April 8, 2005 Jay Henry: A Success On & Off The Field Jim Laise WVSports.com Senior Writer MORGANTOWN--As if Jay Henry didn't have enough to worry about, there's this "grade" thing too. Henry, a 6-foot-2, 233-pound linebacker, is focusing on a seemingly new position this year. After lettering two seasons mostly at an outside spot for defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel's 3-5 odd-stack defense, it appears that the Tulsa, Okla., resident is being handed over the middle duties this spring, replacing former two-year starter Adam Lehnortt. Starting spots are set only in chalk in the spring of course, but the Big East Scholar Athlete is receiving the lionshare of looks in the middle thus far after eight practices, and will be with the "1s" Saturday when WVU's football team undergoes its second officiated scrimmage of April. As such, not only does he find himself in the middle of the action, taking on centers and guards in the briar-patch, so to speak, but he also must relay Casteel's defensive signals to his teammates and make sure the defenders are in the right space. Henry has prepped well for the spot, having practiced at all three linebacking positions for the three years he has been a Mountaineer, but most of his playing time has been spent on the edge. So not only is Henry learning about the speed of BCS football as a potential starter, he is fighting with Gold and Blue center Jeremy Hines and potential star guard John Bradshaw in practice, among others. Hines and Bradshaw are currently running with the No. 1s on offense. But along with hoping to become the starter on the Labor Day weekend, when Henry's Mountaineers travel to the Carrier Dome and an opening game with Syracuse, dealing with veteran Hines, and the budding Bradshaw and potential Orange interior linemen, the former All-Stater from Oklahoma is concerned about his studies as well. "Concerned" in a relative sense. For while some of his teammates are fighting to keep their heads afloat academically, Henry is seizing on one course, and what most worries him is that he might make a B. You see Jay Henry, every mother's dream son-in-law, has made nothing but As . . . since he was in first grade back in Oklahoma. "Haven't made one yet," said the Mountaineer linebacker with a smile earlier this week following his team's first full-scale scrimmage of the spring, "but there's always that first one. I'm worried about a finance course right now." "That's right, all As since he started school," said Henry's mother and chief proponent back in Tulsa, Judy, better known as Jenksmom on the West Virginia Sports Dot Com message board. "I keep telling him 'Now, Jay, eventually, you're going to make a B. Sooner or later you will. The courses get tougher you know.' "Every year, there's one course that makes it tough. But all that does is make him work harder, and he always finds a way to pull it out in the end." There is every reason to believe that the 21-year-old who was the 2004 team's leading tackling non-starter while playing about 25 snaps a game in the Big East championship-sharing season will do so again--on and off the field. "If you had a bunch of Jay Henrys," said his position coach Casteel, "you wouldn't have anything to worry about." ----- Henry played three seasons for one of the nation's most bally-hooed high-school football programs at Jenks (Okla.) High School under the legendary Allan Trimble. During the time that Henry occupied the linebacker position for the Trojans, Trimble's teams won three state Class 6A (largest) state championships, losing just one of 41 games. He was named to every all-state team imaginable and he and his squad were honored in tuxedos his senior season at the Jim Thorpe Awards when former Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams (now with the Dallas Cowboys) nabbed the hardware as the nation's best defensive back. Henry was recruited hard by hometown Tulsa, but then Mountaineer co-defensive coordinator Todd Graham had ties to the talent-rich Sooner state, and won the battle for the services of the team's MVP. Jay matriculated to Morgantown where he won the 2002 Danny Van Etten Award, emblematic of the scout team's top defensive rookie his redshirt season. He fell under the spell of ultimate linebacking All-American Grant Wiley, which was a boost for what was to come. Graham, by the way, left the WVU staff the following year to go to Tulsa, ironically enough. It was in 2003 that Henry said he spent his most practice time in the middle behind Ben Collins and Lehnortt. Yet when it came to playing time on the field, it was mostly behind Wiley that he got his snaps. Playing behind an All-American meant little time on the turf, yet Henry still played in all 13 games, coming up with 38 total tackles and one for a loss. Last season, Henry backed up each of the three starting linebackers, played in 11 games, and ripped off 39 tackles, 21 of which were solos. He also recorded 2 tackles for losses, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery. What has made Henry valuable, said Casteel, is that he can play all the positions and play them well. Too, he can translate what the defensive coordinator calls "book smarts" onto the field. "A lot of guys as intelligent as Jay can't always translate it over to the field of play, but Jay can," said the coach. "Some guys are smart off the field, but not on it. Really, Jay has both." A two-time Big East All-Academic, Casteel said it is Henry's brains that make him one of the Mountaineers' steadiest players. Having fit into the position this spring, Henry said Monday that he is becoming more comfortable "with the speed of the game. Each day I can feel myself reacting without thinking about it. Nobody's giving me the job, and I'm still fighting for it, but I think each day I am getting used to what it takes." There is every reason to believe that Henry, who put on 15 pounds of muscle in strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis' off-season program, will have a breakout campaign in his junior year of eligibility. For one, he is bigger and stronger. Also, he said the Mountaineer secondary is getting bigtime leadership out of free safety Jahmile Addae, and WVU defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich thinks he has about seven brutes who can help keep the big uglies off Henry and whomever else plays 'backer for the Gold and Blue. "Playing on the outside and inside have their differences. They're subtle maybe, but they're there. For one, you're taking blocks from different angles. Outside, you're maybe focused on a tackle or a tight end. In the middle, it's more about brute strength. But I'm getting the feel of it; I'm learning what to do." ----- Fitting in has never been a problem for the son of Judy and Larry Henry. Playing for Jenks, he learned quickly what teamwork was all about. While putting in time for one of the nation's elite programs, he also bonded with a handful of Trojans who have all made their ways onto college football teams. Judy Henry said that Blaine Cooper (Army), Kurt Seifried (Oklahoma State) and Garnett Mills (Tulsa) all are excelling right along with Jay. Another teammate and close friend started for Texas as a freshman, but has since left the Longhorn team due to injuries. "They were really close in high school. They all hung around together and were in touch all the time--they still are," said Judy. He formed a similar bond when he came to WVU. Immediately he fell in with senior bandit-spur Mike Lorello, junior guard Dan Mozes and walk-on bandit Aaron Meckstroth. Larry Henry saw the fraternity which had formed and purchased a house in Morgantown where all moved into in their second years. You could call it the Brain House. Rarely in Morgantown will you find this kind of academic acuity living under one roof. Henry is in finance, as is Lorello, a consecutive Athletic Director's Honor Roll member; Mozes is a Big East Scholar-Athlete in communications and Meckstroth, a 6-foot, 190 pounder from Huntington Spring Valley, is a biology major with aspirations of attending med school. Throw in Hines, another AD's Honor Roll student in business, economics and foreign language, and you have some multi-watt brainpower. Hines is an honorary member of the frat, since he spends time at the house. All the student-athletes' parents gather for tailgating during the season, and even throw a Thanksgiving banquet for the young men at their place each year. "They're all friends just like Jay was with Blaine, Kurt and Garrett back in high school," Judy Henry said. "I mean even when they're away from each other, they're calling each other two and three times a day, just to keep up with what's going on." ----- Judy Henry is a story in herself. Though she lives about 15 hours away in Tulsa, she drives roundtrip to selected games throughout the season. She likes to arrive on Fridays about an hour before head coach Rich Rodriguez takes Henry and the team to Lakeview resort for their pregame stay. She then heads for the parents' tailgate prior to kickoff. Afterward, she gets to see her son again briefly on Saturday night. Then she packs up her Honda Accord early on Sunday morning and makes the long drive back. She owns her own business in Tulsa, and thus during the season calls her own shots. "Everybody knows that on Thursday evening I'm gone when I can," she said. Meantime, she sees little of her son except for maybe two stints per year in Oklahoma. "With football and offseason and everything, they don't get away for much. Their school is paid for during the summer and so they take advantage of it by taking classes," Mrs. Henry said. Classes of which her son is obviously taking advantage. Judy expects Jay to go to graduate school at least during his fifth year in Morgantown, but after that, she's unsure. "Make a lot of money I think is what he wants," she said with a laugh. Henry once had dreamed of playing in the NFL, but after what he has seen his friend Wiley go through in trying to make it into the league, now he's unsure. "The latest is, he's talked about being an agent for Mike and Dan when they go," she said with a laugh. Whatever his calling, you can bet when Jay Henry makes it, he will do his best. When contacted earlier this week, Jenks coach Trimble's secretary said, "Oh, you're calling about Jay. Tell 'em we all love him out here." A sign of affection it would appear everyone shares. Now if he can get this one finance professor at WVU to join in when finals come down the line in three weeks, Henry can keep his undefeated record in tact. He hopes to help the team do the same next fall. | 
