Kevin Henry Article

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Henry hedging on football future
Wednesday night, 34,486 fans gathered at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. and watched Central Michigan rally to defeat Troy 44-41 in double overtime in the GMAC Bowl.

Morris Community High School senior Kevin Henry, along with his father Jim and his younger brother Brian, were among the fans in attendance. Last summer, Henry verbally committed to attend Central Michigan University to play football. He has now attended "three or four" of the Chippewas' games during the 2009 season.

With National Signing Day looming on Feb. 3, Henry is reconsidering his collegiate choice. While Central Michigan has enjoyed perhaps its most successful football season ever, it has been a dramatic one. Head coach Butch Jones, who helped recruit Henry to the school, left the program to become head coach at the University of Cincinnati. Interim coach Steve Stripling led the Chippewas to the GMAC Bowl victory, but the coaching change has led Henry to reexamine his options.

"I'm still committed there, but I have kind of been talking to some schools again," said Henry. "With them going through the coaching change, I'm still talking to three or four other schools. We're going to hopefully find out this weekend who the new coach is and then go from there."

As busy as Henry has been following the Chippewas in person this season, he will be just as active in the coming weeks.

"I'm going to Northern Illinois this weekend and then Akron the weekend after that," said Henry. "The last weekend of January, I'm not 100 percent sure where I'm going but I'll probably visit somewhere. ... I've followed more of Northern's games than Arkon's this year. The weekend of the 23rd [Jan. 23], I'm going to [Central Michigan] to make my official visit."

If Wednesday was one of Central Michigan's final chances to make a positive impact on Henry, who is rated as a three-star defensive lineman, the Chippewas succeeded. Troy took a 31-19 lead on a touchdown run with 8:10 left in the game. Central Michigan's Antonio Brown returned the subsequent kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and the Chippewas scored a second fourth-quarter touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Dan LeFevour to Bryan Anderson. Troy needed a 46-yard Michael Taylor field goal in the final minute to force overtime.

In the initial overtime, LeFevour broke off a 13-yard touchdown run to give the Chippewas the advantage. Shawn Southward of Troy countered with a 1-yard touchdown run to keep the teams even. Troy got possession first in the second overtime and did not score when a Taylor field goal attempt was blocked. Andrew Aguila then made a 37-yard field goal to give Central Michigan the win.

"It was very sweet and a good time, well worth the trip," said Henry. "They were down 11 or 12, but Antonio Brown took one to the house on a kick return and that really got it going. ... I'd been to like three or four games so I knew everything the team was capable of. I had seen them play so much so I knew they could come back. I never lost hope."

Henry and his family were given no special treatment. They had to follow the same procedure as most other Central Michigan fans to acquire their tickets.

"We had to buy them through the school," said Henry. "They were real good seats, around the 40 yard line and 25 rows up or so."

On the field, the Chippewas did nothing this season that would sway Henry away from joining them.

"I would consider it [the 2009 season] a great success," said Henry. "They went 12-2 and won the GMAC Bowl, and that's a pretty successful season to me. They also finished in the top 25 [Central Michigan was ranked 25th in the final AP Poll], and they were the first team in school history to finish in the top 25. ... I know they can continue to make great things like that [the GMAC Bowl win] happen and keep the tradition they have going up there."