At 17, it's easy to get caught up rites of passage when it comes to high school. Things like choosing a college, taking the SAT and going to prom.

But Arizona State's LaDarius Henderson has other concerns. Not only is he already in college and playing for Pac-12 football team, but he is starting at left tackle, which is almost unheard of for a true freshman.

Henderson will play a full college football season before he turns 18 in December. Making his appearance in the starting lineup even more surprising is that he didn't begin playing football until his junior year of high school.

The first start at ASU for the 6-foot-4, 284-pound left tackle came on Saturday in front of 75,000 opposing fans at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., where the Sun Devils faced a ranked Michigan State squad, eventually coming away with a 10-7 victory.

Henderson was surprisingly calm and chalked that up to preparation and his faith.

"I thought I was going to be nervous," he said. "Like the whole week I was thinking, `Why am I not nervous?' Then running out I'm like, 'I'm sure I'm going to be nervous running out,' but I wasn't nervous running out. Then I'm thinking I'm going to be nervous on the first play and I wasn't nervous on the first play."

"(God) had his hand all over that and over me. I thought it was great but I'm not Goliath anymore. I was David in that situation. When Christ was with me, I was victorious."

Henderson is one of two true freshman starting on the line. The other is Dohnovan West, who moved from center to right guard and graded out at 98% against Michigan State.

How unprecedented is that? Well, offensive line coach Dave Christensen said in his 30 years of coaching he previously had one freshman start.

With senior left tackle Zach Robertson still tending to "personal matters" and senior center Cade Cote out with a broken foot, the newcomers have been pressed into service.

Christensen used three different starting units in as many games, but said the one he used Saturday — featuring the two true freshman — will be the one he'll stick with moving forward. Rounding out that front are Cohl Cabral, who has gone back to center from left tackle, senior Steven Miller at right tackle and senior Alex Losoya at left guard.

"We need to have some continuity," Christensen said. "We had to stop moving guys around because the only way they're going to get better is to keep playing together. It certainly is tough to have to rely on freshmen, but that's the situation we're in and they're doing a good job,"

Henderson, who some think still has another growth spurt in him, is indeed a late bloomer in the sport. He transferred to Waxahachie (Texas) High School, 30 miles south of Dallas, for his junior year. He had never played football, but the offensive line coach saw him when he walked into the school to enroll and talked to him about coming out for the team.

Then about 195 pounds, Henderson's next step was to educate himself more on the sport. He looked up information on what position suited him best and that led him to try his hand at tight end.

"That lasted about four days," he chuckled.

A left tackle on the team transferred, so that position turned out to be his by default. It is the position he has played ever since. He grew and gained 70 pounds in the next year, which helped put him on the radar of some colleges.

"He had natural bend, natural athleticism. Natural movement. Those things you could see," Christensen said. "Then it is like anything else, you get them here and you hope they are what you think they are and over time you find out."

ASU was one of seven scholarship offers and the others weren't exactly from high profile schools. Sure there was Boise State, a perennial contender in the Mountain West, but the others were from Army, New Mexico State, North Texas, Texas Southern and Southern Illinois.

"We thought without a doubt he was going to be a left tackle," Christensen said. "He's light on his feet. He's got good technique for a young player. He just had a lot of intangibles you look for in an offensive lineman. We were shocked to be able to recruit him. He's a young man I would have taken him anywhere I have coached. For us to go to Texas and get him was certainly a big deal for us."

It was indeed a baptism under fire for Henderson against a Michigan State team that entered that game ranked first in the country in rushing defense.

Freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked four times, making it 10 in three games. The object now is to keep improving and all are hoping a consistent lineup will help that cause.

"We didn’t meet the standard with that game," Henderson said. "Even though we won, we could’ve obviously done a lot better. It seems like it’s okay because we won. It would be a different story if we did not win. I’m just proud of us. We met the physicality. I’m not going to lie ─ those guys were good. They had about three guys who will probably be playing on Sundays.”

Zendejas rewarded

ASU coach Herm Edwards had a surprise for his team Tuesday morning, announcing in the team meeting that sophomore kicker Cristian Zendejas had been awarded a scholarship.

Zendejas, out of Perry High School, has been filling in for injured starter Brandon Ruiz and connected on all eight of his field goal attempts, the longest coming from 41 against Michigan State. He is one of four kickers in the country who are perfect with eight attempts.

School representatives filmed Edwards' announcement to the team.

"I had no idea," Zendejas said. "I noticed the camera but I was still unsure about the whole thing. It feels good."

Edwards honored

Arizona State head football coach Herm Edwards has been selected as The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week, for his team's 10-7 win over No. 18/19 Michigan State on Saturday.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant win, while also embodying the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@Gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.

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