If there’s ever been a baptism by fire, redshirt freshman and backup quarterback Mike Henig received one two weeks ago.
With his team trailing in the second quarter and its starting quarterback lying on the ground in pain, Henig was asked to step in and steer the much maligned Bulldog offense in front of 90,000 orange-and-blue-clad Florida Gator fans.
Welcome to the Southeastern Conference, rookie.
“It was exciting,” Henig said. “It was a bad circumstance to be playing because Omarr was hurt, but I think really it was the best thing for me.
That’s the hardest place to play in the country, and they have the fastest defense, so I don’t think there’s much worse I could expect,” Henig said.
Henig did an admirable job keeping the Bulldogs in the contest until late in the third quarter.
He completed nine of his 20 passes, throwing for 119 yards and led the offense down the field for a couple of critical drives.
However, he did make several key errors down the stretch, allowing himself to be sacked for a loss four times, once for a safety.
“I got hit a couple of times; I got bruised up a little bit,” Henig laughed. “But I look at it as a positive. Even though we lost, now I can see things at game speed. Now I know how fast I have to get the ball off.”
Though his appearance ended in the Bulldogs’ third straight loss, placing their record at a paltry 2-4 at the midpoint of the season, head coach Sylvester Croom seems generally impressed with the freshman’s ability to handle himself in such a difficult and unexpected situation.
“It was good (that Henig got to play) for us,” Croom said. “I thought he hung in there very well against one of the better teams in the country. At times he didn’t have a lot of protection, but he did good things. It gives us more confidence in him as we go forward.”
Henig seems well suited to become a key player in Sylvester Croom’s West Coast system. He is a pocket passer with a crisp delivery, able to hit a receiver on a quick slant or a 40-yard fly with equal accuracy. Croom has said previously of his young star that he has an NFL-caliber arm.
However, on the Mississippi State football squad, raw talent is no substitute for experience and poise, two things the freshman currently lacks.
“Being disciplined in his progressions and reads is the number one thing right now,” Croom said. “He’s getting better, but he’s still got a ways to go. He’s making the right decisions.”
Croom hinted that he would like to work Henig into the offense more in the future but declined to say how much or when, saying he didn’t want to paint himself into a corner.