Jason Priester All Clemson
As He Embarks On NFL Career, KJ Henry Grateful for Crock Pot Mentality at Clemson
DANIA BEACH, FL.- Count KJ Henry among those that are happy Dabo Swinney runs a developmental program at Clemson.
Henry, who announced on Wednesday that he would be entering the NFL Draft, was a member of the Tigers' 2018 recruiting class. However, while he was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school, Henry was one of those players that needed some time to acclimate to playing at the collegiate level.
Henry approached Swinney after his fourth appearance during his freshman season and asked to be redshirted, telling the head coach he knew he wasn't where he needed to be from a strength standpoint.
In today's landscape, doing so at another school might have meant a head coach going to the portal. At Clemson, though, where Swinney has routinely called the Tigers a developmental program, Henry is grateful for what the head coach has referred to in the past as a "crock pot" mentality.
"I know it seems unique in today's world when right now the portal is just the new high school recruitment and all the high school recruits are kind of second fiddle, but Coach Swinney, he's gonna stick to what he loves and what he knows and I'd say he's doing a pretty good job," Henry said.
During his five-year career, Henry has continuously grown as a player, while saving his best for last. This season Henry earned second-team All-ACC honors and was named a third-team All-American by Pro Football Focus after registering 59 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a pass breakup. He was also responsible for 29 QB hurries during his career year.
Although, Henry readily admits that somewhere else, he might not have gotten the same opportunity to shine so late in his career and the chance to be developed was one of the primary reasons why he chose to attend Clemson, to begin with.
"That's one of the reasons I committed to this program and one of the many reasons I love about (Swinney) today," Henry said. "It's never been an issue for myself. I'm a developmental guy. And I know the way I've come up through this process, I appreciate that he didn't go in the portal and just say 'KJ, you just gonna keep waiting your turn.' I wouldn't be sitting here today if he made that decision."
Swinney has stated many times over the years that what he has built at Clemson is about more than football. That the goal is to develop men on and off the field, and it's that kind of philosophy that helped allow Henry to not only excel on the field late in his career but also earn two degrees in the process.
"That's decisions he's having to make with the actual lives of kids that he's committed to," Henry said. "So when it comes to that, I appreciate him being at the forefront and standing up for the guys that he's committed himself to. Because it makes all the difference in the world and allows us to grow in this program and become better throughout this program."
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