Receiver Henry shows off skills

By Ryan Wood     Apr 16, 2007

With his long frame, decent speed and experience, Kansas University senior Marcus Henry made it look so easy out there Sunday.

Henry, one of KU’s starting wide receivers, had six catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns in KU’s spring game, won by the Blue team, 48-0, at Memorial Stadium.

“I did an interview a few weeks ago, and I told them that Marcus was going to be our go-to guy,” cornerback Aqib Talib said. “He backed me up today. He is going to be a beast this year.”

If Henry develops into the go-to receiver, he’ll be the first main man with legitimate size for the Jayhawks since Brandon Rideau three years ago. At 6-foot-4, Henry has the length and height to make easy plays where others would have difficulty.

Sunday’s stat line more than proved that.

“It was just plays that opened up,” the soft-spoken Henry said. “Coach (Ed) Warinner was calling some good plays out there. That pretty much was it.”

Henry caught touchdown passes of 29 and 38 yards from quarterback Kerry Meier, shaking off a few tackles by the sideline before entering the end zone. He also had a 56-yard score from quarterback Todd Reesing in which he outran the secondary.

Henry nearly had one more in the second half, but good coverage from Phillip Strozier on a fade route broke up the pass in the end zone.

“Every year he’s gotten better and better and better,” KU coach Mark Mangino said of Henry. “This is his last year here, and he wants to finish strong. He’s worked at it.”

Henry was an impact player in 2006, particularly early on. He caught 25 balls for 316 yards, scoring touchdowns in three of KU’s first four games. As the season progressed, though, more of the passes started going to Dexton Fields and Brian Murph.

This year, Henry is ticketed to line up in isolation as the X-receiver, a spot Mangino thinks is perfect for him. Meier is starting to notice the fit, too.

“With him being backside of most formations, a lot of times you can catch him one-on-one, and with his great leaping ability and his size, you can take advantage,” Meier said. “He’s been great so far.”

Sunday’s scrimmage was merely proof of what he could do. But this fall will be the final chance for Henry to show what he WILL do.

“I think,” Mangino said, “he’s going to have a big year.”

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