Clemson Football: KJ Henry proving his star-rating
Clemson football DE KJ Henry is developing into a solid option on the defensive line. Henry has the talent and skill to be special.
Many Clemson football fans were surprised to see KJ Henry elect to redshirt during his true-freshman season.
The fact of the matter, though, was that Henry saw some things he needed to work on and wanted to save a year of eligibility instead of using it up, sitting behind the likes Austin Bryant, Clelin Ferrell, fellow freshman Xavier Thomas, Justin Foster and Logan Rudolph last season.
He made the right decision.
Through his freshman season, Henry played in four games and consistently was in the weight room. He put on a total of 11 pounds over the course of the year and weighed in at 251 pounds before the start of the 2019 Clemson football season.
Because he was a 5-star, many Clemson football fans expected Henry to come in right away and make major contributions, similar to Xavier Thomas.
Through the first couple of games this season, Henry had yet to make much of an impact and we here at Rubbing the Rock were receiving questions from several different fans asking about him and what was going on.
Well, Henry emerged Saturday night against Syracuse.
He had three tackles, a 0.5 sack and a pass breakup against the Orange. Henry was one of the top performers across the defensive line and made his presence felt. For those Clemson football fans saying they couldn’t find Henry on the field in previous games, they had no trouble seeing him Saturday night. He was in the backfield, providing pressure and getting in on tackles.
Henry is growing up and adjusting to the collegiate game right before our eyes. He was a 5-star for a reason and he’s proving that rating to be correct. There’s still plenty for the young defensive end to improve upon, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he has the potential to develop into an All-American at some point in his career and there’s also no doubt that he will be a key contributor on this Tiger defense this season.
Next. Defensive Grades vs. Syracuse. dark
Oh, by the way, he’s just a redshirt freshman.