Games past: Henson as a RRod QB
I am currently watching the 1999 Michigan-Wisconsin game on HULU (don't tell me who wins - I love the suspense.) Drew Henson played his usual 2nd quarter, much now to our chagrin. I always had known that he was hyper-accurate and threw on a rope. What I never realized about him was how fast he was. On a 3rd down play with 4 wide and a single setback (Thomas), he took a designed play-action QB run and looked literally identical to Tate in the Spring game. I don't recall his size - I am sure he was taller than Tate. But I can't help but make the comparison and wonder how great he would be in the current offense. Oh what could have been then, and hopefully will be now. That is all.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:30 PM ^
That guy would've been a success in Rich's or anybody else's system. He was sick in the 2000 season.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:22 PM ^
He was fantastic in the 2000 OSU game. I would've loved to see his senior season.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^
When he was only sick for a half, passing for 3 TDs in the half and leading M to a 28-10 lead over Drew Brees and the Boilers.
The offense was dominant in the first half, with Henson going 19/24 (IIRC), then Lloyd proved he could stop our QBs better than any defense, not passing the ball until late in the 4th quarter.
We lost that game 32-31. That was the day Lloyd lost me.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:35 PM ^
He took playing time from Brady-I think that shows just how good he was. Damn good baseball player too. He just never could hit a curveball.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:49 PM ^
"Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come."
August 11th, 2009 at 10:14 PM ^
That gave me a good laugh. Kudos
August 11th, 2009 at 8:57 PM ^
I don't think he took playing time from Brady so much as it was granted to him
August 11th, 2009 at 9:02 PM ^
People close to the situation all say that the 2-QB system was a favor to Brady, not Henson.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:05 PM ^
From afar it seems the opposite.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:10 PM ^
Henson and Brady performed about evenly in the '99 fall camp. Normally, in situations like that the tiebreaker goes to the younger player, but as it happened, the staff couldn't agree on what to do. Carr and DeBord wanted to start Henson. Stan Parrish wanted to start Brady. The 2-QB system was designed as a compromise. Carr expected Henson to win out, which is why he kept the platoon going as long as he did. But eventually it became clear that Brady was the guy.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:24 PM ^
very interesting
August 12th, 2009 at 1:32 AM ^
According the book "Tom Brady and the Pursuit of Everything", co-written by Brady, he says that Henson was awarded playing time because of pressure from the boosters since Henson was the hometown boy. It also said a lot a lot a lot of people thought Brady had severely outperformed Henson leading up to the season.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:30 AM ^
That is not how it went down. Maybe Brady personally believed that he had outperformed Henson in camp, but Carr and DeBord did not. If Stan Parrish hadn't been in Brady's corner, he wouldn't have played. Anyway, the idea that Carr would allow boosters to bully him into making personnel decisions is ridiculous.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:03 AM ^
That was my senior year. In the two games we lost that season (at MSU and Illinois at home), we were ahead when Brady was in the game, lost the lead in the 2-3 quarters when Henson was in, and then Brady was thrown back in the game to try to save it at the end.
To this day, I still contend that if we had played Brady the whole way through--National Championship. Youtube highlights of the 2000 Orange Bowl and watch Brady carve up an Alabama defense that had just destroyed defending champ Florida in the SEC title game.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:39 AM ^
Against MSU, Brady definitely was sharper than Henson. If he'd have played the entire game, I think we might have won (although our defense really didn't show up that day). Against Illinois, though, we actually blew the big lead when Brady was at QB. He didn't have a good game - it was probably the worst game of his senior year. (Nevertheless, we probably would have won if not for that wild shotgun snap that sailed 30 yards behind him when we were in game-winning FG range.)
August 11th, 2009 at 9:01 PM ^
Are you trying to tell me that Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?
August 11th, 2009 at 9:19 PM ^
Henson will always occupy a strange place in my brain. He is the first major athletic celebrity I had interaction with (our paths crossed a few times at UM). After you get over the initial reaction, there was always an unpleasant aftertaste. He just projected something that, in the context of just being a college kid, was unbecoming. Perhaps this has all become jaded by hindsight since the kid never panned out in anything. But even back then, walking the halls of Bursley a few times a day and seeing that pylon he autographed in magic marker just cried out prima dona. I have friends who swear they saw him do it, and that it was a joke, but that never flew with me. The fact that no janitor or even administrator dared to wipe that out always made me think that it was something different.
My buddy lived on the same floor as Terrell. He told everyone who would listen the "bomb (redacted)" male member story. Several years later when Rich Eisen dropped a reference to it on SportCenter it was validation of something we knew all along. The kid was talented but kind of a punk; he didn't know what it took to just be a professional and cash in all that talent. I feel kind of the same way every time I see a "This Time Henson is Actually Going to Live Up to Hype" story. Maybe he wasn't a punk, but he certainly never instilled a feeling of having everything together. Meanwhile, Dhani Jones somehow recognized me from an Anthro lecture of 400 kids and would toss an acknowledging smile and head nod every time we passed in the Diag. He always had legitimate personality oozing from him.
So, yeah, Henson looked amazing for 15 minutes once a week. But let's remember something, nearly everyone who could take a 5-step drop stole downs from Brady. Lloyd loved him to death but never really committed to Brady as 'the guy'. Heaven forbid we ever find out that Brady would not have so many Super Bowl rings if he wasn't literally reading the defense.
Anyway, part of me is done wishing for all of the things that Henson "could have done." Yes, the kid was talented, but those teams were insanely talented compared to what we put on the field last year. Would Terrel Pryor net the 2008 more than 3 wins, certainly. But it's not like we were, or are just one magic piece away.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:35 PM ^
But let's remember something, nearly everyone who could take a 5-step drop stole downs from Brady. Lloyd loved him to death but never really committed to Brady as 'the guy'.
From the 1998 opener onward, only one player - Henson - ever took time from Brady. Scott Driesbach, who started 15 (!) career games here, couldn't do it. Neither could Jason Kapsner, a high school All-American. The staff loved Brady. Carr did him a giant favor by allowing him to platoon at the start of the '99 season when Carr really wanted to play Henson. (As it turned out, of course, Brady more than took advantage of that opportunity.)
August 11th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
I recall hearing that Lloyd said he would not put himself in that position again, referring to the whole Henson ordeal. True or False? If true what specifically was he implying.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:48 PM ^
I think he did say something like that. We know he never tried a QB platoon again.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:27 AM ^
the recruiting process when Bowden at FSU promised Henson they wouldn't recruit a qb in the class in front of him, and Lloyd matched that.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:30 PM ^
The guy had a lot of talent, I really wished he would have stayed for his senior season.
August 11th, 2009 at 9:37 PM ^
I find it very interesting that Clayton Richard is pitching for the Padres while Drew Henson is out of sports. Richard was an 8th round draft pick though, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised