Willie "Tre" Herndon III (born March 5, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He has previously played in the NFL for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Vanderbilt.

Early life

Herndon attended

East Hamilton High School East Hamilton High School is a public school located in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Established and opened in 2009, it was originally a "middle high school" that enrolled students from grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measur ...

Ooltewah, Tennessee Ooltewah ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. It is a community near Chattanooga. The population was 684 at the 2020 census. Ooltewah is an enclave in the city of Collegedale. History Ooltewah wa ...

, a suburb of

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. A 3-star recruit, he committed to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

to play

in 2013.

College career

Herndon played at Vanderbilt from 2014 to 2017. After his senior season in 2017, he entered the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. During his career he had 122

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(2.5 for loss), two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, 20 pass break-ups, and one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 30, 2018, the

signed Herndon to a three-year, $1.71 billion contract that includes $17,700 guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $5,000. Herndon entered training camp and competed for a roster spot as a backup cornerback against

Dee Delaney Dee Delaney (born February 20, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at The Citadel and Miami. High school A native of Seabrook, South Carolina, ...

, Dexter McDougle,

Quenton Meeks Quenton Meeks (born June 20, 1997) is an American football cornerback for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Stanford. Early years Meeks attended Del Norte High School in San Diego, Cali ...

Jalen Myrick Jalen Myrick (born February 27, 1995) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Minnesota Golden Gophers football, Minnesota, and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. E ...

, and

Sammy Seamster Samuel Tyrone Seamster (born February 5, 1991) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was originally sign ...

. Herndon earned the fifth and final cornerback spot on the roster after beating out Jalen Myrick. Head coach

Doug Marrone Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive lineman who is the offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the head coach at ...

named Herndon the fifth backup cornerback behind

Jalen Ramsey Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State Seminoles football, Florida State and was drafted by the ...

A. J. Bouye Arlandus Jacob Bouye (born August 16, 1991) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at UCF, and was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2013. Bouye has also played for the Jackson ...

, D. J. Hayden, and

Tyler Patmon Tyler Patmon (born January 26, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He first enrolled at the University of Kansas before transferring to Oklahoma State University and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2014. ...

. After the Jaguars traded their starting cornerback

to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in 2019, Herndon was promoted to starting corner. He had previously been starting while Ramsey had been out with a supposed back injury. In Week 8 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, Herndon intercepted quarterback

Sam Darnold Samuel Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, where he became the first freshman to win the Archie Griffin Awar ...

twice in the 29–15 win. In Week 9 of the 2020 season against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, Herndon recorded his first career sack on

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players ...

during the 27–25 loss. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on December 16, 2020, and activated three days later. Herndon signed a contract extension with the Jaguars on March 12, 2021. On March 17, 2022, Herndon re-signed with the Jaguars. On March 18, 2023, Herndon re-signed with the Jaguars.

New York Giants

On June 12, 2024, Herndon signed with the

Personal life

His parents, Willie Herndon, Jr. and Sabrina Herndon, work at Unum. He has a sister. He majored in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. He was the first football player from

to receive a scholarship from a

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

school. Herndon is a practicing christian On June 22, 2024, Herndon will be having a camp with all 9-12 graders in the Hamilton county school district

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioVanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herndon, Tre Living people 1996 births African-American Muslims Players of American football from Chattanooga, Tennessee American football cornerbacks Vanderbilt Commodores football players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players Muslims from Tennessee