Willie Henry to the NFL Draft
Welp, Willie Henry is headed to the draft, and has set a record for longest screenshot of the Notes app in recorded history.
— Willie Henry (@WE_69) January 14, 2016
Henry was an under the radar recruit out of Cleveland Glenville who Brady Hoke picked up on late; his raw power wasn't matched by his technique until this year, when he put together a breakout year along with the rest of the defensive line. In honor of his tendency to hurl people away from him entertainingly he's got a "willie henry throws humans" tag; he played at an All Conference level and probably won't last past the third round. With remaining upside I wouldn't be surprised if someone grabbed him sooner. Any concerns that Michigan's NFL draft streak might end can cease, at least?
In Henry's absence Michigan is likely to move Maurice Hurst into the starting three-tech role; they still go 6-7 deep on the line with quality players. Henry's departure does hurt Michigan's chances of fielding a full-on Alabama-style line. It also opens up a scholarship; Michigan now has 19 spots available and counting.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:16 PM ^
Bummer. Good luck.
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
Damnit! Good luck, Willie
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
you will be really missed!
Good luck, I hope the Lions draft him.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:47 PM ^
I hope the Lions don't draft him. He deserves better. /s
January 13th, 2016 at 11:26 PM ^
I agree - Browns?
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January 14th, 2016 at 6:55 AM ^
Now you're just being mean.
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
Would Gary hypothetically play his position on the line?
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
Rashan Gary, step on up.
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:18 PM ^
Wish him a great NFL career selfish,y it would be great to have him another year.
January 14th, 2016 at 10:43 AM ^
Maybe Willie got an eval from NFL people indiciating he would be picked higher than many of us think. I hope he gets a nice guaranteed contract that makes leaving worthwhile for him.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:19 PM ^
Good luck Willie. Represent Michigan well with you endeavor into the league. Go Blue!
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:20 PM ^
So excited for Big Earl, can't wait to see him tear it up on Sunday's. Henry's departure will likely mean Rashan Gary starts at the 3
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:57 PM ^
Good things never happen to teams I root for. It just rains shit. Constantly
January 13th, 2016 at 10:22 PM ^
What happened to you Gustavo? You used to be so chilled.
PS Thank you for sending Mike Erhmantrout to SF to lock down Harbaugh.
January 14th, 2016 at 7:35 AM ^
This happened
January 14th, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^
Jeez, spoiler, c'mon man.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:26 PM ^
Yeah, it's not like we hired Jim Harbaugh, or won 10 games, or just beat a top-5 basketball opponent.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:44 PM ^
but unless one of the 10 wins was a blow out in a quality bowl game against the SEC runner up, that list you gave is pretty hollow.
January 14th, 2016 at 12:12 AM ^
Good god, so dramatic. We could have lost Wormley, Butt, Taco, Henry and Lewis all to the draft this year. Instead, one guy goes from the deepest positon on the team. While he is quite good, at least he is replaceable. Losing one guy who is clearly a top of the draft talent (thus predictable he leaves) is not getting shit on, it's natural. We should consider ourselvse lucky we only lost one guy, and he is replaceable. Get a grip.
January 14th, 2016 at 6:54 AM ^
Dude we got back every other player that was looking at going pro early, even without Gary this will be a really good recruiting class, and Michigan has one of the best coaches in the country. Henry leaving wasn't unexpected and the DLine still has a bunch of good players. Some perspective is needed here methinks.
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January 14th, 2016 at 8:38 AM ^
If you don't mind could you give up your Michigan fandom and become a Ole Miss fan for the next couple of mos. We would really appreciate your taking one for the team,
January 13th, 2016 at 11:18 PM ^
Or Hurst, either way they would both get PT. Elliot probably too at this point depending on what happens with Godin.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:20 PM ^
He gunna miss a special season next year.
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January 14th, 2016 at 6:49 AM ^
While taking treasure baths, I think he'll live.
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January 14th, 2016 at 8:59 AM ^
payed anything at all or close to what the NFL pays I am sure he would have come back.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:22 PM ^
Good for him. Good luck young fella
January 13th, 2016 at 9:22 PM ^
Good for him! Would have liked to have him dominate on the d-line next year but can't blame him for this decision.
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January 13th, 2016 at 10:07 PM ^
Hope he falls to a good team. One where he can develop properly and become a beast to watch in the NFL over the next decade.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:22 PM ^
Patriots
January 14th, 2016 at 4:20 AM ^
My thoughts as well!
January 14th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
No, Seattle.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:24 PM ^
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh good luck Willie aaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeiiiiieieeeeeiiiiiiiieeeeiiiiii loved watching you at UM nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
January 13th, 2016 at 9:24 PM ^
I understand his family needs him to go. Completely understandable big fella. Thanks for your time at Michigan. You're a hell of a player. Good luck in the league. Go Blue!!
January 14th, 2016 at 9:56 AM ^
I kind of hate comments that reference vague financial issues as motivators. While that may very well be the case, it’s not mentioned anywhere in his statement. Maybe that’s made clearer on paywalled sites, but it’s by no means public knowledge and seems like needless speculation. Just the facts, ma’am.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:25 PM ^
Lions round 3. Do it.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:50 PM ^
Why wish such bad luck on a person???/
/not s
Good luck Henry - may you avoid the Lions and Browns and fall to any other NFL franchise where you have a chance to prosper and enjoy your career!
January 13th, 2016 at 11:45 PM ^
Willie's from Cleveland. There's something to be said for ending up with the home team. Other than Cleveland, the closest NFL teams are Detroit and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati isn't too far.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:59 PM ^
Ending up with the home team isn't always a great thing, and not just because it would be the Browns in this case.
Being close to home means a lot of pressure and a lot of "friends" and "family" close by while you are trying to make it in the league. That can be a bad influence and be bad for the bank account.
I've read a lot of stories and interviews where athletes arent that eager to play in their hometown. They can go back and live there after they retire, or even if the offseason if they are so inclined. I think we as fan's make the "playing close to home" thing a bigger thing than a lof of the athletes.
January 14th, 2016 at 10:10 AM ^
I'd agree that every player and every situation is different. Some don't care to be near "home," and it means more to others. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I'll just say that for those who have a decent family situation and like an area, there's a lot to be said for playing on the "home team."
January 13th, 2016 at 9:27 PM ^
dammit.
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:27 PM ^
I think it's a win on the front that we are showing Glenville what we can do with their raw talent. Two players Ohio State didn't want and we send them to the league with Henry and Clark.
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January 13th, 2016 at 9:41 PM ^
A little of this, also a little bit that Glenville produces better players than the scouts necessarily judge. Hoke seemed to have a good rapport with Glenville, it remains to be seen if Harbaugh makes it a key to continue.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^
I thought 2016 class might be an anomaly with OSU winning NC, MSU with back to back top 5 finishes and its staff deeply entrenched in OH and ND grabbing 2 of the top 5 OH kids but as I am glancing at the 2017 kids and offers we have very few out to OH in that class either. This would be a very strange long term strategy for Jim - basically conceding the best state in the Midwest for talent to MSU OSU and ND. Right now there are about 60 "warm interests" in the 2017 class on 247 and only 1 is from OH (a TE). Very heavy focus on TX, FL, NJ, etc.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:37 PM ^
Does the lack of Ohio recruiting matter? Michigan has the #2 class in the country right now with a grand total of 0 commits from Ohio. There are good players in OH but there are simply more good players in FL, TX and CA. You obviously don't want to completely ignore OH but if he's getting similarly rated players from FL and NJ (which produces as much talent as PA) then it really makes no difference.
I actually think Harbaugh has the correct long term strategy considering the demographic trends in the country. Pivot away from the Midwest and recruit more in GA, FL, TX and CA.
Also keep in mind that OH recruits have grown up during a time when OSU has won 13 out of the last 15 games against Michigan. OSU has also won two NCs and has played for another two during this span. Meyer is 50-4 since taking over at OSU and just narrowly missed out on defending the title this year. Meanwhile, Michigan just now seems to be remerging onto the national scene for the first time since 2006. If you're Michigan, that's a lot you have to overcome when you are recruiting a kid from OH. You can either spend time going head to head against OSU for OH recruits or you can do down to FL where there are so many good players that FSU, UF and Miami can't keep all of them.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:53 PM ^
Ohio is the 4th best recruting state in the country behind California, Texas and Florida (the last time that I checked). So, if for some reason Michigan doesn't do well in NJ, Texas, Florida, California, etc.; then it will matter that they aren't recruiting in Ohio.
Maybe Harbaugh and the staff don't have many connections in Ohio.
January 14th, 2016 at 6:47 AM ^
Not even close, Georgia is 4th behind the big three and it's by a wide margin. Last year something like 120 power 5 recruits were from Georgia compared to 60 from Ohio. Ohio should still be an important part of Michigan's recruiting strategy(it produces a lot of players and it's close and Michigan should arguably be no worse than the third favorite school there behind OSU and ND)but it's not the player producing juggernaut we usually assume it to be.
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January 14th, 2016 at 2:54 PM ^
been a while since I checked.
January 14th, 2016 at 2:34 AM ^
Some of the 3-5 players that M traditionally gets from Ohio, guys like Willie Henry, will end up at OSU or MSU now, teams in our division.
I dont think M's quality of players would be hurt even if we never take an Ohio kid again, but our rivals will be strengthened. Sure, we can get a Willie Henry from FL, but that lets the Willie Henry from OH go to MSU, whereas that Florida kid probably wouldn't.
January 14th, 2016 at 8:04 AM ^
Yeah, if a guy like Jake Butt isn't a Michigan commit then he's a risk for another school because if OSU wants to take a look at him late and offer, 4 out of 5 times he'll flip over to the home school if he isn't committed to UM or Notre Dame. I just feel like it's making OSU's job in-state that much easier.
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