‘He would begin at every college in America today’:

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterJul 12, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Close Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.NEARLY 15 YEARS have

passed since Chris Henry last stepped foot on a football field prior to his tragic death in December 2009. Some mornings at Southern California’s Golden West College, T.J. Houshmandzadeh still catches glimpses of the tall, reserved wide receiver he once understood throughout their playing careers with the Cincinnati Bengals.On the grass, there’s a slim 16-year-old pass catcher who runs just like Henry did when he emerged as a downfield favorite of Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer in the mid-2000s. There’s something familiar in the method the kid drops his weight and runs his long, slender frame. At 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, the young wide receiver plucks loses consciousness of the air with the grace of a power forward skyrocketing for a rebound, boxing out opposing defensive backs.Everything Houshmandzadeh sees when he sees Chris Henry Jr.,

one of the top prospects in the high school class of 2026, he has seen before.” [Houshmandzadeh will]

just be struck by how comparable I am to my papa,”Henry, the No. 2 player in the ESPN Junior 300, informed ESPN. “We’ll just be reminiscing and stuff like that. It’s reassurance for me.”Houshmandzadeh remembers plenty about”

Slim,”the quiet colleague he comprehended much better than many did. And its stories like the ones Houshmandzadeh can now tell Henry, in between associates on the field at Golden West, that have actually helped one of the nation’s most appealing potential customers familiarize a dad he hardly understood while charting his own rise to football stardom.Henry is behind just luxury defensive end Jahkeem Stewart in ESPN’s 2026 player rankings. He is the No. 1 pass receiver and among only nine first-class employees in the 2026 cycle. Chris Henry Jr. committed to Ohio State in July of 2023. Michael O’Leary

Devoted to Ohio State considering that July 2023, Henry stands among the highest-rated dedicates in program history, anticipated to show up in Columbus in 2 years as the next pass receiver in the Buckeyes’ recent pipeline of elite pass catchers, dripping in all the very same hype that followed Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. before him. Even as Henry prepares to check out Oregon and LSU this summertime, he stays firm in his commitment to come to Ohio State in 2026.

Now surrounded by elite talent in Southern California after moving to powerhouse Mater Dei High School, Henry is preferably positioned for the kind of development he’ll need to carve his tradition when he comes to Ohio State. As he embarks on a brand-new chapter, Henry looks ahead, spurred not only by a dream and the memory of a dad he knows through stories and emphasize reel goals, but likewise the hands of 2 former teammates who knew his daddy best.

“I think everyone in his life wishes to see Chris Henry Jr. play on Sundays,” Mater Dei pass receivers coach James Griffin stated. “The kid has everything– he’s just like his daddy. He’s working his butt off to be elite like that every day.”

HENRY LANDED AT Mater Dei in January after 2 years living with Adam “Pacman” Jones in Ohio, one of his dad’s old West Virginia colleagues. The 13-year NFL veterinarian regaled Henry with many stories of Chris Henry, the great and the bad. The subsequent relocate to California that landed Henry at Mater Dei, his mother, Loleini Tonga stated, was a “leap of faith” tied to family and a growth of her home health care business.The move unquestionably fits Henry football aspirations, too, getting here simply as the critical years of his gridiron development entered focus.Henry prospered in Ohio, where he invested his freshman year at West Clermont High School, before jumping to Withrow as a sophomore, setting a school record with 1,127 receiving lawns on 71 catches with 10 touchdowns in his only season on campus. At Mater Dei, he’s attending his third school in as many years, competing along with, and versus, a higher quality of skill than he’s ever seen on a football field.The Monarchs’roster this fall consists of six elders ranked inside the ESPN 300.

Mater Dei’s junior class includes another five ESPN 300 potential customers, led by Henry and top-30 offensive tackle Kodi Greene. Chris Henry Jr. might push to be the No. 1 player in the class. Under Armour When Henry runs paths in practice, he’s breaking Penn State commit Daryus Dixson or Alabama dedicate Chuck

McDonald III with a pair of linebackers, Nasir Wyatt and Abduall Sanders Jr. bound for Oregon and Alabama, respectively, waiting over the middle. And the Monarchs’schedule will permit Henry to contend against the country’s top skill with matches versus fellow national powers, consisting of Bishop Gorman(Nevada), Kahuku( Hawaii )and Southern California competing St. John Bosco.”It’s a night and day distinction for Chris, “Griffin stated.”He’s going to get the best games he can get up until he can get to college. That’s the preparation for a caliber kid like himself.” Henry considers the brand-new surroundings an invited challenge. He knows the basic inside Brian Hartline’s wide receivers room at Ohio State and designs his game for a program that has had actually four receivers prepared in the first round in the past 3 NFL drafts.”I’m trying to go to Ohio State and to be a guy,”Henry said.”I’m trying to go there and play, just reveal what I’m able to do from the start. I’m here to prepare myself for the next

level.”NOT LONG AFTER Henry arrived in California, Houshmandzadeh discovered that the son of his previous colleague was suddenly living 15 minutes away, so he fired off a text to Henry and made the household a simple

offer:”If y’ all need help, I’m here to assist you.” Some days at Golden West, Henry trains with the wide receiver corps from Oregon. On others, he’ll capture passes from Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Throughout a session with Houshmandzadeh, the 11-year NFL vet who coaches several pro receivers in the offseasons, Henry is as likely to work along with Indianapolis Colts’Michael Pittman Jr. and Detroit Lions ‘Amon-Ra St. Brown– 2 of the game’s highest-paid wide receivers– as he is to face some of the leading passers in the sport such as Jalen Injures, Josh Allen, Bryce Young and Dak Prescott on Houshmandzadeh’s list of routine clients.Among the pros and leading college talents who pertain to learn from Houshmandzadeh at Golden West, Henry seldom appears out of place.Editor’s Picks 1 Related”He would start at every college in America right now and he still has two years remaining in high school,” Houshmandzadeh stated.” That’s how legit he is.”Henry has actually been dealing with Houshmandzadeh since April, enough time for the previous Pro Bowler to see that Henry moves like receivers his size seldom do. Ditto for the suddenness Henry flashes when he cuts out of a route.” I saw Calvin Johnson reside in the flesh. And I saw Larry Fitzgerald. I saw Chris ‘daddy, too,”Griffin stated. “To see someone like him with

that long frame relocation and leave a cut like he can, I resembled,’ Wow.’He’s Plaxico Burress mixed with Calvin Johnson and a bit of Charles Rogers when he was at Michigan State. He is freaking unique, brother.”Houshmandzadeh comprehends the contrasts. He saw all sides of the older Henry.A fifth-year pro by the time Chris Henry was drafted in the third round out of West Virginia, Houshmandzadeh viewed him burn brilliant on the field, hauling in 15 touchdowns across his very first two seasons in the NFL. However Houshmandzadeh saw Henry battle, too. He was detained 5 times in four years and dealt with a series of league suspensions from 2005 to 2008. Around the same time, Henry was constructing a family with Tonga in the middle of the off-field trouble clouding his football career.With Tonga and a growing household in your home, coaches and colleagues saw Henry turning a corner. Then, on Dec. 17, 2009, Houshmandzadeh stood in front of a television in Seattle, devastated.How the ESPN 300 fit with their new groups How will Ellis Robinson IV, the leading total player and the rest of the class fit with new groups? We break them down (ESPN +). QBs”| RBs “| WRs”| OL “DBs”| DL/DEs”|

Pounds “ESPN 300 rankings “The night in the past, Henry and Tonga had actually entered into an argument at a household home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tonga drove off in a pickup truck; Henry delved into the truck’s bed, then toppled out of

it. Medical professionals pronounced him dead at Carolinas Medical Center at 6:36 a.m. on Dec. 17, leaving three kids, including two-year-old Chris Jr., behind.A medical examiner validated that Chris Henry, 26, passed away of blunt force trauma to the head. “I believe Chris was grossly misunderstood as a person,

“Houshmandzadeh told the Springfield News-Sun(Ohio)two days after Henry’s death. “… I understood a various Chris Henry than his public personality would show.”A years and a half later, Chris Henry Jr. carries all the exact same prospective his daddy possessed however never got to totally realize, maybe even more of it. On the field at Golden West, Houshmandzadeh will watch his former colleague’s kid train and contemplate the chance being in front of Henry Jr.”T.J. was a coach to Chris when

he came to the Bengals,”Tonga said.”It’s almost the same circumstance now. For my child, T.J. is one of his individuals that he can rely on.”That matters as Henry Jr. looks down a future in college football with enormous name, image and likeness capacity

. Signed with representative David Mulugheta considering that May, brand name deals such as the one Henry Jr. signed with Adidas last month are just the start. In five years, Houshmandzadeh is positive Henry Jr. will be a top-five NFL draft choice.” From a professional viewpoint, it’s a company for him,”Houshmandzadeh said.”You have to approach it as such.

Your business is your body and you have to maximize it. I want to see him Man-Man– as they call him– succeed. If I can play a part in maximizing that, I’m willing to do it. “WHEN OHIO STATE used Henry in June 2022, whatever changed. The calls came more frequently. More deals rolled in.Over the next two years, attention was continuous as Henry cemented himself as one of the leading employees in his class. It was among the numerous times when he may have wished to lean on his daddy for perspective.Instead, as the

family browsed the recruiting procedure, it turned to among Chris Henry’s previous teammates.Pacman Jones shared a bond with Henry from their earliest days together at West Virginia in the early 2000s. After Henry’s death, he ended up being “Uncle Pac”to his previous teammate’s kids, hosting them for Thanksgivings and trips to Cincinnati. When Henry Jr. ended up being a nationally coveted prospect, Jones felt an urge to assist and pitched Tonga on moving her two

sons to live with him in Ohio.Tonga saw worth in what Jones might supply her kids in a formative moment, so the kids relocated with Jones, his better half, Tishana, and their four children ahead of Henry’s freshman year. In Cincinnati, Jones pressed Henry’s kids just like he pressed Henry at West Virginia. He presented Henry and his bro, DeMarcus, a class of 2027 basketball

possibility, to elite training. And while Henry fielded offers from the leading programs in the country, Jones was a crucial player in browsing the recruitment through Henry Jr.’s dedication to Ohio State. Henry household Contrary to other reports, Jones never officially adopted the young boys. However, Tonga, who joined her kids in Ohio quickly after the relocation, still thinks about Jones part of the family nucleus.” I seem like Uncle Pac helped him a lot, “stated Henry’s older sis, Seini, a freshman basketball player at Ohio State.”He was the dad figure guiding Chris through all of that things.”Jones had crucial wisdom. A lot more most importantly, Pacman had stories about Chris Henry, the kind of memories that for Chris Henry Jr. keep a daddy who passed almost 15 years ago still alive.Henry heard them from his mama and grandmother growing up in North Carolina. They told tales of a peaceful sweetie and legendary prankster. In Ohio, Jones might spin a yarn on his and Henry’s wild times at West Virginia. In California, Houshmandzadeh tells Henry Jr. stories about enjoying his father become a male in Cincinnati.Another link from dad to child comes through the highlights Henry left behind. Every other week or two, he will being in bed scouring YouTube for the familiar clips of his papa torching opposing defenses. An 83-yard rating versus Rutgers. A grab over Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. Chris Henry’s very first career goal. A 67-yard dash against Syracuse.From a vault of big plays, Chris Henry Jr.’s preferred emphasize is one of his father’s most basic, a game-winning rating in a 19-16 overtime victory over Maryland on Sept. 18, 2004. Henry runs a slant into the end zone and transports

in a seven-yard pass from Rasheed Marshall. West Virginia’s Milan Puskar Arena emerges and Henry launches the ball into the air. As Henry Jr. sees No. 5 in blue and gold indulge in the scene before a mob of teammates gets here to commemorate, his daddy is a hero.”I just picture myself there,”Chris Henry Jr. said.”I

see myself in those minutes. I see myself in those videos. I see myself in him.”