January 22, 2024, Henderson signed with the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He re-signed with the team on September 18.

On February 16, 2026, Henderson signed with the rebranded Houston Gamblers of the United Football League, after he had initially gone unassigned in the 2026 UFL draft. Henderson earned UFL player of the week honors for his Week 2 appearance against the Birmingham Stallions, where he led the Gamblers to an upset victory.

On July 18, 2026, Henderson confirmed his retirement from professional football.

Career statistics UFL Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2024 HOU 6 2 0–2 43 74 58.1 526 7.1 63 2 1 83.5 22 143 6.5 20 1 2025 HOU 4 1 0–1 20 36 55.6 183 5.1 29 2 0 88.1 9 82 9.1 33 0 2026 HOU 5 4 1–3 40 70 57.1 447 6.4 33 0 2 64.4 16 105 6.6 37 1 Career 15 7 1–6 103 180 57.2 1,156 6.4 63 4 3 77.0 47 330 7.0 37 2

College Year Team Games Passing Rushing GP Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD 2017 Delaware 2018 Delaware 3 0–0 12 20 60.0 152 7.6 1 0 140.3 10 36 3.6 0 2019 Delaware 9 2–4 71 126 56.3 933 7.4 9 1 140.5 71 126 2.5 1 2020 Delaware 8 7–1 135 191 70.7 1,482 7.8 10 4 148.9 72 101 1.4 2 2021 Delaware 4 3–1 47 80 58.8 646 8.1 4 0 143.1 23 -57 -2.5 1 2022 Delaware 13 8–5 285 442 64.5 3,231 7.3 32 9 145.7 94 149 1.6 4Career 37 20−11 550 859 64.0 6,444 7.5 56 14 145.3 270 355 1.3 8

Personal life Henderson grew up a Delaware fan and his childhood dream was to play for the school; his family held season tickets for several years.