Henderson Weighs The Pros and Cons
Terps Linebacker Might Opt for NFL

By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The first signs that a life-changing decision could soon face Maryland inside linebacker Erin Henderson came last May in a Phoenix hotel room that he shared with San Jose State cornerback Dwight Lowery. The two were in town for a photo shoot after earning all-America honors from Playboy magazine, and though neither had divulged their hotel or room numbers to friends or family, the phone in their room rang constantly.

Surely agents, they thought, and they ignored the drone of the ringing phone.

"Me and my roommate just stopped answering the phone because we knew it wasn't any of our people calling," Henderson recalled. "Then they'd call our cellphones, so we just wouldn't answer the phone at all."

But after all the months of scrutiny, Henderson will soon make his critical decision: return to Maryland for his senior year or declare for the NFL draft.

"I'm scared but excited at the same time just to see what happens," said Henderson, who will not decide until after the Terrapins play Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl. "I'm trying to let this die down as soon as possible. Like I said, it's a distraction that I didn't want."

While the Terrapins (6-6) will be playing for a winning season, Henderson could have more at stake. Because he is a junior, Henderson isn't eligible to compete in postseason senior showcase games, thus making the Emerald Bowl his final chance to make an impression on the field.

"It's just another opportunity for me to go out there and play, to show everybody what I'm capable of doing," Henderson said. "Hopefully, I'll be leaving with a good memory . . . if it happens to be my last game."

Henderson, who has battled through several injuries to earn first-team all-ACC honors while leading the Terrapins in tackles, faces a decision made difficult by the multitude of factors he must consider. If he stays in school, he risks suffering an injury that could cost him a chance at a professional career. But if he goes, Henderson would be subject to the maddeningly unpredictable nature of the NFL draft.

"The fact that he graduates leans toward him coming out," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said of Henderson, who already has graduated. "I really can't complain when a guy's got a degree. I just want to make sure he gets the most bang for his buck."

Henderson applied last month for review by the NFL draft advisory committee, which he hopes gives him an assessment of where he might be drafted. Friedgen said the committee's overall projection -- which is based on an average of projections from all 32 teams in the league -- has become more and more accurate in recent years. Meanwhile, Friedgen has tried to give Henderson as much information as possible.

"To make a decision in January and not find out if it's the right decision until April, I don't think any of us want to make million-dollar decisions in that situation," Friedgen said.

Still, Henderson said he is hesitant to believe the projections because he knows that his draft stock could still be affected by his showing at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"I wish I could fast-forward and see where everything was, and see where everything's going to be," Henderson said.

During the decision-making process, Henderson has been forced to grow up.

The pestering from agents continued through the summer, when Henderson fielded as many as 15 calls a week. He considered changing his cellphone number but reconsidered when he realized the trouble of giving out a new number to friends.

"I wasn't anywhere close to being ready to deal with that stuff," Henderson said.

He turned to friends and family for advice, including his older brother, Minnesota Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson, who coached his little brother on the art of politely asking people to stop calling.

But for now, Erin Henderson wants to forget about the future in favor of focusing on the present.

"It's just so weird that it's so close," Henderson said. "You always talk about how you want to make it to the pros. You always talk about how you want to play football for a living. For it to be actually as close as it is, it's almost frightening to be right there to where you can almost reach out and grab it. But yet, there's still so much in between."