From 2018-2022, KJ Henry was a very popular – and very disruptive – figure for the Clemson DL.
His Clemson story reads like an emotional roller coaster. Fortunately, it ends on a good note!
Before Clemson:
Henry was born into a football family. According to Wikipedia:
Henry was born on January 27, 1999, in Southern Ohio. His father Keith was an assistant coach under Jim Grobe on the Ohio Bobcats football team. Henry's family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 2001. He attended West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina, where he had 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and 14 passes deflected as a senior for their football team in 2017. Rated a five-star recruit, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football for the Tigers at Clemson University.
On the field, KJ Henry had a great career. According to excerpts from KJ Henry’s bio on ClemsonTigers.com:
“Charismatic team leader and 2022 All-American who registered 147 career tackles (28.0 for loss), 13.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 1,771 snaps over 58 career games (24 starts) from 2018-22 … at the time of his departure for the NFL, his 58 career games were the most ever by a Clemson defensive end … two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection who earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in four years and continued post-baccalaureate work in his fifth season.
2022: Voted by his teammates as a permanent team captain … third-team All-American selection by Pro Football Focus after a career year … second-team All-ACC selection by the league’s media and coaches but collected first-team honors from the AP, Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus … second-team All-ACC selection by College Football Network … named ESPN’s 81st-best player in college football for 2022 … started all 14 games, collecting 59 tackles (9.0 for loss), 3.5 sacks, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with a team-high 24 quarterback pressures in 659 defensive snaps … his 24 quarterback pressures as credited by the coaching staff were the most by a Clemson player since Clelin Ferrell’s 24 in 2016 … All-ACC Academic Team selection
2021: Credited with 28 tackles (6.5 for loss), 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 339 snaps over 13 games (four starts) … All-ACC Academic Team selection
2020: Credited with 29 tackles (6.0 for loss), 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 384 snaps over 12 games (six starts) … made his first career start and recorded five tackles (three solo) including a nine-yard sack in his hometown at Wake Forest
2019: Credited with 22 tackles (4.5 for loss), two sacks and three pass breakups in 350 snaps in 15 games”
2018: Played 39 snaps in four games while redshirting and was credited with nine tackles (2.0 for loss) and a fumble recovery in that time
Of note, however, Henry’s influence did not stop on the football field. He is a leader off the field as well. According to a November 2022 article on ClemsonTigers.com:
Clemson defensive end K.J. Henry and running back Will Shipley, in coordination with P.A.W. Journey/OVERTIME, IPTAY and Clemson University’s Division of Inclusion & Equity, announced today that they have established the “1 CLEM5ON” endowment to help provide resources to Clemson University students, including fellow scholar-athletes. … “This extraordinary commitment by K.J. Henry and Will Shipley to give back to Clemson and support future generations of students is yet another example of their leadership and selflessness,” said Clemson University President Jim Clements. “Just like K.J. and Will, the 1 CLEM5ON endowment is a game-changer, and I couldn’t be more proud of these remarkable young men and the way they represent our University.”
Outstanding! Kudos to KJ Henry and to Will Shipley!
But Henry was rocked by a family crisis in 2021. Henry discovered that his father was dealing with serious health issues that required a kidney transaction. According to a 2022 ESPN story:
“When Henry recovered a fumble against Boston College to preserve a 19-13 win last season, Keith Henry grew emotional in the stands. Not only was he there to see his son make the game-saving play, he knew what was on the horizon for him -- even if his son did not. To this day, K.J. Henry calls that one of his greatest memories, because "I heard how happy my parents were, how it brought my dad to tears. That was just such a cool thing to hear."
It means even more now that K.J. knows what his father was dealing with at the time. After K.J. learned his father needed a kidney transplant, he racked his brain trying to figure out ways he could help. Teammate Will Shipley noticed Henry seemed down and distracted in the locker room a few days later, and pulled him aside to ask what was wrong.
Henry confessed what was happening with his father and told Shipley how badly he wanted to do something to help. Eventually, the two hatched a plan: They would use the new NIL rules to host an autograph signing and launch a fundraiser to provide financial support for the kidney transplant and ensuing medical expenses.
"To be able to take my platform and help a teammate out, that is truly my responsibility, and I don't take that lightly at all," Shipley said. "When the opportunity presented itself with K.J., I'm going to jump on it, just try to help in any way that I can." … The donations, and support, started pouring in. K.J. ended up partnering with Help Hope Live, an organization dedicated to helping patients with fundraising for uninsured expenses. In all, they have raised more than $100,000 for Keith, and K.J. remains an advocate for the organization. By the time the autograph signing rolled around, all 350 tickets were sold and Henry had 10 teammates by his side: Shipley, tight ends Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool, receiver Beaux Collins, quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Phil Mafah, offensive linemen Jordan McFadden and Marcus Tate, kicker B.T. Potter and defensive end Xavier Thomas.
Also in attendance: Keith and Nicole Henry, and K.J.'s siblings, Isaiah and Maya, visibly overwhelmed.
"K.J. is a giver and he wanted to do something to help his father," Nicole said. "We were really amazed, thankful and blown away when we saw how many people were lined up out the door and around the corner before they could get in just to be there for us. That was awesome."
The Washington Commanders selected KJ Henry with Pick 137 (5th Round) of the 2023 NFL Draft. According to ESPN.com Henry recorded 19 tackles (14 solo and 5 assisted) in his rookie 2023 season for Washington.
North Carolina Highway 147 is an 8.1 mile state highway in Durham that starts on the southeast end at I-885, crosses NC 55, US 15, and US 501, and continues to the northwest end at I-85 and US 70. Duke U is 3 miles from this highway.
About 10 miles from the Peach down Highway 11 is Cowpens National Battlefield near Chesnee, which is about 30 miles west of Kings Mountain National Military Park near Blacksburg. Both are parks honoring Revolutionary War battles. The Battle of Kings Mountain took place on October 7, 1780 between Patriot troops and Loyalists, so basically it was an all-American battle which the Patriots won. The Battle of Cowpens took place 3 months later on January 17, 1781 in which the Patriots won again. It was a turning point for the Patriots fighting to gain control of South Carolina and the south. Both parks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I've never been to either park. To anyone that has been, are they worth a visit? The parks and the battles are very interesting to read about for sure.
Very nice parks and worth a visit. These are small scale battles compared to the size of most Civil War battlefields, but the history of the American Revolution is fascinating.
Grew up close enough to King's Mountain Park that we could see that monument from my grandmother's front porch. (Her house was across a field from ours and we were in a valley). My almost 96 year old mother still lives on that site but trees obscure the view to that spot which is about 5 miles away as the crow flies.
live about 5 miles or so from the battle of bennington which actually took place in ny,not vt.also about 45 min from the battle of saratoga,the turning point in the revolution.both places could be visited easily in one day.be happy to provide info for anyone interested.ticonderoga is about 1.5 to 2 hrs.north.our area is beautiful geographically,a universe away from ny city.on a side note grandma moses farm is about 3 miles away.actually know a few of her descendants.
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