Michigan State Football: Xavier Henderson could have Khari Willis-type ascension

If you’ve followed Michigan State football over the years, there’s one player who set the bar for being a great teammate, leader, and All-Big Ten player at the same time. And that player was Khari Willis.

The former “athlete” recruit out of high school was a mid-to-low three-star and played some running back at Jackson (Mich.) Lumen Christi. He was recruited by Mark Dantonio to play defensive back and he turned out to be a really special one for the Spartans.

In four years, Willis finished with 189 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and three sacks. He added three interceptions and 13 pass deflections and got better as his career went on.

Michigan State might have a Willis-type of player at safety in 2021 as Xavier Henderson seems to be getting better each year and he could finish his Spartan career on top like Khari did.

Comparing numbers through three years, Henderson is actually holding his own. After his junior year, Willis had 112 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two picks, and six pass breakups. Henderson currently has 139 tackles, four tackles for loss, two picks, and six pass breakups. As you can see, Henderson compares favorably to his predecessor.

Henderson and Willis also have similar size and play styles. Both are cerebral players who have a knack for making plays on the ball and aren’t afraid of contact.

And as we found out at Big Ten Media Days, Henderson is quite the leader. Mel Tucker wouldn’t have sent him to represent Michigan State if that wasn’t the case.

So don’t be shocked if Henderson has a Willis-like send-off to his MSU career in 2021.

Michigan State football hasn’t yet seen the best of Henderson

While Henderson has had a breakout season already with the Spartans in 2019, recording 83 tackles, two tackles for loss, two picks, and five pass breakups, I don’t think we’ve quite seen the best of the talented former four-star from Ohio.

He is getting better each year and he may have had the pace to break his 2019 numbers in 2020, but a shortened season prevented that from happening.

Henderson is going to have a big year for the Spartans and it all starts with being the leader of the defense which is already looks to be. He just needs to focus on his coverage skills and he should be one of the best safeties in the Big Ten.

We may be looking at Khari Willis-lite and if Henderson is anything like his predecessor in 2021, the Spartan defense will be in good hands.