ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech players usually are not allowed to
wear caps when representing the school at weekly news conferences.
For Eric Henderson, an exception was made this week.
On Tuesday, the defensive end wore a New Orleans Saints cap in
honor of his storm-ravaged hometown. Sure, the Saints' gold and
black in the cap coordinated well with Tech's colors, but it was
clear Henderson wasn't motivated by fashion.
Henderson's thoughts have been on far more than football -- or
fashion -- the last two weeks as he watched the increasingly
daunting reports from New Orleans and anxiously waited to hear from
family members.
It was not until after the Yellow Jackets' season-opening win at
Auburn last Saturday that Henderson finally had good news passed
along through Tech sports information director Allison George that
a cousin had called to report family members were alive.
Before the long-awaited call, Henderson could only imagine that
his relatives were wading through waist-deep water, struggling to
find their way out of the city, like so many others he had seen on
TV. All he knew was only two aunts left before Katrina arrived.
Tech coach Chan Gailey said he is amazed Henderson and other
players from the area hit by Katrina have found a way to focus on
football while relatives struggle with the devastation left by the
storm.
"I think Eric has handled this entire situation very well,"
Gailey said. "He's stayed focused on what he had to do here and
yet his heart and compassion are not here. That's tough for a guy
who cares about his team and cares about his family. Where do you
draw the line about who gets what kind of attention? I think he's
done a great job of handling everything.
"It can't be easy. I would like to empathize, but I can't. All
I can do is sympathize with him."
Henderson says family members who have left New Orleans probably
never will return.
"I think my family, they're going to relocate," he said. "I
don't think anybody is going back to New Orleans. I think they're
just looking forward to starting their lives all over again
elsewhere."
Fullback Ace Eziemefe, also from New Orleans, receiver Damarius
Bilbo of Moss Point, Miss., free safety Dawan Landry of Ama, La.,
and defensive tackle Darryl Richard of Destrehan, La., also had
families affected by the storm. They all heard from relatives
before the Auburn game.
"It was real tough to get in touch with your family members
because the phone lines were all messed up," Landry said. "My
home didn't get hit too bad."
Added Landry: "All of us from the Gulf Coast area are all real
close. We're just trying to stay there for each other."
When he can think about football, this week's game against North
Carolina brings back more painful memories for Henderson.
Henderson missed the first three games of last season with a leg
injury, including a momentum-crushing 34-13 loss at North Carolina.
The Tar Heels rushed for 284 yards in the game, spoiling Tech's
enthusiasm generated by a win over Clemson the previous week.
"Me being on the sideline watching that game, it just brought
tears to my eyes, not being out there with the rest of the team,"
Henderson said this week.
"Being a great defense, first of all you can't let people run
on you like that, and they really dominated us."
Gailey said not having Henderson in last year's game against
North Carolina "was certainly part of" Tech's defensive problem.
"You take a force off the field that has been an all-conference
player, that certainly hurts you," Gailey said.
Tech's defense recovered from the poor effort at North Carolina
to finish last season 12th in the nation in yards allowed.
Henderson said this year's defense should be at least as strong,
and Tech allowed only 50 yards rushing in the 23-14 win over
Auburn, a victory that pushed the Yellow Jackets into The
Associated Press Top 25 at No. 17.
Henderson had a sack and the defense forced five turnovers
against Auburn. Landry had 10 tackles and an interception.
Now the focus is on the Atlantic Coast Conference opener as the
Yellow Jackets are motivated by last season's loss to the Tar
Heels.
"This game means a lot to our whole team, specifically our
defense, because we feel they took advantage of us," Henderson
said. "Every game is very important. I think those guys were the
only team that really ran the ball down our throat last year. They
really played well."