Jag-Br - where is the morning advocate report?
:lol: Coming up. I'm ready to get my gear for the game.
Schiefelbein: Henderson?s hard work paying off
By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Aug 22, 2007 - Page: 1C
Nobody appreciates being a Southern wide receiver more than Mark Henderson.
He?s made that journey from the bottom to a place where he?s counted on to be a contributor. Twice.
This is the power of wanting it. And this is the power of doing what it takes to make that want come true.
Henderson was a skinny walk-on in 2005. Try 150 or so pounds stretched over a 6-foot-1 frame.
These days, he?s a lean, strong 170-175 pounds thanks to intense workouts at school and at a local YMCA and is starting to put polish to his game, as the starter at the ?Z? position, where he can use his speed.
What needs to be realized is Southern U. is usually stacked, as the Jaguars are again this season, with plenty of scholarship receivers.
Walk-ons don?t make this kind of climb often.
?He?s one of those exceptions, but he?s a kid that wants it,? said wide receivers coach Eric Dooley, who said Kentrell Plain, who started in 2001 and ?02, compares. ?When you want something and you go after it, the sky is the limit. It?s a tribute to his work ethic.?
Henderson had seven catches for 56 yards in the first four games last season and then had his breakthrough, five catches for 74 yards in the Bayou Classic.
That was supposed to be the start of big things, right?
Well, no and then yes.
No, because Henderson was held out of spring practice by the coaching staff.
Yes, because Henderson re-doubled his efforts in the wake of the situation.
?I believe everything happens for a reason,? Henderson said. ?For that to happen, I think it was a good thing because it made me a better player and a better person and made me understand more real-life situations."
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