Avery Henry is ranked nearly 300 spots lower in 247Sports’ composite rankings than any other member of Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022, but that’s only increased his motivation.
Listed as the No. 707 overall prospect and No. 56 offensive tackle in his class, Henry is one of just two three-star recruits among Ohio State’s new freshmen, along with tight end Bennett Christian.
Henry is unfazed by those rankings. Once he gets the chance to actually play for the Buckeyes, he believes he’ll prove he was underrated.
“A lot of people see, ‘Hey, he's a three-star’ and they don't expect a lot,” Henry said. “I'm going in knowing what I can do. I'm going in knowing that I'm one of the strongest guys. I'm going in knowing that I'm fast, as fast as these guys and faster. I think it helps me a lot, because nobody's ready for what I can do yet. And I think once they see, they’ll all think, ‘Wow, he should have been ranked higher.’”
Henry is one of 10 midyear enrollees in the 2022 class who will begin his Ohio State career this week. He told Eleven Warriors in a recent interview that he “couldn't be more excited” to arrive in Columbus and officially join the Buckeyes.
“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm sure I'm not gonna let anyone down,” Henry said. “I've been working out every day, I've been running, I've been eating healthy. I've been trying to get ahead of the game with things like that.”
Henry knows his first few months at Ohio State won’t be easy as he jumps into his first summer workouts as a Buckeye. One of the reasons he chose to become a Buckeye, though, is because he knows how hard Ohio State’s coaching staff will push him to get better.
“They told me there would be days where you didn't want to come to practice or that you didn't want to be here, but they were like, ‘We're gonna be here for you. We're gonna motivate you. We're going to do whatever it takes to get the job done,’” Henry said. “And that's what I loved about Ohio State is that they told me the truth.”
“I think it helps me a lot, because nobody's ready for what I can do yet.”– Avery Henry on being ranked as a three-star recruit
Henry emerged as an Ohio State target late in the 2022 recruiting cycle, receiving his offer from the Buckeyes in October after previously committing to Iowa State. It didn’t take him long to decide to become a Buckeye, committing to Ohio State just two days after landing his offer.
A native of St. Clairsville, Ohio, Henry said it wasn’t a hard decision to decommit from Iowa State and sign with Ohio State instead, preferring to stay closer to his family.
“My mom wouldn’t have been able to make it to all my home games even (if he went to Iowa State),” Henry said. “So I was like, I'm gonna make a decision for me and my family, and Ohio State was the best place for me. I knew they were gonna make me grow, I knew they were gonna make me a better person, I knew all these aspects where they were gonna make me great.”
While Henry was an unheralded recruit by Ohio State standards, there’s reason for optimism that his best football is still in front of him.
Just two years ago, Henry weighed nearly 400 pounds. Since then, he’s slimmed down to 305 pounds. That weight loss enabled his late emergence as a Division I prospect, as he did not have any offers at the start of 2021.
Two years ago pic.twitter.com/XiFvTxtYbM
— King_Henry2.0 (@AveryHenry731) March 7, 2022
“Out of nowhere I was in my room and I was thinking about what I wanted to be or what I wanted to do. And it came to my mind that at 400 pounds, I couldn't take care of my family. I couldn't provide in the way I wanted to provide for my future kids and my family,” Henry said. “In the matter of one day, I was like, ‘Hey, I'm gonna change everything.’ And I changed everything in that day from eating habits to running to lifting to everything.”
At 6-foot-6, Henry has excellent height and length for an offensive tackle. His film shows plenty of athleticism, which should only improve now that he’s in better shape and will begin going through Ohio State’s strength and conditioning program.
After playing mostly against much smaller defensive linemen at St. Clairsville, Henry will face a big step up in competition as he begins his Buckeye career. That will put his skills to the test, as he’ll have to be able to win with technique rather than just physically outmanning his opponents, but he’s confident he’s ready for the challenge.
“I don't care if you're 150 pounds, I don't care if you're 280 pounds, I'm gonna take you just as serious,” Henry said. “My entire life I've been preparing to face whoever it is, whether it’s the fastest guy in the nation, whether it's the strongest guy in the nation, whether he's an all-around-the-middle guy. So I believe that I've worked my entire life by running, by doing conditioning, by practicing, by working on foot speed, by working on explosive speed, by working on all these different things.”
While Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones appear to be locked in as this year’s starting tackles, Henry isn’t coming to Ohio State with the mindset of being a long-term project who will need several years before he’s ready to see the field. Following a spring in which Ryan Day expressed concerns about Ohio State’s offensive line depth on multiple occasions, Henry will be striving to earn playing time as early as he can.
“I think everyone needs to go in with the mindset that I'm going to compete right away. Because to be the best, I believe that you have to think you're the best also,” Henry said. “So I'm going with the mindset that I'm going to be a competitor, that I'm going to work for the left tackle position, I'm going to do whatever it takes, whenever it takes. And I'm gonna go above and beyond when nobody's looking.”
In the process, Henry hopes to inspire others who want to lose weight and show them what’s possible if you set your mind to it.
“I would tell them that it's not too late. Because that's what a lot of people think when they're 400 pounds, or just too heavy, they think it's too late. And I'm here to tell them it's not and that you can do it and that I am living proof that you can do it,” Henry said.
“It doesn't need to be a huge change right away. I mean, just cut down on your portions. Eat a little healthier every day, throw some vegetables in, throw some fruits in. Try to only drink water. And in no time, your entire life will be changed around.”
When Henry committed to Ohio State in October, he thought Greg Studrawa would be his position coach. Instead, he’ll be coached by Justin Frye, who was hired in January to replace Studrawa as offensive line coach.
Henry says that change has been no problem for him, as he’s already hit it off with Frye and is excited to play for him.
“I wasn't gonna let it bring me down,” Henry said. “As soon as it happened, I reached out, I got Coach Frye’s number, I texted him, I was here to let him know that it doesn't matter who recruited me, I'm here to play for Ohio State and I'm here to get the job done. And that's what I let him know. I let him know that I'm sure we can have a great bond. Both line guys (Frye was an offensive lineman at Indiana), so that was easy to bond about.”
Henry is also excited about becoming a part of the Buckeyes’ brotherhood and getting to know his new teammates better now that they’ll all be on campus together. Even though he doesn’t know them all too well yet, he already feels a special connection with the players he’ll be sharing a locker room with.
“As soon as I committed, I had all the guys text me and say, ‘Hey, we're here for you,’” Henry said. “I didn't expect it, but they were like, ‘Hey, we just want you to know we love you.’ And that just meant a lot. It just felt like I was cared for and that they wanted me as much as I wanted them.”
In particular, Henry feels a close bond with the other members of the 2022 class, and he believes they’ll accomplish big things together.
“I know we’ll be a special class,” Henry said. “I worked out with a couple of the guys, and I saw how much we were pushing, like we bonded right away. We were yelling for each other in the weight room, we were pushing each other already, we were already trying to make ways to meet again and to talk again and just to hang out or simple things like that. So I know the guys in my class are working real hard. And I believe we’ll be really special. And you'll see it too.”
