At Cook High on Wednesday, Travin Henry signed his letter-of-intent with Georgia Tech and celebrated with family, teammates, coaches and friends. At Tech, fans gathered on signing day watched his highlights and marveled at a one-handed catch made as he fell backward.
Tech coaches believe they’ve uncovered a jewel. Henry, who coaches hope will follow in the school’s nascent tradition of big wide receivers, is relieved to have been found.
“I was very blessed to be able to go play college ball, Division I ball,” he said. “I’m feeling really good.”
As recently as mid-January, Henry held three scholarship offers from FCS schools and one from Middle Tennessee State. Nothing to scoff at, but Henry and his coaches believed he could reach higher. Henry, 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, resigned himself to the possibility that his ticket might not arrive.
“I was a little down, but I knew that I was still fortunate enough to play college ball,” he said. “I was still going to make the best of it and enjoy playing.”
Even at a time when high schools email video highlights to colleges and recruiting websites offer evaluations of hundreds of prospects nationally, Henry was still under the radar. Being at a Class AA school in South Georgia played a role. Cook is in Adel, about 25 miles north of Valdosta along I-75.
College recruiters “just don’t make the rural areas a priority unless you’ve got a big-name kid,” Cook coach Ken Cofer said.
The fact that Henry switched to wide receiver from defensive end for his senior season probably didn’t help, either. Colleges often make decisions on scholarship offers based on video from prospects’ junior seasons. Last fall, Henry piled up a school-record 987 receiving yards on 59 catches, but it didn’t draw much attention. Tech assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Andy McCollum, however, noticed.
“This guy’s kind of an unsung guy,” McCollum told fans Wednesday at Tech’s signing-day event. “And we kind of wanted to keep it that way.”
The Jackets entered the fray late, after wide receiver Stephen Hill jumped to the NFL in early January. Cofer said McCollum told him that Tech wide receivers coach Buzz Preston “went berserk” when he showed him Henry’s highlight tape.
In the final weeks before signing day, Memphis, Kentucky and Vanderbilt also began to show interest and tried to bring Henry in for official visits. On Jan. 25, the Wednesday before the final weekend before signing day, two Memphis coaches went to Cook hoping to persuade Henry to visit campus.
After the coaches left, Henry and Cofer walked to the parking lot to pick up a trophy from Cofer’s truck. McCollum called with an invitation for an official visit. Cofer was hesitant. He didn’t want Henry to use his last visit if he wasn’t going to receive an offer.
As the two listened on a speakerphone, McCollum made his scholarship offer.
“Needless to say, it was a very emotional moment for Travin and I,” Cofer said. “I was the one that broke down and cried a little bit, just because I’m so proud of him.”
Henry took the visit to Tech and committed. The day before signing day, a Florida coach checked in to gauge interest. The answer was no. Henry was going to be a Yellow Jacket.
“I know I can be a receiver that can block. I know I can help out in that offense,” he said. “And when they throw it, they throw it deep, and that’s the kind of receiver I am.”
Henry actually prefers defense, and Cofer believes he’s a good fit to play outside linebacker in Tech’s 3-4 defense. But it appears he’ll start out at wide receiver.
“The sky’s the limit for this guy,” McCollum said Wednesday. “We’ll be hearing some great things about Travin Henry.”
If so, they’ll be able to hear them even in Adel.
