A little before 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, a friend joked that Jeff Henderson wouldn't like what had assembled at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.

Henderson, his friend said, has never craved the spotlight.

"I'm not really big on crowds," Henderson said later.

He'll have to get used to it now.

The Sylvan Hills graduate who grew up in the Pulaski County community of McAlmont got home a bit tired -- his flight left Rio De Janeiro at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday -- but showered in applause as he descended down an airport escalator.

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Greeting him at the airport were about 50 Sylvan Hills football players, a 21-member pep band and about 20 cheerleaders, along with school personnel, family and friends. They crowded inside an airport foyer to welcome home Henderson, who wore his gold medal while greeting those assembled.

"I didn't expect this many people to be here," he said, backed up against a wall near the airport's baggage claim area while addressing reporters.

The crowd gathered after Henderson did what has been equaled by few other native Arkansans. He's believed to be the second from Pulaski County to win an Olympic gold medal -- Keena Rathhammer of Little Rock won gold in swimming in 1972 -- and the first in track and field. Also, he's the first native Arkansan since Maxie Parks in 1976 from Arkansas City (1,600 relay) to win a track and field gold, and the first since Eddie Hamm (Lonoke) in 1928 to win a gold in the long jump.

Henderson went from person to person, exchanging hugs with former track coach Rocky Fawcett; Sylvan Hills football Coach Jim Withrow; and his father, Laverne. He also spoke to the high school students.

After pleasantries and about five minutes with reporters, Henderson piled into a black limousine tied with black and gold balloons and headed for his parents' house, where he hoped to eat a cheeseburger and french fries.

"I haven't ate great food in, like, seven months," he said. "So, go home, see my mom, my family, hang out and see the fans."

It'll be a much needed rest for Henderson, who qualified for the Olympics on July 3 and was on the go until his gold medal winning performance Saturday. But even that didn't end his whirlwind. After his jump of 27 feet, 6 inches, Henderson spent the next two days doing the media rounds. He went on the Today show, and he did other interviews with NBC, USA Today and plenty he couldn't remember.

"I couldn't tell you how many interviews I did," he said. "I just kept talking, talking, talking, talking. Until my mouth went dry."

They all wanted to know the same thing -- how he ignored three competitors grabbing his lead in Saturday's final round and four rough jumps of his own to seize the gold on his final attempt. Henderson, who went 26-11½ on his fifth of six attempts, said Wednesday that he had confidence going into his final attempt, even if it didn't appear that way.

While he remained calm, two of his sisters -- Shana Henderson of North Little Rock and Andrea Johnson of Little Rock -- were shaking in the stands because of nerves.

"It got down to the last jump, and we couldn't hardly watch," said Shana Henderson, who made the trip with her sister thanks to a gift from a North Little Rock church.

Henderson's victory, Johnson said, was a big moment for the family. He's the youngest of five children, and all of them watched his journey from Sylvan Hills, to three colleges and then on to the professional level. Henderson struggled with attention deficit disorder, which kept his test scores low and larger track programs looking at other prospects. He instead went to Hinds Community College in Mississippi, Florida Memorial and Stillman College in Alabama.

"It's a really good motivation for the younger kids that have a disability, that you can overcome anything," she said.

Henderson doesn't have much time to relax. He'll be at home for a few days, then join the Kansas City Chiefs at training camp. Henderson's status with the Chiefs is not known -- a team spokesman declined to confirm his roster status Wednesday -- but Coach Andy Reid acknowledged he worked out for them earlier this summer.

"He worked his tail off," Reid said. "If he decided he wanted to go all football, I think [his track background] would help him."

Henderson said he'll spend the next few days running routes, catching passes and "getting into football shape" before trying to make the Chiefs roster, even if he hasn't played organized football since his senior year at Sylvan Hills.

Henderson said he's still got eyes on Tokyo in 2020, but football has his attention for now.

"I'm an athlete, I'm a competitor," he said. "I'm going to teach myself to do all that. If an opportunity opens up for me to play, I'm going to play no matter what. Even if I get paid $2 a year to play, I'm still going to play. I love to play."

Sports on 08/18/2016

About 125 onlookers -- students from Sylvan Hills High School, family and friends -- welcomed home Henderson, the North Little Rock native who won an Olympic gold medal Saturday in the long jump.