The athletic ability and bloodlines are there.
Now, Erin Henderson is translating all that promising potential into play-making production for the Maryland football team, which is 5-2 after Saturday?s 26-20 homecoming win over N.C. State.
“I think everybody is feeling more comfortable in the defense,” Henderson said. “That allows us to play a little faster with a little bit more pursuit and more passion.”
The sophomore from Aberdeen said that he is now able to play more with his natural instincts and abilities.
“That was a big thing for me coming out the first couple games ? I wasn?t able to adjust to the speed of the game,” he said. “Now, I?m starting to get a feel for it, and it?s all starting to slow down and make sense for me.”
Henderson is becoming more comfortable after his seventh game, and on Saturday intercepted his second pass in the past two games, sparking the Terps? third-quarter surge. He?s second on the team with 48 total tackles, including 10 Saturday, erasing any doubts about his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that cost him his 2005 season.
“Before, I was just running around like a chicken with his head cut off,” he said.
Henderson is developing into a tackling machine at the linebacker position, much like older brother, E.J., a two-time All-American at Maryland who now plays for the MinnesotaVikings. The brothers speak constantly, despite being half a country apart.
“He came out last week and really helped me out, watching film and telling me what I need to work at,” Erin said, “and I was able to implement some of that into my game these past two weeks and hopefully for the weeks to come.”
While he?ll always be compared to his brother, Erin is quite different from E.J. While both played linebacker at Aberdeen High, E.J. was a running back and Erin was a quarterback.
E.J. developed into the nation?s top linebacker while in College Park, earning the Butkus and Bednarik awards for his hard work. And now, Erin is earning his own praise.
“I think he?s playing very well,” Terps junior linebacker Wesley Jefferson said. “He?s coming on real strong these past couple of games and he?s doing well.”
THE HENDERSON FILE
» Age: 20
» Did you know? Henderson led Aberdeen High to the Class 2A state title as a senior in 2003 ? Threw for 1,580 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 883 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior ? Led Aberdeen with 138 tackles as a senior ? Also a standout basketball player ? Recruited by Virginia, Purdue and North Carolina for football.
