SPRINGDALE — When Farmington needed a fix at outside linebacker late last season, Cory Henry was more than willing to step up to the challenge.
Henry had no plans of becoming just a short-term solution for the Cardinals as showed last fall and continues to show this preseason.
AT A GLANCE
Cory Henry
SCHOOL: Farmington
HEIGHT: 6-2
WEIGHT: 180
POSITION: Outside Linebacker/Tight End
NOTABLE: Started final two games of last season on defense after beginning the year at tight end. … One of six returning starters on the Farmington defense. … Will still play tight end this fall in special packages.
After beginning last season as Farmington’s starting tight end, injuries forced Henry to the defensive side of the ball. By the eighth week, he was given a look at outside linebacker. And coaches were impressed with what they saw.
“He played really well at the end of the year, particularly in our playoff game against Newport,” Farmington coach Mike Adams said. “We didn’t play that well defensively in that game, but he played well.”
Henry, now a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior, is much more than just a late-season replacement at the linebacker position. Instead, he’s expected to be a leader on the Cardinals’ defense in the fall.
Farmington spent Monday at Springdale Har-Ber participating in the weekly 7-on-7 passing league, where Henry played both linebacker and tight end. And while he will be used at times on offense, he admits his true calling is in the middle of the defense.
“I love linebacker,” Henry said. “I definitely like stopping the run and blitzing off the end and getting to the quarterback. That’s my favorite part of the position.
“This out here, it’s good to practice the zones and the reads. And it’s good for your footwork.”
Adams said Henry was the ideal choice to make the move to linebacker last season because of his style of play that should make him one of the top defensive stoppers in the 4A-1 Conference this season.
“That’s the reason we moved him there,” Adams said. “We didn’t have guys playing downhill, and he’s aggressive there. You can blitz him, and he’s really good off the edge. He really reads things quickly and he gets downhill, and that’s how you want a player.”
Farmington returns six starters on defense, and Henry believes the group will have the ability to be as good or even better than it was a year ago. A big key to the unit’s success could be his leadership.
But the senior said it will be a group effort if Farmington is to string together wins this fall.
“We have lots of leaders throughout the senior and junior class this year that will carry us,” Henry said. “We like to get our stuff done and go out there with a good attitude and good sportsmanship. But we get tough out there on the field.”