5-star DE KJ Henry says he’d consider signing with school that hires his dad
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Alabama recently backed off its pursuit of 5-star 2018 DE KJ Henry, which seemed like a strange move, as schools don’t generally do that when recruiting elite athletes.
However, a wrinkle with Henry’s eventual decision could have been what caused the Crimson Tide to back off of him.
According to The State, Henry said that if any of his top-five schools — Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia Tech — were to hire his father, Keith Henry, he’d give them even stronger consideration:
“Out of my five schools, if my dad were to end up anywhere, obviously that’s what he loves to do and he is part of my family and I like all five schools enough to where that could be a big decision coming forward,” Henry said. “It’s nothing where it is an analyst type deal or anything like that, but if he could go in and coach that would be big.
“At the same time, we have already talked about that. He is not pressuring me like if he were to get a job he’s letting every coach know that doesn’t ensure that I’m committing there. It’s still my decision, but it is definitely something I think about.”
Keith is currently the running backs coach at Charlotte, so he has experience coaching at the collegiate level.
Whether any of the teams mentioned decide to hire Keith Henry remains to be seen, but KJ has made it clear he’ll give a team that hires his dad preferential treatment.
According to the 247Sports composite, Henry is the No. 3 weak-side defensive end in the class of 2018 and the No. 2 overall recruit from the state of North Carolina.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
