Auburn football: Bryan Harsin and Bruce Pearl both want Emmanuel Henderson

Could the next Bo Jackson be walking through the door for Auburn football and Auburn basketball? That could be the case if 2022 5-star running back Emmanuel Henderson accepts both offers sent to him by the Tigers coaching duo of Bryan Harsin and Bruce Pearl.

Harsin had offered the Hartford, Alabama product after Cadillac Williams was on the recruitment trail. The rusher amassed 1,449 yards and 20 touchdowns on 147 carries while also catching 12 passes for 143 yards during the pandemic-stricken 2020 high school season in Geneva County, Alabama.

Now, the Tigers basketball coach has accompanied that offer with the opportunity to play for two collegiate squads in the national spotlight:

2020-21 was a down year for both teams, but Pearl’s squad had a much worse bout with injury luck than the dismissed Gus Malzahn had with the 6-5 Auburn football program. Justin Powell missed the final 17 games of the season following a scary head injury that affected his ability to even study for his coursework.

Not only that but 5-star recruit Sharife Cooper was deemed ineligible for the first 11 games of the season, meaning the projected starting backcourt never got to play a single together.

If Henderson decides to play just one sport in 2022, he does have standing football offers from Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia…unless Nate Oats wants to up his offer for the Yellowhammer product.

The Tide are seen as the greatest threat to sign Henderson, and three crystal ball predictions from 247Sports have him taking his talents to Tuscaloosa in the fall of 2022. He will announce his decision on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm central time.

Whether or not Auburn football (and basketball) lands the 5-star stud, you can’t blame the university’s athletic department for not going all out to land Henderson.