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College life has matured Hendrix

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By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: July 19, 2009

TRINITY - Life in New Mexico for Tyrone Hendrix has been, well, different.

And it has little to do with him seeing snow for the first time last fall.

The former Mitchell standout receiver/defensive back was a freshman at the New Mexico Military Institute. His status as a popular guy on the J.W. Mitchell High School campus meant nothing in New Mexico. He was the low man on the totem pole as far as the older cadets were concerned.

He found out his path to success - on and off the field - had to be in the details.

"You mature fast there because you're by yourself," he said recently, following a session with performance coach Johnny Walters. "You have people that you've never met before. You think you're doing the right thing, but they're yelling at you because you may think you're doing the right thing, but you're doing it the wrong way.

"You have to stand there with your hands by your side, cupped. It's rough, but it makes you a better person. It's good."

It took one time for him to figure out the military doesn't adjust its clock to your schedule.

"Every morning you have to be out there at 6 o'clock and I came out at 6:03 and I had to do 50 pushups just because I was three minutes late," he said, a smile barely peeking through the memory of the anguish. "Then I had to stay in pushup position for about five minutes straight. Anytime you're late, you pay the consequence. It's better to be early than late - with football, school or the military. Then you have to do parades every weekend. You're standing in the hot sun. ... An hour at a time with your hands behind your back, looking straight and forward."

Football-wise, he's got that part down. Entering his sophomore season, he has hopes of starting as a defensive back, while also getting about 15 plays as a receiver.

Last season, Hendrix was second on the Broncos' roster in receiving touchdowns (three) and yards per catch (27.1) and he was tied for second in receptions (21). His 217 receiving yards were third among NMMI receivers. Defensively he had three tackles and a fumble recovery for the 5-6 Broncos.

"Former Mitchell quarterback Tate Humphrey and Tyrone, I remember first meeting them and they were in a bad situation where a lot of trouble was going on," Walters said. "Tyrone is still doing a great job. He mentors his brother a little bit, helping him out.

"Seeing these kids go off to college, it's refreshing that they see what they're capable of doing when they put a little work in."

Putting a little work in has netted Hendrix interest from BYU, Iowa State, Louisville, Marshall, USF and Utah. He's also been in contact with former University of Tennessee quarterback and current University of New Mexico quarterbacks coach Tee Martin.

"Last year at this time, I didn't know where I was going to be," Hendrix said. "Now I know where I'm going to be. My first semester, I didn't feel like I played to my full potential of football because I was nervous and I was ready to come home, to be honest. I didn't even want to play football."

When the fall comes around and he reports back to New Mexico, things will be a lot different. Yes, he will still adhere to the early wakeup calls and the burying his head in the books, but when it comes to dorm life, he gets to turn the tables.

"I've already been through what I have to go through and I'm going to be the one doing the yelling in the military and not people yelling at me," Hendrix said. "It'll be a lot easier just because I don't have to be stressed out about the military aspect. I can just worry about football and help out my teammates with the military part."

Although Hendrix doesn't have plans to further his military experience, he said the two years at NMMI will definitely have an impact on his life and his future collegiate endeavors.

"It will help me a lot because it keeps you disciplined," he said. "I never thought about it as a positive, but when I look at the positive side, I'm always doing something positive with my time. I'm never out partying, drinking, smoking, I'm always studying. I have a higher GPA now than I did in high school. I'm always studying, working out or sleeping. My fun time is playing basketball or going in the pool. That's the only thing I do for fun."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 259-7066.

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