Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValwood Valiants safety Mark Henderson and his family sit with the Valwood coaching staff during Valwood's National Signing Day event on Wednesday.

HAHIRA –– Following the signing of former Valdosta State head coach David Dean, the West Georgia Wolves secured another key signature Wednesday.

Surrounded by his mother, sister and teammates, Valwood Valiants defensive back Mark Henderson signed his letter of intent with the Wolves to start his college career.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Henderson earned a reputation as a speedy, hard-hitting safety with the Valiants. After putting pen to paper, Henderson expressed excitement over the opportunity to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing college football.

“It’s awesome,” Henderson said with a grin. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to go to college to play football and now I get to make that happen.”

Playing for a former two-time national champion head coach in David Dean, Henderson acknowledges familiarity and a winning tradition as key reasons for his decision.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Henderson said of playing for Dean. “He won two (championships) at Valdosta State, I used to play at Valdosta (High) and then I transferred over here. I think we’re going to make a great connection and I think we’re going to go up there and kill it.”

During his junior season, Henderson recorded 46 tackles with 38 of which coming as solo efforts. Henderson made the GISA All-State team as a junior and senior while also garnering consecutive All-Region 3-3A selections.

Valiants head coach Ashley Henderson reflects positively on Henderson’s career and expects the defensive back to be a factor as soon as his feet touch down in Carrolton.

“I would expect him to play right away just because of what he brings to the table physically,” Henderson said of his former player. “He’s tall, he’s long, he can fly, he’ll hit so I can see him contributing immediately as soon as he gets there. He’s a very hard worker and he’s hungry. I expect big things from him.”

Henderson sees the signing of Dean as a big step up with the Wolves fielding winning programs perennially, including a 7-4 campaign this past season following a share of the Gulf South Conference championship in 2015. With the GSC featuring two in-state football powerhouses, Henderson hopes to have more former players signing to play in Georgia in the future.

“(West Georgia) has a great program up there with what they’ve got going,” Henderson said. “They’ve been really hot as of late. Signing coach Dean with the facilities they have too, it’s a great opportunity for anybody signing up there right now. We have two of the top Division II programs in the nation in the state of Georgia so we’re blessed to have VSU and West Georgia. Hopefully, we can start sending a couple more kids up there to Carrolton to play for coach Dean.”