THE ROSE BOWL : It Wasn’t an Easy Route for USC’s Henry : Two Scoring Catches Help Starter-Turned-Backup Make a Name for Himself

Until Friday in the Rose Bowl, Ken Henry had been just another guy, a college football player with no discernible last name and a career to match.

Oh, he had had the great expectations of many, especially playing at USC and in a high-profile position such as wide receiver. But expectations don’t translate into fame and fortune--or even Pacific 10 Conference all-star teams--as often as they dissolve into injuries and frustration.

On Sept. 26, in a game at California, Henry stretched way out to make a catch and came down on his right shoulder, dislocating it. There were eight games to go, maybe a ninth if the Trojans won a bowl bid, and for Henry, a fifth-year senior, the clock didn’t have a lot of ticks left.

As the doctors checked him out, he had a burning resolve to go on, not to mention the motivation of a possible pro football career.

“I thought I’d just ice it down and take it a little easy that next week, then go back out and play the next game,” Henry said.

But the doctors said he would have surgery, which he did that same night.

Suddenly, a season that he began as Rodney Peete’s main man--the starting wide receiver with a 37-inch vertical jump that prompted Peete to say he often just put it up because he knew Henry would come down with it--became a season on the brink.

And Henry didn’t like such a precarious perch.

“So I came back as fast as I could, probably too fast,” he said.

He missed games against Oregon, Oregon State and Washington, and returned, 28 days after his injury and surgery, to play against Notre Dame. He caught two passes against the Irish, but he wasn’t the same wide receiver that Ted Tollner had talked up as a potential all-conference player, maybe even an All-American.

“I was playing out there,” he said, “but my timing was off. My shoulder really wasn’t a factor, it didn’t hurt, but people who saw me play said I wasn’t stretching out like I used to, I wasn’t going after the ball like I could. It didn’t hurt, but subconsciously, I was protecting the shoulder.”

So Henry played a little, sat a lot. His starting split-end spot went to Erik Affholter, who suddenly was catching everything thrown within 10 yards of him. Against UCLA, when the Trojans stunned the heavily favored Bruins to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, Henry watched as Affholter caught the winning touchdown pass.

When USC Coach Larry Smith and his staff had to decide who their starting split end would be against Michigan State, it wasn’t a tough choice. Affholter was hot, and deserving of the spot. Henry, on the other hand, had caught just three passes since his return in the Notre Dame game Oct. 24. He was blanked against Washington State, Stanford and UCLA.

“When I saw I wasn’t in the starting lineup for today,” Henry said, “I decided to just go out and play. I figured, whatever happens, happens.”

What happened was that Henry caught two touchdown passes, both on spectacular plays. His scoring catches were USC’s offense after Quin Rodriguez’s opening-quarter field goal gave the Trojans a 3-0 lead. His scoring catches also tied a Rose Bowl record, making him 1 of 10 players in the 86-year history of the game to catch two touchdown passes.

Henry made his first catch on a second-and-9 from Michigan State’s 33-yard line with the Spartans leading, 14-3, and 5:26 elapsed in the third period. Peete, under heavy pressure, did exactly what he said he likes to do--he put it up and let Henry go get it.

The pass drifted nicely over the arms of Michigan State’s Harlan Barnett, and Henry tucked it away after a perfectly timed lunge at the two and continued into the end zone.

Then, midway through the final period, after the Trojans had retained possession with a gambling run by backup quarterback Kevin McLean on a fake field goal, Peete sent Henry wide left on second-and-10 from the MSU 22.

“I got out in my stance and I saw that they were in a man-to-man defense,” said Henry, who was matched with defensive back Derrick Reed. “That meant that, according to our plan going into the game, Peete would look to me. I ran a post pattern (slanting toward the right goal post.) I bent him (Reed) out and then looked back for the ball.

“But Peete hadn’t thrown it yet. He was about a second late, so when I saw it coming, I decided I better just concentrate on catching the ball and not worry about where my feet were.”

His feet were dangerously close to the end line of the end zone. College rules say that a pass is complete only if the receiver has possession and comes down with at least one foot in bounds. And Henry did that--barely.

“The first thing I did was look real fast for the official,” Henry said. “Then, when I saw his hands up, I was ready to celebrate. That’s one time when I sure wasn’t going to argue with the ref.”

Nor is Henry likely to argue with the way his career turned out. No, he wasn’t an All-American, or even All-Pac-10. But he went out on a high note, ringing in the new year in style.

Now, there is a Hula Bowl appearance later this month, plus the increased likelihood of a higher draft spot and a better chance at a pro career.

Indeed, Ken Henry may still be a guy with no discernible last name. But that’s no longer the case with his career.