Seth Henigan didn’t wait long to begin preparing for his college football career at Memphis. The day after winning the state title for Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, he traveled to Memphis to begin the winter semester as an early enrollee.
He’s been moving quickly ever since.
This season he could be traveling in some exclusive company as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
That’s not a topic that Henigan likes to dwell on. His No. 1 goal is clearly to help Memphis win an American Athletic Conference title, but the Heisman talk is inescapable. And Henigan has nobody to blame but himself.
He has put himself in this position, coming off a stellar junior season in which Memphis went 10-3. He completed 67% of his passes for 3,880 yards, 32 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while rushing for 274 yards and five scores.
Henigan made a strong final impression, completing 24 of 34 passes for 364 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions during Memphis’ 36-26 win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. For good measure, he also rushed for 27 yards and a TD.
Not surprisingly, he was named the bowl game MVP and Memphis’ Outstanding Offensive Player of the Game.
It also marked the fifth time in 108 seasons Memphis recorded 10 or more wins.
“That’s just crazy just to think about,” Henigan said about the Heisman hype in an interview with HERO Sports. “I have never even thought about it and kind of laughed it off whenever it was mentioned, but this year, you know, anything is a possibility.”
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Henigan feels that if he is a Heisman contender, it will be because of the success that Memphis achieves.
“The sky is the limit for our team,” he said. “I think we have a lot of next-level talent.”
The fact that this is such an experienced team, with some strong additions, could make this a successful season for the Tigers, according to Henigan.
“A lot of our guys had offers from Power Four schools with money on the table to transfer there, so I think we’re a Power Four school playing our schedule,” he said. “So many guys had the opportunity to leave and go somewhere else, but they chose to come back and play for our program and this team.”
He said he feels that keeping the team virtually intact is a testament to head coach Ryan Silverfield and his staff.
“Being able to retain these guys, this is a really talented team and that’s why we are expected to win a lot of games,” Henigan said.
In his first three seasons, Henigan appeared in 36 games and completed 64% of his passes for 10,366 yards, 77 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. He has also rushed for 705 yards and eight TDs.
Despite all that experience, Henigan, who doesn’t turn 22 until March, never thought about bypassing his final college season for the NFL Draft.
“I don’t think that was a consideration. I just turned 21 and have another year to develop my body,” Henigan, at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, said. “Plus, we have a really good team coming back and that was obviously a big reason.”
“I don’t really think about it to be honest. It’s too far away,” he said about the 2025 NFL Draft. “I just have to play well this season and see where my chances lie.”
Henigan’s Experience Playing For His Father At Denton Ryan
Henigan was a three-star prospect coming out of Denton Ryan High School, where he played for his father, Dave, who is still the head coach at Ryan.
“I always knew I was better than what people thought my talent level was,” he said. “I thought I was better than that.”
Henigan noted playing for his father was a great experience. Their final game together was a 59-14 win over Cedar Park in the Class 5A Division I state title game at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. That capped a 15-0 season.
“He was great at balancing being a tough coach and hard on me, holding me to the standard that I said I wanted to be held, and also being a dad at the same time,” Henigan said. “He did a great job of molding me into the man and football player and sent me on a path to be successful both in football and life.”
On that topic, Henigan has already received his degree in business management last fall. No doubt NFL teams will look at this as a plus. He graduated high school in three and a half years and college in three years.
Henigan, Memphis Aiming To Win
This is a year with a lot of personal and team expectations, but Henigan insists on taking things in stride.
“I am sure there are (high expectations) but I don’t really feel them just because that’s how I really operate,” he said. “At the end of the day, there should be (high expectations) just because of what we did last year and the talent we have returning.”
He’ll leave all the hype to others. There is too much to concentrate on while running the Tigers’ high-octane offense.
“I just try and go about my business and take care of the daily things that need to be taken care of in order to be successful,” he said.
And then, after pausing, he added, “but we should be expected to win games this year.”
