Drew Henson

Drew Daniel Henson (born February 13, 1980) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman and National Football League (NFL) quarterback.

He also had the state's record in touchdowns passes for a single-season (26 in 1997) and a single-game (6).

He averaged 45.7 yards-per-punt in his career.

In baseball, he was a four-time All-state selection.

He finished as the national high school record holder in career home runs (70), RBIs (290) and runs scored (259).

As a pitcher, he struck out 163 hitters in his junior season.

He had a 14–1 record with a 0.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in his senior season.

He also was named the USA Today High School Player of the Year, Baseball America High School Player of the Year and the Gatorade High School Player of the Year.

Henson, during the recruiting process, was originally planning to commit to Florida State University, but decided against it when Chris Weinke decided to enroll at FSU after a brief stint in Minor League Baseball.

Henson instead accepted a football scholarship from the University of Michigan.

At the start of his baseball career, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 1998 amateur draft and played for the organization during the 2002 and 2003 seasons until he retired from the sport in 2004.

As a freshman under head coach Lloyd Carr, Henson battled for the starting quarterback job against Tom Brady and ultimately was named the backup for the 1998 season.

He saw action in 8 games, accumulating 21 completions on 47 pass attempts, good for 254 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

He saw action in seven of Michigan's 13 games, including a win over #11 Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl.

In 1999, Brady had to once again hold off Henson for the starting job.

The two players platooned during the season's first seven games, with Brady playing the first quarter, Henson the second and Carr then deciding upon a quarterback for the second half.

The team started off with a 5–0 record.

Against Michigan State, Henson in the second quarter connected with Marcus Knight for the third longest passing play in school history (an 81-yard touchdown completion); so he was chosen to play in the second half; however, Brady was reinserted into the game in the fourth quarter with Michigan down by 17 points, and nearly led the team all the way back before losing 34–31.

After a 300-yard passing game the following week, Carr went exclusively with Brady for the remainder of the season.

Henson still saw his number of pass attempts nearly double, throwing 90 times and completing 47 passes.

He recorded 546 passing yards, along with three touchdowns and two interceptions in nine appearances.

Henson again saw limited action when Michigan took on another bowl opponent with a higher ranking, #5 Alabama, in the Orange Bowl, and came out victorious with a 35–34 OT victory.

In 2000, Brady graduated and Henson, now a junior, served as the Wolverines' starting quarterback for most of the season.

He missed the first 3 contests after having surgery on his right foot just prior to the start of the season on August 24, with redshirt freshman John Navarre replacing him.

Henson threw for a career-high 312 yards in a road loss to #21 Northwestern, 54–51, and also tied a school record with four passing touchdowns.

In the regular season finale, Henson led the #19 Wolverines to Columbus to take on #12 Ohio State and threw again for over 300 yards en route to a 38–26 win.

For the third time in his career, Michigan and Henson faced a Southeastern Conference team when Michigan went on to play Auburn in the Citrus Bowl and for the third time, Michigan again emerged victorious, winning 31–28.

Henson recorded 294 yards passing on just 15 completions to go with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Henson played in 9 out of 12 games, posting 146 completions in 237 attempts for 2,146 yards, along with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.

His 159.4 passer rating was the fifth best in Michigan history and his 18 touchdown passes were the fourth most in a single-season in school history.

He was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft.

He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines.

During his football career, Henson was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions.

As of 2015, Henson is active in organized baseball as a member of the Yankees' professional scouting staff.

Drew Henson is the son of Carol (Flynn) Henson and Dan Henson, a former college football coach at San Jose State, Utah, Arizona State, and Eastern Michigan.

Henson attended Brighton High School in Brighton, Michigan, where he starred and received All-state honors in football, basketball, and baseball.

In football, he completed 400 passes for 5,662 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons.

As a sophomore defensive back, he added 47 tackles and five interceptions, and was also an excellent punter.

As a senior, he was named Parade All-American at quarterback and USA Today All-American at punter.

He finished second all-time in Michigan high school annals in passing yards (5,662) and touchdown passes (52).