LYNCHBURG聽鈥斅燣iberty football added a late injection of talent to its 2025 roster on Wednesday from a former Clemson freshman, days removed from his dismissal from coach Dabo Swinney's program.
Running back Marquise Henderson, a consensus four-star prospect out of South Carolina,聽聽to Liberty after spending the spring with the Tigers.
His commitment comes less than a week after a Clemson spokesperson said in a statement that Henderson was no longer part of the program.
"Clemson has made the decision to dismiss Marquise Henderson from its program," a team spokesperson said. "We wish him the best as he moves forward."
Henderson's short stint at Clemson was marred by injury, and then abruptly ended by his dismissal on June 19.聽聽Henderson was unable to practice due to a hamstring injury when the team opened spring ball on Feb. 28.聽
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He could not participate in the team's spring game and was sparingly on the field throughout the duration of practices. On June 20, Henderson announced he was officially in the transfer portal.
"Marquise has not really been able to do much this spring, so we really haven't even gotten to get to first base with him. But we know he's a great athlete," Swinney said on聽
Henderson's athleticism and talent made him one of the most sought-after recruits from South Carolina in the 2025 class. He was ranked fourth in the state and No. 182 nationally, per 247Sports' composite rankings. While at Belton-Honea Path High School, he dashed to nearly 8,000 all-purpose yards in 47 games across four seasons.
Next chapter鈥 LLGD!!
鈥 Marquise Henderson (@quisehenderson)
Out of high school, Henderson signed as an "athlete" but broke practice with Clemson's offense. His commitment announcement listed him as a running back in a now-crowded offensive backfield for the Flames, who are looking to replace a huge void in production left by the departure of Quinton Cooley.
Since the end of last year, coach Jamey Chadwell has shifted JuJu Gray from wide receiver to running back, where he'll join Vaughn Blue and Caden Williams. All three got carries in last season's Bahamas Bowl loss to Buffalo.
While they don't lack game experience, the trio contributed little to the run game over the last two seasons, as Liberty earned top marks nationally for its rushing offense.
The Flames also added Georgia Tech transfer Evan Dickens to the fold, and another pair of well-regarded freshmen: Malachi Fannin-Render and four-star Jaylon Coleman.
Coleman is currently listed by 247Sports' composite rankings as the highest-rated commit at any position in program history, graded at .8864. Ahead of enrolling at Clemson, Henderson was rated at a .9283. He had been committed to Clemson since Dec. 11, 2023. Henderson will have four years of eligibility remaining.聽
