It was back to business as usual for Chris Henry yesterday.
The newest addition to the Tennessee Titans’ backfield flew back to Tucson on Monday, two days after being taken 50th overall in the NFL Draft, and went back to class to finish the school year.
But he won’t be stuck in the desert heat for long.
The Titans will get their first look at the former Arizona running back in Titan blue when he is introduced tomorrow at rookie camp in Nashville.
“”I’m ready to go out to Tennessee and play,”” Henry said. “”I can’t wait. They’ve got great running backs out there. I’m going to go out there and look to contribute as soon as possible. It seems like I always do.
“”I’m a hell of a competitor and I always rise to my competition and rise above it. I did it here, and I’m going to do it in the NFL.””
Henry will go back to Arizona after the weekend and will head back to Tennessee for training camp May 16.
Henry looked back at the past few months and laughed thinking about all the critics who suggested he was making the wrong move forgoing his senior season to enter the draft.
“”I don’t really care about proving anybody wrong,”” Henry said. “”It seems like a lot of critics at Arizona are idiots. They don’t make any sense. They’re not paid to criticize people, scrutinize people or to look at film like an NFL scout or head coach is.
“”Teams don’t draft players who aren’t going to help you, point blank. I’ve been picked to an NFL team, so I really don’t care too much about what anybody said.””
When asked if he had any particular reason to leave Arizona, besides not receiving much respect and seeing a new offense installed, Henry said he simply felt like it was his time to go to the NFL.
“”I felt like there was nothing more I could do at the University of Arizona and on the college level, and I wanted to excel and compete at the highest level of competition in football,”” Henry said.
“”It’s funny because everyone was like ‘OK, I wasn’t good enough to play here.’ So I’m like, ‘All right, I’m not good enough to play here, then I’m gonna go to the NFL,’ “” he added. “”As soon as I leave, they’re like, ‘He shouldn’t have left.’
“”I do what I have to do, and I came out on top, and I’m in the NFL, so I’m not worried about it.””
Henry said he had not looked at the Titans’ schedule, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out about a Monday Night Football matchup that pits two former Arizona running backs against each other. Mike Bell and the Denver Broncos will host Henry and the Titans on Nov. 19.
Following years of chasing Bell on the college depth chart, Henry said he would love to have the last laugh on the national level.
“”I look forward to it. It’s going to be a great game,”” Henry said. “”It’s going to be nice. We’ll see who does well and who does better. It’s going to be a competition.””
