Mike Henig was hungry to get back on the field after breaking his collarbone in the Bulldogs’ season opener against South Carolina.
But not like this.
Henig came into last Saturday’s game against West Virginia after starting quarterback Omarr Conner went out with a severe groin injury.
The Bulldogs lost thirdstring quarterback Tray Rutland later in the game with a torn ACL and MCL. Rutland is out for the remainder of the season, and Conner is out indefinitely.
“It’s a bad thing that I’m having to be called back to start,” Henig said. “I feel bad for Omarr. If I could trade places with him I would. But things happen for a reason, and sometimes we don’t know what that reason is.”
Henig will start Saturday in the Bulldogs’ Homecoming game against Jacksonville State, and says he thinks the time off for his injury may actually have helped him from a preparation standpoint.
“Getting those couple of weeks off, I felt like I was fresher,” Henig said. “I’ve been in all the meetings, and so I was up to date on everything. I came out and felt really poised in the huddle and on the field.”
Henig was 7-for-15 for 115 against West Virginia and showed little rust from his layoff.
He threw two interceptions-one on a tipped ball, the other on a bobble by the receiver-but impressed both his coaches and the crowd with his ability to move the perpetually-struggling offense up and down the field.
“I was pleasantly surprised for him to be that effective in a game,” head coach Sylvester Croom said, “because when he first came back, the first few passes he threw-it was not a thing of beauty. Then last week in practice he looked good. There’s a big difference in practice and a game, but he was firing away.”
The Bulldogs had a season high in first downs Saturday, a stat that can be equally attributed to both Henig and the team’s improved cohesiveness at the wide receiver position.
“We made some plays at wide receiver last week that we hadn’t been making,” Croom said. “As these guys continue, we should only get better.”
“By catching balls, we give Mike more confidence,” junior Tony Burks said. “We plan on turning things around as a group and as a team.”
Henig will be backed up on Saturday by freshman Ty Evans.
Behind Evans will be walk-on Zach Harrington, putting the already banged up Bulldogs in a scary position should something happen to Henig.
“I’m not going to lie about it, I’m going to be scared,” Croom said. “I don’t want Mike to play scared, but I’m going to be playing scared. I’m telling the offensive line ‘whatever you’ve got to do, don’t let Mike get touched.'”
“We just try to keep [defenders] off him,” senior lineman Brian Anderson said. “There’ll be a little extra emphasis on that this week.”