Henig chose State so he could play sooner — he was right

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Henig chose State so he could play sooner — he was right

By Ian R. Rapoport
irapopor@clarionledger.com

NASHVILLE — Mike Henig had already orally committed to Louisville by last winter. He had done it months before the signing period.

But four days before he was to make it official, the Jefferson Davis (Montgomery, Ala.) High senior received a call from Mississippi State offensive coordinator Woody McCorvey. Ten seconds into the conversation, Henig knew he needed to reconsider.

"As soon as he called and said he had an offer, my whole decision changed," said Henig, now a freshman at MSU.

Henig placed a call to family friend and LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, who only reinforced what the 6-foot, 175-pound quarterback believed.

Mississippi State was three hours closer to home and it was in the SEC. And he thought he could play soon. He was right.

When starting quarterback Omarr Conner went down with a sprained MCL against LSU last week, Henig immediately became the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Kyle York.

Last night in a 31-13 loss to Vanderbilt, Henig played three series, completing 1 of 4 passes for nine yards. He had no touchdowns, but also no interceptions.

"We like his throwing ability, his leadership, his poise," said MSU coach Sylvester Croom prior to the game. "He's a freshman who hasn't played in a conference road game, but we have great confidence in Mike. He has the intangibles."

Above all else, Henig has arm-strength. A lot of it. He said the longest he's thrown a football is 72 yards, and when he attended Bowden Quarterback Camp in the summer of 2003, he won the camp's long-toss competition.

But consider that in high school, his team ran the wing-T, a mostly running offense.

In fact, Henig had to plead with his coach just to open the offense up a little.

"The last five games, I said to the coach, we're going to have to throw it to win," said Henig, who didn't start in high school until his senior year, having played behind a three-year starter who now plays baseball at Auburn.

The coach finally agreed and the team finished 8-3 and lost in the Class 6A playoffs. Henig finished with 825 yards passing with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in the final five games.

The original plan was for Henig to redshirt this year, even though Croom did briefly consider playing him against Tulane.

After Conner injured his knee, Croom approached Henig on the sidelines and said, "Get ready, you'll be playing."

Said Henig: "I hope I can bring a little spunk."