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Henne Practices? Don’t Get Too Excited
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Leave a CommentAfter saying that Chad Henne was out for the Penn State game yesterday, this news leaves me wanting to retract that statement to an extent.
Freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett is still listed as the University of Michigan’s starter for the Penn State game, but senior Chad Henne could rejoin practice – at least in limited fashion – this afternoon, according to coach Lloyd Carr.“We’re going to go out here (to practice) in a couple of hours,” Carr said on the Big Ten’s conference call today. “I wouldn’t be surprised if (Henne) took some snaps. We’ll have to see what goes on beyond that.”
Chad Henne might practice? Could he play Saturday? To borrow a phrase from Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. I truly believe that Carr is just saying this as a smokescreen to keep Penn State guessing. Henne was originally said to be out for 2-3 weeks, and rumblings were that it could really be even more than that. Regardless, don’t expect to see Henne play against Penn State.
Although I normally can’t stand when coaches blatantly avoid the truth in certain situations, I like what Carr is doing if he is just trying to confuse Penn State. A defensive gameplan would be different for a 4-year starter compared to a true freshman. Although it may not be that noticeable, PSU would be more apt to blitz all the time against Mallett rather than than Henne simply due to Ryan’s lack of in-game experience. What Carr does makes sure PSU is prepared for both, and at the very least, puts the thought in the Nittany Lions’ minds that there’s a chance Henne could play.
I would be shocked if Henne was the QB for Saturday, but don’t be too surprised if he is out on the field warming up. It would continue the smokescreen and again leaves Penn State wondering. Warming up is different than playing in an actual game, though, so it’d be surprising if Chad was the starter. Call me stupid all you want if my expectations turn out to be false and Henne does play, but hey, he probably gives us a better chance to win, so it won’t bother me too much.
