Robert Wayne Henry, III (born January 26, 1990) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. He previously played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

. Henry attended Trinity Catholic High School in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, where he played both football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and competed in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. Henry led Trinity Catholic to two conference championships and a runner-up in the 2B State Championship game. He ended his

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career with over 4,300 total yards and 39 touchdowns. After his senior season, he moved on to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

where 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 ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. In his first collegiate appearance, Henry ran for 16-yards against Notre Dame. He would later assume the starting quarterback position after an injury to

Robert Marve Robert Eugene Marve (born February 10, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a high school player, Marve was named Florida's Mr. Football and member of ...

. His first career start was against Northwestern, which saw him lead the Boilermakers to a 20–17 win on the road led by his career high, 132 yards rushing. Henry went on to start 5 games for the season, with a 3-game set back, which he injured a finger on his throwing hand. Against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

he had a career-high running for 3 touchdowns. In the final game of the season against

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

he had a career-high 252 yard passing and 3 touchdown passes. He became the first Purdue quarterback to lead the Boilermakers in both passing and rushing yardage in the same season, with 996 passing yards and 547 yards rushing. After a starting quarterback battle in the off season, Henry was named the Boilermakers' starting quarterback for the 2011 season and was voted co-captain, but he tore the ACL in his right knee. With backup Marve still recovering from his own ACL injury, Caleb TerBush took over as the starting quarterback in their place. Henry returned in 2012, and was named the third-string quarterback behind TerBush and Marve. To get on the field, the Boilermakers used Henry as both a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and wide receiver, in addition to quarterbacking. Henry was named the starting quarterback for the Boilermakers during 2013 fall camp. Henry beat out true freshman, Danny Etling, and redshirt freshman,

Austin Appleby Austin Michael Appleby (born June 4, 1993) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He was most recently the wide receivers coach for UAB. He played college football at Purdue University from 2012 to 2015 for coaches Danny Hope an ...

. Henry started the first 5 games of the season for the Boilermakers, before being replaced just before halftime during their 5 game of the season by Etling. The week following Henry's removal from quarterback, he was moved to safety.

High school career

Henry went to Trinity Catholic High School in

. There he was coached by John Brantley, and was a Mr. Football finalist and first team all-state after passing for 2,600 yards and 24 touchdowns as senior, while rushing for 350 yards and six touchdowns. He led the Celtics to the 2B state championship game, but lost 21–17 to

Pahokee High School Pahokee High School (also known as Pahokee Junior Senior High School) is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is currently located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The Old Pahokee High School building on E. Main St. was added to ...

. As a result, he was named to Reebok Florida Phenoms third team. It wasn't clear if he would start as a junior, but he won the battle, and went on to pass for 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns while also rushing for 250 yards and five scores, while missing some time with a knee injury. He was a two-time all-county selection in football, and led his team to state finals his senior season. As a freshman and sophomore, he played

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, while

John Brantley John Brantley, IV (born March 3, 1989) is an American former football quarterback. He played college football at Florida from 2008 to 2011. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft but was released before ...

was at quarterback. He was a first team all-division his freshman and sophomore seasons. He also participated in basketball and track and field. Henry committed to

on July 23, 2008. He choose Purdue over football scholarships from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

and

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

College career

2009 season

In 2009, Henry sat for the season using his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) 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 ...

to learn head coach

Danny Hope Charles Daniel Hope (born January 7, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2003 to 2007, and Purdue University from 2009 to 2012, compiling a career colleg ...

's offense.

2010 season

The 2010 season began with Henry slated second on the depth chart behind transfer,

. However, Hope said that Henry would see playing time even if the game was still undecided. Against Notre Dame, Henry only got three carries for 16 yards. After a win against

, he was named the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

Freshman of the Week. He was named the team's Leonard Wilson Award winner (unselfishness and dedication). He was also the first Purdue quarterback in school history to lead the team in both rushing and passing yardage in a season. He completed 86 of 162 pass attempts (53.1 percent) for 996 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, while rushing for 547 yards and four touchdowns on 104 attempts (5.3 yards per carry). For the season, Henry appeared in 11 games, making seven starts in 2010.

2011 season

After a starting quarterback battle in the off season, Henry was named the Boilermakers' starting quarterback for the 2011 season, but he tore the ACL in his right knee. With backup Marve still recovering from his own ACL injury, Caleb TerBush took over as the starting quarterback in their place.

2012 season

Henry entered his junior season looking at splitting playing time with TerBush and Marve. With TerBush working mostly with the first team, he was expected to start the first game of the year, until it was announced (one hour prior to gametime) that he had been suspended and Marve was the starting quarterback. Henry was promoted to second string, seeing most of his action in the second half of play. Henry finished the day 7 for 9 passing for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. After not playing in the Notre Dame game, Henry was named the backup against

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

, as Marve was sidelined with his third ACL tear. Henry played a few plays in the second quarter, before seeing increased playing time in the 3rd quarter due to the Boilermakers large lead. Most of his plays came throwing the ball, as Coach Hope felt that was his largest area in need of improvement.

2013 season

With Marve and TerBush out of the mix due to graduation, and new Purdue head coach

Darrell Hazell Darrell Ivan Hazell (born April 14, 1964) is a former American football coach. Hazell has been a head coach twice, with Kent State from 2011 to 2012, and Purdue from 2013 to 2016. A native of Cinnaminson Township, New Jersey, Hazell graduated ...

, Henry entered fall camp with the Boilermakers competing with freshmen

Danny Etling Daniel Patrick Etling (born July 22, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and LSU Tigers, and was selected ...

and

for Purdue's starting quarterback spot. Two weeks before the regular season opener at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Hazell named Henry Purdue's starting quarterback.

Statistics

As of the end of the 2013 regular season, Henry's statistics are as follows: Henry had a 3–9 career record as the starting quarterback for Purdue.

Professional career

Prior to the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Henry was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the thirty-fourth-best quarterback in the draft. On May 10, 2014, Henry signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Playing style

Henry is a dual-threat quarterback, known more for his ability to run the ball, than for his throwing arm.

References

External links

*
Purdue profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Rob 1990 births Living people American football quarterbacks Purdue Boilermakers football players Players of American football from Ocala, Florida