Chas Henry (born January 6, 1989) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
punter. Henry played
college football for the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, earned consensus
All-American honors, and was recognized as the best college punter as a senior. He was signed by the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2011.
Early years
Henry was born in
Dallas, Georgia
Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...
.
[GatorZone.com, Football History, 2010 Roster]
Chas Henry
. Retrieved May 19, 2011. He attended
East Paulding High School
East Paulding High School is a public secondary school located in Dallas, Georgia, United States.
EPHS was established in 1991 and is nestled in one of the country's fastest-growing counties. The school's enrollment is approaching 1800 students ...
in Dallas, and he played high school football for the East Paulding Raiders.
[ Henry holds the school record for longest punt (66 yards) and led the Raiders to the state semi-finals as ]quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
by throwing for 17 touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s and more than 1,700 yards.[
]
College career
Henry accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons fro ...
's Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...
team from 2007 to 2010.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 95, 97, 101, 136, 151–153, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 12, 2011. As a sophomore in 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, Henry was a member of the Gators' BCS National Championship team.
During his senior season in 2010, Henry punted 50 times for 2,253 yards (a 45.1-yard average), including his season-best punt of 75 yards. Sixteen of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line and only thirteen were fair caught.[Shannon J. Owens,]
Florida punter Chas Henry wins Ray Guy Award
" ''The Orlando Sentinel'' (December 9, 2010). Retrieved May 19, 2011. Memorably, Henry also assumed place-kicking duties when starting place kicker Caleb Sturgis
Caleb James Sturgis (born August 9, 1989) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Florida, setting team records for field goals completed in a season and a career, and was recognized as an All-American. He was ...
was injured, and kicked the 37-yard, game-winning field goal in the Gators' 34–31 overtime victory over the rival Georgia Bulldogs while several Bulldog assistant coaches attempted to distract him from the sideline.
Following the 2010 regular season, Henry was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and received the Ray Guy Award
The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National F ...
, awarded to the best punter in college football.[ He was one of three finalists for the award in 2009, and one of ten semifinalists in 2008.
]
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
After he was not selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, Henry signed as an undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
with the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
. He opened the 2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion Ne ...
as the Eagles' starting punter. Henry committed a ''Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' blunder against the Chicago Bears in a Week 9 loss, in which he botched a fake punt, and his pass was underthrown.
Henry was released by the Eagles on September 25, 2012.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Henry was signed by the Buccaneers on February 13, 2013, and was competing for the starting spot against Michael Koenen
Michael J. Koenen (born July 13, 1982) is a former American football punter. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Western Washington.
Early years
Koenen attended Ferndale High Sc ...
. Henry was cut by Tampa Bay on August 31, 2013.[ http://tbo.com/sports/bucs/bucs-make-roster-cuts-put-tynes-on-injury-list-20130831/ Bucs make roster cuts"]
See also
* 2008 Florida Gators football team
The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Col ...
* 2010 College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best players of American college football at their respective positions. The original All-America team was the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Caspar Whitne ...
* List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
This list of Florida Gators football All-Americans includes those members of the Florida Gators football team who have received All-American honors from one or more selector organizations. The Florida Gators represent the University of Florida i ...
* List of University of Florida alumni
This list of University of Florida alumni includes current students, former students, and graduates of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Honorary degree recipients can be found on the List of University of Florida honorary degree r ...
References
External links
Chas Henry
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers player profile
Chas Henry
– Florida Gators player profile
Chas Henry
– Philadelphia Eagles player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Chas
1989 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football punters
Florida Gators football players
People from Dallas, Georgia
Philadelphia Eagles players
Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)
Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area