Oct. 19, 2006

By Bill Hass
TheACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - For a football player returning from a knee injury, there are milestones along the recovery road.

Feeling the strength return during the long hours of rehab. Absorbing the first blow in a practice without incident. Getting back into competition for the first time in more than a year.

And, for linebacker Erin Henderson of Maryland, celebrating a touchdown.

Henderson returned an interception 45 yards for a score as the Terps rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Virginia 28-26 last weekend. It was a special moment for a player who tore an anterior cruciate ligament last August and missed the 2005 season.

"We were in a blitz and I was covering the tight end man-to-man near the sideline," Henderson said. "The quarterback threw the ball to the inside and I broke on the ball. I went down the sideline, picked up a couple of key blocks and all I had to do was outrun the (offensive) linemen.

"I was really excited. I felt a sense of accomplishment."

The moment was enhanced because his older brother, E.J. Henderson, was watching from the stands. E.J., one of the greatest linebackers ever at Maryland, now plays for the Minnesota Vikings. He was able to catch the game because the Vikings had a bye week in the NFL schedule.

"He told me `congratulations' and he told me not to get complacent," Erin Henderson said. "He said I've got to stay hungry. He's my biggest fan and my biggest critic. We have the same passion and intensity - we both want to be in on every tackle."

Henderson has started five of the Terps' six games and is second on the team with 38 tackles, including 18 solo stops, as Maryland heads into Saturday's home game against N.C. State, an important match-up in the ACC's Atlantic Division. The third-year sophomore has recorded one sack and one forced fumble to go with his interception.

Coach Ralph Friedgen likes the way Henderson approaches football.

"He plays with great effort and great enthusiasm and (football is) very important to him," Friedgen said. "I see him getting better with each and every game. Along with that, I think his leg is getting better and stronger also. The doctor tells me he'll really be back full strength by next season."

Henderson signed with Maryland after a stellar career as a quarterback and linebacker at Aberdeen, Md., High School, capped by a state 2A championship as a senior. He was quickly moved to weak-side linebacker on defense during his red-shirt season. His quarterback skills came in handy one week when he ran the option in practice for the scout team to get the defense ready for a game.

After sitting out the 2004 season, Henderson eagerly looked forward to 2005. Then, the second week of fall practice, he injured his knee.

"I looked at it as a challenge to overcome," he said. "Each day there was a new hurdle, a new obstacle to overcome. Some days I felt 100 percent and some days I felt like I took some steps back."

Family, teammates and friends helped Henderson through the ups and downs. Josh Allen, a Terp running back who had suffered a similar injury, told him what to expect during the rehab process and things he could do on his own. When Henderson felt low, long talks with D'Qwell Jackson, a former Maryland linebacker now playing for the Cleveland Browns, helped him keep his spirits up.

Approximately seven months after his injury, Henderson was ready for spring practice. Although the coaches were cautious with him, Henderson felt he had some things to prove.

"I had to get the doubts out," he said, "and show myself, my teammates and my coaches that I could be back to the same person I was and do the same things I did before. In the first spring scrimmage, I played pretty well and felt good about things."

When fall practice arrived, Henderson earned a starting position. After two years away from competition, he was really excited to run on the field in front of 54,000 fans in Byrd Stadium when the Terps opened the season against William & Mary.

With six games remaining in the regular season, Henderson wants to keep improving. Friedgen pointed out that, even though Henderson is a third-year sophomore, he's in the equivalent of his red-shirt freshman season and is still learning.

It's not an easy position. Outside linebackers in college football must possess a combination of speed and strength because of the nature of the game.

"You look for guys who have a lot of speed because of all the spread offenses," said Boston College coach Tom O'Brien. "Especially your outside guys, who end up being almost strong safety-type players because they have to be involved in both the run and the pass."

Maryland has produced two exceptional linebackers during Friedgen's six-year tenure - E.J. Henderson and Jackson. Friedgen won't go out on a limb to predict Erin Henderson will be that good, but he left the door open.

"He has to get bigger and stronger," the coach said, "but it's a possibility."

Which sounds just like the kind of challenge Henderson responds to and enjoys.

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Plugged in... by Bill Hass" for TheACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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