University of Georgia Athletics
Gainesville's Jeff Henson is No Surprise
November 14, 2006 | Football
ATHENS, Ga. --- Most people would say Jeff Henson is full of surprises. He graduated high school, but decided to skip college in favor of working in real estate. Surprise. After he took three years out of school to do real estate and spent two years at Gainesville State College, Henson applied to Georgia and got accepted into the highly - competitive Terry College of Business. Surprise. Although his football playing days seemed to have ended five years ago, Henson walked on to the Georgia football team months from his 24th birthday and won the number - one spot at long snapper. Surprise. He even helped the Hall County All-Star Little League baseball team win the area championship when he was 10 years old by hitting a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 6th after a 3-2 count. "He'll surprise you," his Little League coach Tim Whitmire said. "But at the same time it's Jeff so it's not surprising."
Those who know Henson the best echo Whitmire's sentiments. As his mother, Judy, said, "It's Jeff. You never did know what was going to happen next, but you were never surprised."
Surprising or not, to say that Henson's path is atypical would be an understatement. Most walk-ons come to a Division 1 A team as 18 year-old freshmen, and even out of those who stick with it, few get strong playing time during their college careers. "The rest of the walk-ons told me they had to try out the year before, so when I kind of just showed up and got the starting spot, you know, I wasn't really sure how I was going to be received and if people were going to take me seriously," Henson said. "With players you have to earn their respect, and with me just coming in and getting the spot it seemed like it would be even harder for me than it was for the other guys, but during practices and games and everything I think I've proven that I deserve it and they're cool with me."
For many football players growing up in Georgia, playing for the Bulldogs would be like winning the lottery. Henson is no exception. "It's hard to explain, I've been in the stands, dreaming about what it would be like to play on that field, looking at all the helmets in the end zone, the team running out of the tunnel with the band playing. It just hits me every once in a while that I'm playing for the University of Georgia," the Gainesville, Georgia, native said. Making his way to that dream, however, seemed like a long shot even to Henson.
Around the time he was in middle school, Henson's mother and father got divorced. Since then, he and his twin sister Kim have had little contact with their father.
The 6-3, 248 pound athlete with a shiny bald head rubbed his hairless dome with his big hands as he spoke of his childhood, perhaps out of nervousness or simply because it allowed him to look away. "My mother raised me by herself, so she had to sacrifice a lot for me and my twin sister. I realize a lot more now than I did then of what she went through for us. I just know it was hard for her, but she was always there," he said, then took his hands away and pulled his head back up, his eyes sparkling. "The most rewarding part about all of this is making her proud. She just glows, and I can't tell you how that makes me feel. She comes to all the games; she's still always there," he said with a grin.
Judy Henson said she understood the struggles her son would have from growing into a man without a man in the house to watch over him, so she made sure that Jeff always had a positive male figure in his life. His high school coach, Tyrone Lucas, would take him home after football practice, his old Little League coach would call him just to talk with him, and his uncle, Doug Magnus, was there whenever Jeff needed him. "I wanted him to have a good father figure in his life because I knew there was only so much I could do," Judy said.
At West Hall High School in Gainesville, Henson grew into a versatile athlete who could play every position at defense, despite his size. As a 5'10 senior,
Henson received letters from Valdosta State University and Clemson University, but decided instead to put college on hold. "I just wasn't mature enough to handle it," he said. "My study habits weren't the greatest coming out of high school, and I knew if I did the same thing in college, I wouldn't last. I wanted to go to college to excel, not just to say I was in college."
The summer after his 2001 graduation, Henson got his real estate license and worked for three years in Gainesville for Keller Williams Realty and Jack Waldrip Real Estate. When Jeff was accepted at the University of Georgia, he began thinking what some might say was the impossible. Henson called Coach Joe Tereshinski to talk about walking on to the Georgia football team and after a few minutes of discussing the positions Henson once played, Tereshinski invited Henson to come meet with him. "I sat in the parking lot of the Coliseum for, like, two hours waiting for him to call. That didn't help with the nerves," Henson said. Tereshinski did call, however, and the two met at the Butts-Mehre building at 8 o'clock that night. "I could tell when he saw me get out of the car that he was a little surprised by my size. After talking a while, he said they needed a snapper, that he thought I had the size to play at this level and invited me to come in the
next week to try out, so I was pumped," Henson said.
The try-out Henson was going to be put through, however, was not what he expected. As the team gathered in the weight room to begin summer work - outs and the coaches filed in from their offices, Henson was told to start making snaps. "I was thinking, here? In the weight room? Everybody was just looking, I didn't know a soul besides Martrez [Milner], who I played high school ball with, and Coach T. I did it though," he said. And he did it well enough to earn a coveted invitation to camp.
Henson continued working with the punters and kickers throughout the summer. The Friday night before Georgia's first game of the season against Western Kentucky, he was pulled into Coach Mark Richt's office and was told that he was going to be the starter not only for the game, but for the season. The first phone call he made was to his mother.
"He just called me and said, 'Mom, I'm number one on the depth cart.' I said that was great, but I really had no idea what he was talking about," she said, laughing through a smile. "When I figured out what it meant, though, I said, 'Yeah, right.' Once he convinced me he was telling me the truth, I was just so excited," she said.
Henson has started every game of the 2006 season and plans to continue playing until his May 2008 graduation. He said he is considering going to graduate school and wants to further pursue real estate for a career.
"He's old, we give him a hard time," Georgia's punter, Gordon Ely-Kelso said with a laugh. "But he gets the job done, and he definitely deserves it. It's crazy how he got here, but he's here," he said. Georgia tight end Martrez Milner, Henson's high school and now college teammate, said he feels the same way. "He's a hard worker, he always has been. If you know Jeff, you just always know he's going to do something with himself," Milner said.
"At the [Vanderbilt] game, we were sitting in the end zone while they were warming up and I see this big bald-headed guy walking towards us in gym shorts and a t-shirt," Judy said. "It took me a while to realize it was him. He was on the field, about to play for Georgia. For Georgia! He came over that hedge, hugged me and said, "I love you Mom.'" No surprises there.
Those who know Henson the best echo Whitmire's sentiments. As his mother, Judy, said, "It's Jeff. You never did know what was going to happen next, but you were never surprised."
Surprising or not, to say that Henson's path is atypical would be an understatement. Most walk-ons come to a Division 1 A team as 18 year-old freshmen, and even out of those who stick with it, few get strong playing time during their college careers. "The rest of the walk-ons told me they had to try out the year before, so when I kind of just showed up and got the starting spot, you know, I wasn't really sure how I was going to be received and if people were going to take me seriously," Henson said. "With players you have to earn their respect, and with me just coming in and getting the spot it seemed like it would be even harder for me than it was for the other guys, but during practices and games and everything I think I've proven that I deserve it and they're cool with me."
For many football players growing up in Georgia, playing for the Bulldogs would be like winning the lottery. Henson is no exception. "It's hard to explain, I've been in the stands, dreaming about what it would be like to play on that field, looking at all the helmets in the end zone, the team running out of the tunnel with the band playing. It just hits me every once in a while that I'm playing for the University of Georgia," the Gainesville, Georgia, native said. Making his way to that dream, however, seemed like a long shot even to Henson.
Around the time he was in middle school, Henson's mother and father got divorced. Since then, he and his twin sister Kim have had little contact with their father.
The 6-3, 248 pound athlete with a shiny bald head rubbed his hairless dome with his big hands as he spoke of his childhood, perhaps out of nervousness or simply because it allowed him to look away. "My mother raised me by herself, so she had to sacrifice a lot for me and my twin sister. I realize a lot more now than I did then of what she went through for us. I just know it was hard for her, but she was always there," he said, then took his hands away and pulled his head back up, his eyes sparkling. "The most rewarding part about all of this is making her proud. She just glows, and I can't tell you how that makes me feel. She comes to all the games; she's still always there," he said with a grin.
Judy Henson said she understood the struggles her son would have from growing into a man without a man in the house to watch over him, so she made sure that Jeff always had a positive male figure in his life. His high school coach, Tyrone Lucas, would take him home after football practice, his old Little League coach would call him just to talk with him, and his uncle, Doug Magnus, was there whenever Jeff needed him. "I wanted him to have a good father figure in his life because I knew there was only so much I could do," Judy said.
At West Hall High School in Gainesville, Henson grew into a versatile athlete who could play every position at defense, despite his size. As a 5'10 senior,
Henson received letters from Valdosta State University and Clemson University, but decided instead to put college on hold. "I just wasn't mature enough to handle it," he said. "My study habits weren't the greatest coming out of high school, and I knew if I did the same thing in college, I wouldn't last. I wanted to go to college to excel, not just to say I was in college."
The summer after his 2001 graduation, Henson got his real estate license and worked for three years in Gainesville for Keller Williams Realty and Jack Waldrip Real Estate. When Jeff was accepted at the University of Georgia, he began thinking what some might say was the impossible. Henson called Coach Joe Tereshinski to talk about walking on to the Georgia football team and after a few minutes of discussing the positions Henson once played, Tereshinski invited Henson to come meet with him. "I sat in the parking lot of the Coliseum for, like, two hours waiting for him to call. That didn't help with the nerves," Henson said. Tereshinski did call, however, and the two met at the Butts-Mehre building at 8 o'clock that night. "I could tell when he saw me get out of the car that he was a little surprised by my size. After talking a while, he said they needed a snapper, that he thought I had the size to play at this level and invited me to come in the
next week to try out, so I was pumped," Henson said.
The try-out Henson was going to be put through, however, was not what he expected. As the team gathered in the weight room to begin summer work - outs and the coaches filed in from their offices, Henson was told to start making snaps. "I was thinking, here? In the weight room? Everybody was just looking, I didn't know a soul besides Martrez [Milner], who I played high school ball with, and Coach T. I did it though," he said. And he did it well enough to earn a coveted invitation to camp.
Henson continued working with the punters and kickers throughout the summer. The Friday night before Georgia's first game of the season against Western Kentucky, he was pulled into Coach Mark Richt's office and was told that he was going to be the starter not only for the game, but for the season. The first phone call he made was to his mother.
"He just called me and said, 'Mom, I'm number one on the depth cart.' I said that was great, but I really had no idea what he was talking about," she said, laughing through a smile. "When I figured out what it meant, though, I said, 'Yeah, right.' Once he convinced me he was telling me the truth, I was just so excited," she said.
Henson has started every game of the 2006 season and plans to continue playing until his May 2008 graduation. He said he is considering going to graduate school and wants to further pursue real estate for a career.
"He's old, we give him a hard time," Georgia's punter, Gordon Ely-Kelso said with a laugh. "But he gets the job done, and he definitely deserves it. It's crazy how he got here, but he's here," he said. Georgia tight end Martrez Milner, Henson's high school and now college teammate, said he feels the same way. "He's a hard worker, he always has been. If you know Jeff, you just always know he's going to do something with himself," Milner said.
"At the [Vanderbilt] game, we were sitting in the end zone while they were warming up and I see this big bald-headed guy walking towards us in gym shorts and a t-shirt," Judy said. "It took me a while to realize it was him. He was on the field, about to play for Georgia. For Georgia! He came over that hedge, hugged me and said, "I love you Mom.'" No surprises there.
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