One day last month, Drew Henson and David Terrell met in New York’s Central Park. Terrell, Michigan’s ace wide receiver, had arranged to visit Henson, who was winding down his minor-league baseball season out east before taking over as Michigan’s starting quarterback.
For about 30 minutes the friends tossed a football around. Henson and Terrell might be the most feared passing combination in the Big Ten this season, but for all New York knew they were just a couple of schmoes with nothing better to do. No one asked Henson for his autograph or to pose with their offspring. No one asked if he might be back in December to claim the Heisman Trophy.
“There’s a million people in about five square miles in Manhattan,” Henson said. “Unless you’re Derek Jeter or Mike Piazza, no one’s going to recognize you.”
It may be the last time Henson ever fires a pass anonymously. Now that he’s back in this citadel of college football, every move he makes will be scrutinized. Two years after he washed onto this leafy campus in a tide of sportswriters’ ink, the 20-year-old junior from Brighton, Mich., finally is going to start his first game.
All that’s hanging in the balance is Michigan’s shot at its second national title in four seasons. The Wolverines open their 121st season ranked fourth in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and sixth in the Associated Press media rankings.
Henson, a third baseman now in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system, moves from the hot corner to the hot seat.
“Of course, Henson now has to carry the mantle all Michigan quarterbacks have to deal with,” coach Lloyd Carr said. “They’re never good enough.”
Did he say “good?” Where Henson is concerned, the State Street bar-and-cafe crowd will settle only for “great.”
Henson was the first recruit in this fabled program’s history to arrive with a $2 million signing bonus–that’s what the New York Yankees paid their third-round pick in 1998–and his own Sports Illustrated spread. As teammates gaped on photo day two years ago, hundreds of fans lined up for the freshman’s autograph in steamy August heat.
It wasn’t long before Carr, not given to hyperbole, suggested Henson, a rifle-armed 6-foot-4-inch, 218-pounder, was the most talented quarterback he ever had coached.
Carr bristled at speculation that the only reason he played Henson part time a year ago, sharing duties with starter Tom Brady, was to persuade Henson not to leave the program. Henson reportedly had made it clear that he wasn’t going to be content carrying a clipboard.
“The idea that we were playing him because we didn’t want him to go [permanently] to the Yankees–all that is baloney,” Carr said. “The fact is, he had tremendous ability.”
Here’s another fact: Brady, a poised senior, was Michigan’s best quarterback in 1999. Doubters need only check the Wolverines’ 10-2 record, which included victories over Big Ten champ Wisconsin and Southeastern Conference champ Alabama.
Playing about a quarter every Saturday last season, Henson flashed startling potential but also revealed his inexperience. In a critical midseason battle against Michigan State, for example, he fired an 81-yard touchdown pass, the third longest in school history, but he followed up with a costly second-half interception.
Henson completed 52.2 percent of his throws (47 for 90) for 546 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
This year Henson has an awesome array of weapons at his disposal. At wideout, Terrell, Marquise Walker and Ronald Bellamy are as good as any trio in the Big Ten. Michigan’s overall running game was uncharacteristically feeble last season, finishing 10th in the league at 121.8 yards per game, but the coaches expect a healthy Justin Fargas to complement Anthony Thomas, whose 1,297 yards lead returning Big Ten rushers.
“My job is not to put everything on my shoulders,” Henson said. “We have lots of playmakers.”
Though Henson has grown used to transitions, returning to campus always comes as a bit of a shock to a system grown used to the laid-back pace of baseball, where most games are at night and the coaches don’t mind if a fellow sleeps in. The other day Henson was ordered to show up for media day at 9 a.m.–in uniform.
“Baseball’s different,” Henson said. “There aren’t a lot of rules. They treat you as a professional. I’m getting used to bed checks and things like that.”
Carr would have preferred to have Henson around during the summer, but the coach was in no position to make demands. While the NCAA bars mandatory summer practices, highly organized workouts take place at football factories across the nation. Quarterbacks and wide receivers usually spend hours every day working on their timing.
In that sense, Henson has to catch up with rivals such as Purdue’s Drew Brees, Wisconsin’s Brooks Bollinger and Illinois’ Kurt Kittner. But Terrell said Henson appeared to be in midseason form during their brief session in Central Park.
“The post and fade routes, it takes time to get the touch back,” Terrell said. “But he looked like the normal Drew. It was almost shocking.”
Henson’s a natural. Of course, that’s what the Yankees thought. Owner George Steinbrenner reportedly told Henson that if he gave up football, he would keep Henson in pinstripes for life. Henson declined, and in July the Yankees shipped him to Cincinnati in the deal that brought pitcher Denny Neagle to New York.
There were reports, Henson denied, that the trade soured him on baseball. Henson said he’s committed to two sports until at least January, when he might make a decision on his future. For now, he’s happy to be back on campus.
“That’s one thing they can’t do–they can’t trade me to another school,” Henson said. “When I finished my last baseball game July 31, I took off my uniform and jumped in the shower and said, `Hey, it’s football season now.’ I was excited to get back to see my teammates and get started.”
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Founded: 1817
Joined Big Ten: 1896
Enrollment: 37,197
– HOME FIELD
Stadium: Michigan Stadium
Capacity: 107,501
Average home attendance: 111,008
Surface: Grass
– COACHING
Head coach: Lloyd Carr
Record: 49-13
– 1999 SEASON
Record: 10-2 overall, 6-2 in Big Ten
Bowl: Defeated Alabama 35-34 in overtime in Orange Bowl
– 2000 SEASON
Bowl prospects: Orange, Rose or Fiesta
Returning starters: 16
Preseason ranking: No. 4 in coaches poll, No. 6 in media poll
Strength of schedule: Not as demanding as in the past, with Wisconsin and Penn State at home. Toughest tests figure to be trips to Champaign and Columbus.
Players to watch: Quarterback Drew Henson, wide receiver David Terrell and running back Anthony Thomas.
– SCHEDULE
Sept. 2 vs. Bowling Green
Sept. 9 vs. Rice
Sept. 16 at UCLA
Sept. 23 at Illinois
Sept. 30 vs. Wisconsin
Oct. 7 at Purdue
Oct. 14 vs. Indiana
Oct. 21 vs. Michigan State
Nov. 4 at Northwestern
Nov. 11 vs. Penn State
Nov. 18 at Ohio State
Chicago Tribune
STATS AND STUFF
BY THE NUMBERS
11-1
Lloyd Carr’s career record against teams ranked in the Top 10 at kickoff.
15-19-1
Bo Schembechler’s career record against teams ranked in the Top 10 at kickoff.
28-4
Carr’s record in five seasons at Michigan Stadium. That is an .875 winning percentage, best all-time among Michigan coaches.
26
Number of different schools Carr has faced as head coach.
1
Number of schools that have a winning record against Carr. Texas A&M defeated his Wolverines 22-20 in the 1995 Alamo Bowl.
666,688
Number of fans needed to reach the 35-million mark in all-time attendance at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines play six home games and would need to average 111,115 per game to reach the plateau this season. Michigan averaged 111,008 per game in 1999.
106,000
Estimated blades of grass making up the original Michigan Stadium field at dedication game in 1927, according to the 2000 Michigan media guide.
QUOTABLE
“You want to go to a school where you know you’re going to win. We had a lot of talent coming in in that class.”–Wide receiver David Terrell on the reason he backed out of a commitment to Notre Dame, his favorite team growing up, and opted to attend Michigan. Terrell’s recruiting class at Michigan included quarterback Drew Henson and running back Justin Fargas.
THE LIST
Best career starts, by victories, for first five seasons as a Division I-A coach:
Walter Camp, Yale-Stanford 1988-92: 69-2-2 (.959)
George Woodruff, Penn 1892-96: 67-5 (.931)
Barry Switzer, Oklahoma 1973-77: 51-5-2 (.896)
John Robinson, USC 1976-80: 50-8-2 (.850)
R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M 1989-93: 49-12-1 (.798)
Lloyd Carr, Michigan 1995-99: 49-13 (.790)
Source: 2000 Michigan football media guide.
