Repentant Peyton Hendershot Has Learned from Off-Field Mistake

Indiana tight end Peyton Hendershot spoke for the first time in seven months Friday, talking about if February arrest and what he's learned from it since then.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – We all make mistakes. And the goal, when we do, is to learn from them – and not repeat them.

Peyton Hendershot is learning that the hard way these days. The standout Indiana tight end was on the wrong end of a domestic dispute with an ex-girlfriend in February. He went too far, and was arrested on Feb. 22,  booked on multiple assault-related charges. 

Most of those original charges were dropped when he pled guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass on June 9. He received one year's probation and was required to attend classes as part of a batterer's treatment program.

The incident turned his world upside down. He made a name for himself last season as one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten. He had a record-setting redshirt sophomore season, but a month later, he was making headlines again for all the wrong reasons.

"I cannot explain how disappointed I was in myself,'' Hendershot said Friday when he spoke publicly about the incident for the first time in seven months. "I think it is crazy that in this world, if you don't humble yourself, God will. 

"After the bowl game when I broke the record for tight end receptions and yards, I was at the highest point of my life and within two months I was at the lowest part of my life. It is crazy how life can hit you. I saw my life, my future, my career flash in front of me. I never wanted to be in that position again, so I have worked every day to better myself as a man and a human being.''

Hendershot has taken the high road since the incident. He has been apologetic, he has been humbled, and he has matured. In cases like this, it's easy to blame other people, or whine or complain about being mistreated or misunderstood.

The 21-year-old from North Salem, Ind., who was a high school star at Tri-West hasn't done that. He's taken full responsibility for the event, and admits he was wrong. Mostly, he's moving on while working on being a better person.

"I want to say, I made a huge mistake, and I am sorry to all of the people that were involved,'' Hendershot said. Everyone that I let down, I feel horrible and so remorseful about it. There are so many people that have helped me get to where I am in my life, and I feel like that was a letdown to all of them. 

"They all believed in me, and I let them down.'' 

Hendershot said he has benefited from the classes he's had to take after the plea bargain. He's learned a lot about himself, he said, and it's helped him grow up and be more responsible.

"I am taking classes every week and I have learned a lot from that,'' he said. "What I really learned was that I am responsible for everything in my life. It is not that God did this to me, someone else did this, it's me.

"I am responsible for my own actions, my own chaos in my life. I have been able to realize it, and take care of the everyday things in my life.''

The incident and aftermath aren't all that Hendershot has been dealing with since that Jan. 2 Gator Bowl, when he finished the season with 52 catches, an Indiana school record that was good for fourth in the nation among tight ends. He's also had two surgeries to go through, and the subsequent rehab on his shoulder that followed. 

Hendershot might actually be one of the few college football players in the country who's benefiting from the season being delayed. He wasn't ready to play football in early September, but he's raring to go now.

“I had those two surgeries and I’ve never had a bad injury in my entire life, so it was very hard to deal with,” Hendershot said. “Right when we were about to start the first time, I talked to my coaches about opting out, because I didn’t feel comfortable being out there. 

"But I feel like that delayed time gave me another month to really get my body back to where I needed to be, and I feel really good coming into the season.”

Hendershot is a dangerous weapon in Nick Sheridan's Indiana offense. He is a terrific route-runner and has great hands. He's worked hard on his blocking, too, and wants to be a complete tight end who competes for Big Ten and national honors.

He also wants to play on Sundays sometime soon, and he's putting in the work to do so. His game has improved dramatically every season, and the sky is the limit this year with an Indiana offense that's loaded with weapons.

"I have the tools to make it there, but I need to be better on my run blocking and pass blocking with my technique,'' he said. "I just need to clean up the little details that will allow me to take that next step and be a better player.''

Growing as a player is one thing. Growing as a person is another.

He clearly has his priorities straight. He's not perfect, but he's repentant. He's learned from his mistakes. 

Indiana officials followed all the rules in his case. He was suspended after the arrest and wasn't allowed to return to the team until the case was resolved. Even afterward, he had to follow other protocols. which he's done. This incident, as bad as it was, is still an isolated incident in his case.

Hendershot isn't a bad person. He's just a good person who did a bad thing. He's vowing to make sure that it makes him a better person going forward.

 "When things happen off the field, either they're a pattern of things that have happened previously, or it's a one-time deal,'' Indiana tight ends coach Kevin Wright said. "I think for him and his situation, it wasn't something that had been a repetitive pattern. It happened and we talk a lot about it.

"He's done every single thing that he could possibly do to improve as a young man. That takes on and off the field commitment. He's done everything he could possibly do to be a better young man.''

That's a start. The path is set, and he seems primed to follow it.

Lesson learned.