NFL teams
Associated Press 18y

Alabama native prepares for first career start against No. 4 Crimson Tide

College Football

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Growing up in a family of Auburn fans,
quarterback Mike Henig learned to dislike Alabama.

Now at Mississippi State, Henig will take the field for his
first start with the Bulldogs against the team he grew up cheering
against.

"I've always dreamed of playing Alabama or Auburn," Henig said
Tuesday. "Not only playing them, but starting. It's pretty ironic
that my first start's going to be Alabama."

The redshirt freshman who replaced ineffective starter Omarr
Conner in last week's loss at Kentucky debuts this week as the
starter for the Bulldogs (2-6, 0-5 SEC) against the fourth-ranked
Crimson Tide.

"He is an intense competitor and he has a knack for making
plays, even turning his mistakes into positives," coach Sylvester
Croom said during his weekly news conference. "I think he'll get
even better as time goes on."

Henig took over for Conner after two possessions against
Kentucky and finished 16-of-21 for 200 yards in the 13-7 defeat.

He faces a huge challenge in his first week as a first-stringer.
Alabama (8-0, 5-0) leads the Southeastern Conference in two key
defensive categories, and ranks No. 2 nationally in points allowed
(9.2) and No. 3 in the nation in yards allowed (262.1).

"I'm ready for the challenge (and) this is part of it," Henig
said. "Really, all the SEC defenses are going to be good.
Everybody's going to be fast, everybody's going to be quick,
everybody's going to try to kill you, so I'm not really worried
about that."

Maybe that's partly because he spent his early years in
Montgomery, Ala., cheering for Auburn and paying close attention to
the Tigers' hated rivals from Tuscaloosa. Henig said his family
attended Auburn and his mother and a sister were cheerleaders
there.

He said Auburn showed only superficial interest in him, and
Louisville, Mississippi State "and a bunch of little schools"
offered scholarships.

"I really wanted to play in the SEC," Henig said. "That's
always been my dream."

He redshirted last season, and moved to No. 2 on the depth chart
this offseason when one-time starter Kyle York left the team to
enroll in a seminary.

Henig played sparingly in three games before playing extensively
against Florida when Conner was knocked out with a bruised chest.
Henig was 9-of-20 for 119 yards in the loss to the Gators, then
found his groove three weeks later against the Wildcats.

"Against Florida, things were fast, fast, fast. As the fourth
quarter came, things started slowing down and I started completing
a lot of passes," Henig said. "Against Kentucky, things slowed
down and it felt like it did in the fourth quarter against
Florida."

Now Henig is preparing for his personal Iron Bowl and looking to
help Mississippi State beat Alabama for the first time since 2000.

"I'm ready to face whatever comes," Henig said. "I'm just
going to try to do the best I can and get something done that
hasn't been done in a while."

^ Back to Top ^