Kevin Lerell Henry (; born October 23, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

who played eight seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. Henry was born in

Mound Bayou, Mississippi Mound Bayou is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 2,102 in 2000. It was founded as an independent black community in ...

, in 1968 and attended John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in that city. He then enrolled at Mississippi State University. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during his first year at the school and was ineligible as a sophomore after his

American College Test The ACT (; originally an abbreviation of American College Testing) Name changed in 1996. is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is administered by ACT, Inc., a for-profit organization of the same name. T ...

(ACT) score was invalidated. He first saw game action as a junior and led the team with six

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s. As a senior, he started seven games, but then sustained a tear in the

posterior cruciate ligament The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the Medial condyl ...

of his left knee. Despite the injury, he finished the 1992 season with 66 tackles and three sacks against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Henry was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (108th overall pick) of the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

. He played at the

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

position for the Steelers from 1993 to 2000, appearing in 116 NFL games, 81 of them as a starter. He tallied 74 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s, 14 sacks, and five recovered fumbles in his NFL career. His interception (and 38-yard return) of a

Drew Bledsoe Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for Washi ...

pass in December 1997 was referred to as the "immaculate interception." Henry is

cousins A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...

with former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

.Online World of Wrestling
/ref>

References

1968 births Living people People from Mound Bayou, Mississippi Players of American football from Bolivar County, Mississippi American football defensive ends Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Pittsburgh Steelers players 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensive-lineman-1960s-stub