Declan Henderson. SweetwaterNOW photo by Jayson Klepper
ROCK SPRINGS — Declan Henderson is headed to North Dakota to help launch a college football program from the ground up.
Henderson signed with Bismarck State College, an NAIA program that recently reinstated football after roughly 40 years without the sport. The school has him listed as an ATH — athlete — with no specific position designated.
Although he is being recruited as a versatile athlete, Henderson said he expects to play an edge linebacker role, similar to how T. J. Watt is utilized in the NFL.
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Rock Springs High School
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At Bismarck State, Henderson and his recruiting class will help build the foundation for the returning program. He said the team will spend the upcoming season practicing and scrimmaging before officially competing in 2027, with players expected to redshirt during the developmental year.
“It hasn’t had a football program in about 40 years,” Henderson said. “So we’ll be the first kind of test or guinea pigs. So we’ll have a whole season of just practicing and scrimmaging, and then in 2027 we’ll actually start to play.”
Henderson said he first met head coach Chris Stutzriem about two years ago in Colorado. After limited contact, Stutzriem reconnected with him following his move to Bismarck and invited him on a recruiting visit.
“I went out there and did a little visit,” Henderson said. “He told me he wanted me to come out.”
Looking back, Henderson said his path — from Green River to Rock Springs and now to North Dakota — has been shaped by the people around him.
“The people who brought me up,” he said. “I think my family helped me the whole way through it. But my friend group in Green River, most of them still support me. I grew up with all the RS guys, so when I finally got back, it was still welcome to me.”
Henderson plans to major in secondary education, with the goal of returning home to teach and coach.
“I’m going to be a secondary education major so I’m gonna come back and teach and coach, hopefully,” he said.
For younger players hoping to follow a similar path, Henderson kept his advice simple.
“Stay in the weight room and always eat.”
The opportunity comes after a unique high school journey. Henderson spent his first three years at Green River before transferring to Rock Springs for his senior season, playing under head coach Kasey Koepplin.
Koepplin said Henderson made a strong impression in his lone year with the program.
“He’s a lot of fun to coach, very enjoyable human being to be around,” Koepplin said. “I can definitely tell he liked playing football as a passion. Learning all of our stuff was a challenge at times and I know both of us got frustrated sometimes when things didn’t go the way we knew they could go, but he definitely grew throughout the season and again he was always being a good human.”
Koepplin said many of their conversations centered on football and the lighter side of the game and school life.
“He’s fun to be around,” he said. “A lot of the conversations were about football, or the goofy parts of football, or the goofy parts of school and stuff like that — just the enjoyable part. I wish we could have had him for two or three more years.”
There is also a personal connection at the next level. Koepplin said he is excited to see Henderson play for one of his former players, calling it “kind of a cool connection.”