Henson Is Keeping His N.F.L. Dream Alive in Europe
By JUDY BATTISTA
Published: April 10, 2006
By now, Drew Henson was supposed to be playing where Alex Rodriguez plays, at third base for the Yankees. Or doing what Drew Bledsoe does, taking snaps as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead, Henson, once one of the most celebrated football prospects at the University of Michigan, is the starting quarterback for the Rhein Fire of N.F.L. Europe, the latest turn in his meandering career trajectory.
The promise of a gilded baseball career is over, halted by strikeouts at the Class AAA level. Henson did not take a snap for the Cowboys last season and will almost certainly enter training camp as the third-string quarterback again.
For now, his N.F.L. dream is tied to the European league, which is defined by its hopefuls and reclamation projects. Several former N.F.L. Europe quarterbacks, including Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner and Brad Johnson, have gone on to success in the N.F.L.
The Cowboys sent Henson to Europe to get something nobody could have imagined he would still need at this point in his career: experience.
Henson has led the Fire to a 4-0 start in the six-team league, completing 51 of 86 passes for 586 yards and 4 touchdowns. He has also thrown an interception.
Henson says he is certain he would make the same career choices again, including the failed quest for baseball greatness.
"I realize what could have happened if I'd chosen something else," Henson said in a telephone interview from Dusseldorf, Germany, where the Fire is based. "I believe things happen for a reason. When I was 20 years old, I knew I wanted to be a baseball player. When I was 24, I knew I wanted to be a quarterback. You'd be crazy not to say you wanted that.
"Someday, when all is said and done, I'll have some story."
With his strong arm and mobility, Henson was already considered a tremendous prospect when he arrived at Michigan in 1998. He might have started as a freshman, except that he was blocked by Tom Brady, who managed to hold on to the job.
After Henson started just eight games as a junior, he was projected as a Heisman Trophy candidate and a near-certain first-round N.F.L. draft pick if he were to play, and play well, his senior season. Instead, in 2001, he accepted the Yankees' offer of a six-year deal for $17 million.
When it became clear that Henson was struggling in baseball, the Houston Texans took him with a sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft, with the intention of trading him if he decided to play football. General Manager Charley Casserly gambled that Henson, despite the money he would forfeit, would have too much pride to stick with a sport in which he could not succeed.
The guess was correct, and when Henson quit baseball early in 2004, the Cowboys traded a draft pick for him.
The buzz began again, this time with Henson envisioned by some as the next great Cowboys quarterback.
"When you look at the last three games he played at Michigan, you swear this is the No. 1 overall pick," said Gil Brandt, one of the architects of the Dallas Cowboys during the 1960's, 70's and 80's and now an analyst for NFL.com. "He's got everything you need — arm strength, mobility, he's bright. But for some reason, he doesn't seem to put it all together. I don't understand it."
Brandt compared Henson's situation to that of athletes in the 1940's who went into military service during World War II. After years away from football practice, those players often needed two years to return to form.
Henson said his time in Europe had already helped.
"With every month and every season, you feel yourself playing at a faster speed, anticipating things, trusting what you see, and decisiveness," he said.
At 26 and preparing to enter his third N.F.L. season, Henson is still young enough to enjoy a long career as a starter. But his prospects in Dallas are murky. Coach Bill Parcells has preferred veteran quarterbacks, and Bledsoe is entrenched as the starter. The Cowboys also like Tony Romo, the No. 2 quarterback.
Henson says he misses baseball and the relationships with teammates that it fosters. He misses hitting and says he has not swung a bat since his last game.
But Henson said he had learned something important from his baseball odyssey.
"To work on things I can work on right now and not to put any timetable on it," he said. "When I made my decision, it was what I felt at that time. This is the path I chose."
Published: April 10, 2006
By now, Drew Henson was supposed to be playing where Alex Rodriguez plays, at third base for the Yankees. Or doing what Drew Bledsoe does, taking snaps as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead, Henson, once one of the most celebrated football prospects at the University of Michigan, is the starting quarterback for the Rhein Fire of N.F.L. Europe, the latest turn in his meandering career trajectory.
The promise of a gilded baseball career is over, halted by strikeouts at the Class AAA level. Henson did not take a snap for the Cowboys last season and will almost certainly enter training camp as the third-string quarterback again.
For now, his N.F.L. dream is tied to the European league, which is defined by its hopefuls and reclamation projects. Several former N.F.L. Europe quarterbacks, including Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner and Brad Johnson, have gone on to success in the N.F.L.
The Cowboys sent Henson to Europe to get something nobody could have imagined he would still need at this point in his career: experience.
Henson has led the Fire to a 4-0 start in the six-team league, completing 51 of 86 passes for 586 yards and 4 touchdowns. He has also thrown an interception.
Henson says he is certain he would make the same career choices again, including the failed quest for baseball greatness.
"I realize what could have happened if I'd chosen something else," Henson said in a telephone interview from Dusseldorf, Germany, where the Fire is based. "I believe things happen for a reason. When I was 20 years old, I knew I wanted to be a baseball player. When I was 24, I knew I wanted to be a quarterback. You'd be crazy not to say you wanted that.
"Someday, when all is said and done, I'll have some story."
With his strong arm and mobility, Henson was already considered a tremendous prospect when he arrived at Michigan in 1998. He might have started as a freshman, except that he was blocked by Tom Brady, who managed to hold on to the job.
After Henson started just eight games as a junior, he was projected as a Heisman Trophy candidate and a near-certain first-round N.F.L. draft pick if he were to play, and play well, his senior season. Instead, in 2001, he accepted the Yankees' offer of a six-year deal for $17 million.
When it became clear that Henson was struggling in baseball, the Houston Texans took him with a sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft, with the intention of trading him if he decided to play football. General Manager Charley Casserly gambled that Henson, despite the money he would forfeit, would have too much pride to stick with a sport in which he could not succeed.
The guess was correct, and when Henson quit baseball early in 2004, the Cowboys traded a draft pick for him.
The buzz began again, this time with Henson envisioned by some as the next great Cowboys quarterback.
"When you look at the last three games he played at Michigan, you swear this is the No. 1 overall pick," said Gil Brandt, one of the architects of the Dallas Cowboys during the 1960's, 70's and 80's and now an analyst for NFL.com. "He's got everything you need — arm strength, mobility, he's bright. But for some reason, he doesn't seem to put it all together. I don't understand it."
Brandt compared Henson's situation to that of athletes in the 1940's who went into military service during World War II. After years away from football practice, those players often needed two years to return to form.
Henson said his time in Europe had already helped.
"With every month and every season, you feel yourself playing at a faster speed, anticipating things, trusting what you see, and decisiveness," he said.
At 26 and preparing to enter his third N.F.L. season, Henson is still young enough to enjoy a long career as a starter. But his prospects in Dallas are murky. Coach Bill Parcells has preferred veteran quarterbacks, and Bledsoe is entrenched as the starter. The Cowboys also like Tony Romo, the No. 2 quarterback.
Henson says he misses baseball and the relationships with teammates that it fosters. He misses hitting and says he has not swung a bat since his last game.
But Henson said he had learned something important from his baseball odyssey.
"To work on things I can work on right now and not to put any timetable on it," he said. "When I made my decision, it was what I felt at that time. This is the path I chose."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:49 PM
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