In-state profile: Rex Henderson

One of Kentucky's best quarterbacks in the 2017 class could end up being Butler County (Ky.) product Rex Henderson. The talented signal caller is coming off a stellar junior season where he packed the stats sheet, throwing for 3,020 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Henderson talked about the things he improved on throughout his junior campaign.

"I feel that I stepped up as a leader this past year. My confidence really grew from attending camps last summer. I attended the Elite 11 Regionals in Columbus, Ohio with the best QB's on the east coast. My confidence took off at this camp because I realized that I was as good or better than the other quarterbacks," Henderson said.

"This past season I felt that I started to understand the game more. My coaches gave me the freedom to call an audible whenever I felt the need. That also boosted my confidence because I knew my coaches trusted me enough to make play calls. I improved my mechanics and footwork last summer also. My quarterback coach Barry Frazier and I would get together on our own time and work on my mechanics and footwork around 3 times a week. Also my teammates helped me improve a lot. They trusted in me and pushed me to be a better player."

I asked the 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect about his offseason plans and what he wants to improve on overall.

"My main goal is to hit the weight room hard and put on more muscle. I've been working with a strength and conditioning coach who has me on a strength and nutrition program. I'm going to continue working on my throwing mechanics and footwork while attending various prospect camps to continue to measure myself against the competition. This off-season I will work 5 days a week and 3-4 hours each day with my high school coaches. I will try to improve my 40 time and my vertical by working with my Special Teams/Defensive Coordinator."

For now, Henderson is flying under the radar in the recruiting process. He intends to make a name for himself this summer on the camp circuit where he is planning to attend prospect camps at Western Kentucky, Kentucky, Louisville, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, and Penn is an Ivy League school that has shown interest.

I asked the Butler County product about his thoughts on Western Kentucky and the success they've had in recent years.

"They've had great success in past years. I've been following Brohm since he was coaching at Louisville. I like that WKU has a very explosive offense. I really like that they took a chance on a kid that wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school and he ended up being one of the best QB's in college football, in Brandon Doughty."

One of Western Kentucky's rivals in Conference-USA has recently started showing interest in Henderson and his abilities - the Marshall Thundering Herd.

"I'm very excited that Marshall reached out to me. I know that they are a great program with a lot of history. Under the current coach at Marshall they haven't lost a bowl game. They have a history of great QB play in Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Michael Payton, and Rakeem Cato. & they also had one of the great all-time receivers in Randy Moss."

Henderson helped lead the Bears to a 9-3 overall record last season and a second round appearance in the 2A playoffs.