| | By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Seated behind a long banquet table, donning his Michigan blue No. 7 jersey for the first time in months, Drew Henson begins to sweat.
The line of fans waiting for his signature doubles that of his head coach or any teammate. Just to bring him to the table, the man escorting Henson needed one arm to clear people out of the way and another to cling tightly to the No. 7 jersey.
In his first public appearance since a summer stint in minor league baseball, Henson's already been through two rounds of interviews with the newspaper media, 45 minutes with local television crews, and a team photograph.
|  | | Drew Henson finally gets his chance to guide the powerful Wolverine offense. |
As the beads of sweat continue to fall, the words of one fan in line capture it all: "Welcome Home, Drew."
Yes, this crazy, rock-star life is home. It's what Drew Henson has become accustomed to since shattering high school records in football and baseball just north of here in Brighton. As a junior, he committed to play football for the Wolverines, inspiring Michigan fans to dream of national championships. As a senior he was drafted by the New York Yankees and given a $2 million signing bonus.
But Henson doesn't plan on being the next Bo Jackson, meaning that sometime in the next year or two, the Michigan junior will have to decide what dream to chase professionally. In the meantime, he tries his luck at both. From August to April it's football, from May to July baseball. Each year he has just two weeks off.
"There are plenty of people out there who doubt that I can do this," Henson said of playing two sports, "and that's one of the reasons I decided to try it. I know I'm in uncharted waters here. I expect people to question whether I'll be able to get the job done. And that gives me the motivation to go out there and work even harder."
He has to work hard just to try to keep up with the expectations. He's considered a potential franchise player in baseball as a power-hitting third baseman. So much so that while Henson was being requested in deals for for Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa, there were reports the Yankees offered to remove Henson's name and commit to him as their third baseman of the future if he would quit football. He said no. The Yankees then traded him to the Reds in the Denny Neagle deal.
But it's on the football field where the bar is the highest. Henson set that dizzying height the day he committed to Michigan saying his goal was to lead the Wolverines to national championships.
Yes, as in more than one.
And, no, he hasn't forgotten about that promise.
He paid his dues the last two seasons as the understudy to Tom Brady, appearing in 18 games and completing nearly 50 percent of his passes. This year, he's been given the keys to one of the nation's most explosive offenses full-time and everyone from Sault Ste. Marie to Michigan City can't wait for the season opener. Neither can Henson.
"When I finished my last game (in the minors), it took about five minutes. Then I started to get that football excitement back," Henson said. "I took of my uniform, showered and it was like, 'Geez. It's football season now.' I hopped on a plane, came home and it was so exciting to be back with all my friends and teammates and begin to make a run at this."
At his disposal, Henson will have All-American candidates Anthony Thomas at running back and David Terrell at wide receiver. And protecting him will be All-Americans Steve Hutchinson and Jeff Backus. Really, all Henson has to do this year is push the right buttons.
"This is the year," said Terrell. "I think he's going to go out there and put himself in the category with the Michael Vicks, Drew Breeses, and all the top quarterbacks in the nation. He is going to be that good."
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Football or baseball?
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A quick look at Henson's numbers in both sports:
Football
18 games
.496 completion percentage (68-137)
800 passing yards and six TDs
Baseball
1999: .280, 13 HR, 37 RBI
(60 games at Class A Tampa)
2000: .287, 7 HR, 39 RBI
(59 games at Double-A Norwich)
2000: .172, 1 HR, 9 RBI
(16 games at Double-A Chattanooga)
2000: .261, 8 HR, 48 RBI (total)
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To help prepare for the new role, Henson lugged videotape of Michigan's first few opponents in his suitcase all summer. Late at night, he would sit in front of the VCR, studying the defensive intricacies of Bowling Green, Rice, UCLA and others. He also studied his Michigan playbook, memorizing the steps, the timing and then picturing it all in his head.
When Henson's minor-league teammates would head out after games, he would push himself even further, running, lifting weights, doing anything to stay in cardiovascular shape.
"It's easy getting in the routine of playing baseball every day and you end up losing your wind a bit," Henson said. "So that was one thing I wanted to concentrate on this year. As difficult as it was after playing a hard game, I would get my cardio in."
Henson also said he spent time tossing the football around in area parks. When Terrell paid a visit in July, around the time Henson was traded, the two found a release of sorts running passing patterns in New York's Central Park. They did so in relative anonymity.
"You're talking five million people on an island, so unless you're Derek Jeter or Mike Piazza, nobody notices you," Henson said. "So we went there and threw it around."
Added Terrell: "He looked good. There were certain balls he had to get his touch back, but everything else was normal Drew. It was shocking to me that he could make the change to baseball and still get his rhythm back so quickly."
The result of all the football work during baseball season is paying off. Last week, when Henson worked out with many of his receivers for the first time since spring practice, passes rolled off his fingertips and his timing was surprisingly sharp.
"(The transition) gets easier the more I do it," said Henson, who's bounced between sports as long as he can remember. "In high school it took a little bit longer because my mechanics and fundamentals weren't as sound as they are now."
The most difficult transition, Henson said, is getting re-acclimated to the structure of college life. In the minors, there are few rules and regulations. The only expectation is that you show up on time, ready to play. In college, it's a life of curfews, schedules, bed checks, and classwork.
Not to mention being the quarterback at Michigan, a school that is traditionally harsh on its fresh-faced signal callers.
"Drew Henson will now have to carry the mantle that all Michigan starting quarterbacks have had to deal with -- that they are never good enough and there is always someone behind them who is better," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "You go back to Elvis Grbac, Brian Griese, and it will be true in the year 2050."
But few had the high school credential of Henson. Coming out of Brighton High in 1998, Henson was one of the nation's most sought-after recruits. He was an All-American in football, finishing second all-time in career passing yardage (5,662) and touchdowns (52) in the state of Michigan. But his baseball accomplishments were even better. He still holds the national record for home runs (70), RBI (290) and runs scored (259) and was the USA Today Player of the Year in 1998.
It was enough for the Yankees to take a chance on the committed Wolverine as a third-round draft choice. Though he struggled a bit this year as the trade rumors swirled, he still hit a combined .261 with eight home runs and 48 RBI between Double-A Norwich and Chattanooga.
"He's got a chance to be one heck of a player if he chooses baseball," said Reds minor league scout Gary Hughes, who saw Henson's last five games with Chattanooga. "He struggled with the breaking ball a bit, but what impressed me was that he cared about it. It meant something to him. Every at bat, every pitch, he was focused. There's just something about the way he goes about his business."
It wasn't enough for the Yankees, though, who packaged Henson in a deal to the Reds for Neagle on July 12. Though he was disappointed at the time, Henson now says he's glad he went through being traded early in his career. It was a risky move for the Reds, but one that could pay off when they open the Great American Ballpark in 2003.
"From a baseball perspective, we certainly think Drew has the capability to be a Scott Rolen- or a Mike Schmidt-caliber third baseman," Reds general manager Jim Bowden said after the trade. "But he also has the capability to be a potential Troy Aikman in football. We do not know if he is going to play in the NFL or baseball and that is a risk we have to take with this deal."
Contrary to published reports, Henson said the trade will have little input on his professional decision. When that day will come, not even Henson knows. He says it could be after this year or the next. In the meantime, fans of both Michigan football and Reds baseball will cross their fingers, hold their breath, and hope that the popular boy from Brighton wears their team's jersey.
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. | |
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