Football teams are a family, each player considering the others as brothers. In a sport that is often compared to battle, that camaraderie is necessary.
For the University of Maryland?s Erin Henderson and Keon Lattimore, that bond certainly holds true. But so does another more unique quality that both share. Henderson and Lattimore are both the younger brothers of starting middle linebackers in the NFL.
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Erin Henderson (Aberdeen High School) is the younger brother of Maryland alum and Minnesota Viking E.J. Henderson, while Keon Lattimore (Mount St. Joseph) is the younger sibling to Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis.
Lattimore said that he gets frequent phone calls and advice from Lewis, who called last weekend and tried to get his younger sibling pumped up for Maryland?s Thursday night game at West Virginia.
“He called me up right after his game on Sunday when they beat the Bucs,” Lattimore said. “He was like, ?Let?s go, let?s step it up.? He said that everything you work for in the summer, how hard you work towards the season, this is what you have got to think about in the fourth quarter.”
Lattimore, a junior running back, said that he and Henderson talk about each other?s older siblings frequently and that he has hung out with E.J. Henderson on occasion.
“[Erin] is always joking with me because he has not met my brother yet,” Lattimore said. “He is always joking: ?I have picked D?Qwell Jackson?s mind, I picked my brother?s mind, I need to pick Ray?s mind. Erin is an intense guy, man, and he wants to be the best, and every linebacker that he meets, he wants to know what their techniques are. He wants to learn from them.”
Erin Henderson said that he and E.J. talk about a lot of football-related matters.
“[E.J.] just tells me the same thing since the season started: Just go out there and relax and have fun. Go out there and do what you can do. Don?t try to step outside of yourself,” Erin said.
The elder Henderson told Erin that he just needs to relax against the Mountaineers on Thursday.
“He told me to just relax,” Erin said. “He knows how I am, and he knows I can get pretty emotional.”
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen coached both Hendersons and can see differences and similarities in them. According to Friedgen, Erin is more outspoken, but the brothers both have the same athletic talent.
“He is definitely one of the team leaders,” Friedgen said of Erin. “I think he has a bright future.”
