It started with an injury at camp to quarterback Grant Gunnell, the Arizona transfer that many believed would be the successor to record-setting signal caller Brady White.
“I assumed (Gunnell) would start until then,” says Seth Henigan, recounting how he took the reigns of the Memphis Tiger offense as a true freshman.
“Then that happens, and I’m like, ‘ok, I am going to be the guy.’ But I always had that (I am going to start) mindset. Every single day during spring ball, my goal was just to get a little bit better.”
Henigan would land the starting job and go on to become the first true freshman to start a season-opener in program history, finishing 2021 with 393 completed passes, 3,322 yards, 25 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
Those numbers would lead all freshmen in 2021 while smashing Paxton Lynch’s red-shirt freshman passing record of 2,056 yards.
“I wasn’t too worried or stressed,” Henigan says. “I just kept my head down and stayed quiet.”
How did he do it? How was Henigan able to replace Gunnell, his best friend, and go on to be the Tiger’s most successful freshman quarterback?
Experience.
I assumed (Gunnell) would start until then,” says Seth Henigan, recounting how he took the reigns of the Memphis Tiger offense as a true freshman. Then that happens, and I’m like, ‘ok, I am going to be the guy.’ But I always had that (I am going to start) mindset. Every single day during spring ball, my goal was just to get a little bit better.”
“People would say in the community that he’s only playing because of his dad and he doesn’t deserve to be there,” Seth Henigan says. “But being a coach's son, always being around football since I was a little kid always having a football in my hands, it just got ingrained in me. I feel like it gave me a little edge over other quarterbacks and other players.”
Family and football have never been far apart for Henigan.
Coached by his grandfather in little league football, Henigan would go on to play in high school for his dad, Dave, who had risen through the ranks of high-profile high school coaching jobs in the Dallas, Fort Worth area.
In 2018, Dave Henigan was looking to replace 2017 Texas Associated Press Player of the Year, Spencer Sanders, at quarterback who graduated and went on to play at Oklahoma State.
Seth Henigan said that everyone knew, whoever replaced Sanders, was going to be under a microscope in the Denton community.
“It’s a pretty prestigious high school program,” he says. “There are always a lot of people talking in the community.”
Dave Henigan would lean on his son to replace Sanders, just not Seth. Ian Henigan, Seth’s older brother and a senior at the time, was picked as the starting quarterback for the season.
But just four games into the season, Ian was sidelined with an injury and Seth, just a sophomore, replaced him for the second half.
What happened next surprised everyone.
“(He) got hurt at halftime, and I came in to play for him,” Seth Henigan says. “And then once he was back healthy, I guess they had a talk within the coaching staff and they just said, ‘We're gonna stick with Seth.’”
Faced with the decision on which son to play, Dave Henigan leaned on his staff to make the final call.
“That was kind of hard for my dad, obviously. He’s in a hard position…his oldest son is a senior who’s never got to play varsity football.”
“He took that decision out of his hands and let his staff decide, but it did not really create any tension between me and my brother or with my brother and my dad.”
While the Henigan family stayed close, the decision to go with a sophomore at quarterback did raise some eyebrows in the local community.
But Henigan would go on to prove his doubters wrong, ending his high school career with 7,234 passing yards, 79 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions.
He would lead the Raiders to a 39-2 record over three seasons which included an appearance in the 2019 5A Division I Championship Game and the 2018 5A Division I semifinals.
“People would say in the community that he’s only playing because of his dad and he doesn’t deserve to be there,” Seth Henigan says. “But being a coach's son, always being around football since I was a little kid always having a football in my hands, it just got ingrained in me.”
“I feel like it gave me a little edge over other quarterbacks and other players.”
“I spoke to Brady, and he told me that he's played in the Cotton Bowl and he's been booed off the field at halftime,” Henigan says. That, that's what he told me. So I learned from that to just to take everything with a grain of salt and just know that there's gonna be ebbs and flows, but just stay the course and trust yourself and trust what's happening within the locker room.”
Seth Henigan may have been the most successful freshman quarterback in program history, but success through his first and second years hasn’t come without trials.
For one, he didn’t have much experience losing at Denton Ryan.
“After a few losses...I never experienced anything like it in my life, and football has been such an important thing in my life since I was a boy,” Henigan says. “So, you know, to be the starter of a team that's not doing well, it definitely opened my eyes. I wasn't used to losing at all, and I still hate losing, but it really helped me grow.”
“I learned what it was like to lose, which is never a good thing to learn, but I feel like everyone has to have that experience at some point. It definitely helped me grow as a person as well, just because you're gonna lose at some point in your life. Bad things are going to happen.”
Henigan attributes his ability to deal with the trials of being a young college quarterback to his support group.
There is his dad, of course. Henigan says they talk after every game.
Then there is Gunnell, the former Memphis quarterback who lost his starting spot to Henigan and transferred.
“He was was my best friend that first semester and he is still one of my best friends to this day,” Henigan says.
But throwing the football is only part of the college learning experience. There are the fans, expectations, the media, and coaching changes.
For those questions, Henigan says he’s been able to rely on a familiar face to Tiger fans.
“Brady White,” he says, recalling how the Tiger’s former record-breaking quarterback has helped Henigan settle into a leadership role.
“He's just a good mentor to have, in every aspect. He is extremely smart and a good family guy. He’s just a great person all around in my opinion. So to have him as someone I can reach out to has been great.”
White has been a voice to rely on especially after tough losses.
One conversation, Henigan recalls, continues to pay dividends as he looks to balance the ups and downs of the season.
“I spoke to Brady, and he told me that he's played in the Cotton Bowl and he's been booed off the field at halftime,” Henigan says.
"That, that's what he told me. So I learned from that to just to take everything with a grain of salt and just know that there's gonna be ebbs and flows, but just stay the course and trust yourself and trust what's happening within the locker room.”