While Avery Henry’s football career ended when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in December 2022, his time as a member of the Ohio State football program did not.
The former Ohio State offensive tackle, whose cancer has been in remission since May 2023, has continued to have an active presence with the Buckeyes for the past two years. That included traveling with the team throughout its College Football Playoff run as the Buckeyes went to the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and finally the national championship game, where Ohio State defeated Notre Dame to win the first-ever 12-team CFP.
In an interview with Eleven Warriors at national championship game media day, Henry said it was “a surreal experience” to be with the Buckeyes for their CFP run and expressed gratitude to his Ohio State teammates for continuing to treat him as a brother.
“I couldn't be more grateful to be here,” Henry said. “It means a lot. I think it really shows the brotherhood and what kind of connections you have with these guys. It's a connection you'll have forever. And like I said, it's surreal that I'm here, I'm healthy, and these guys have helped me work on myself, work on my body physically, mentally, etc.”
Continuing to be a part of the team has helped Henry navigate his life after football. Watching the Buckeyes overcome the adversity they faced on the field to make a run to the national championship helped inspire Henry to overcome his own challenges off the field.
“It inspires me a lot,” Henry said. “I remember last year, just wishing I could be with the guys and seeing what they're doing and seeing what they're overcoming, it gave me motivation to get through my chemo treatments and cancer to one day be back here and have this opportunity to be in the national championship with these guys celebrating this.”
At the same time, Henry sought to inspire his Buckeye teammates from the sideline.
“When I'm on the field, I'm screaming, I'm yelling. When nobody sees a play they make, I see it. So I'm the one going up to them if nobody saw it, and I'm the one hyping them up,” Henry said. “And I'm the one always yelling, or I'm the one trying to get the sideline in, and that's my job. I can't be on the floor with these guys. So what I gotta do is I gotta find other ways to motivate them, other ways to help them, and that's one of the ways I do it.”
Former Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye said it brought him and the team joy just to have Henry around and see him doing well after his cancer battle.
“Every time you see him bouncing back around, you just smile,” Frye told Eleven Warriors at the national championship game. “I mean, you talk about our line and our unit this year on the field with adversity and battling back and doing things, and then you look at a guy in life that never balked at it. Good for him, man. It makes you happy.”
“I think it really shows the brotherhood and what kind of connections you have with these guys. It's a connection you'll have forever.”– Avery Henry on continuing to be a Buckeye after his career-ending cancer battle
Henry still has regular appointments to ensure his cancer remains in remission, but says he’s healthy now and that he tries not to worry about the possibility of a recurrence as he goes about his daily life.
“I do have to do a lot of checkups, and there's always things popping up. Just a couple months ago, they found a little mass in my lungs; it turned out to be nothing, but those are the little scares that happen all the time,” Henry said. “So even though those happen, you just got to continue to look past that, continue on your daily life, continue to work out, continue to focus on school and things like that.”
Henry, a political science major who has aspirations of pursuing a career in politics, has taken advantage of having more time to focus on academics now that he’s no longer able to play football. Now in his junior year academically, Henry says he holds a 3.5 GPA.
“Truthfully, school is a lot easier now that I am not a full-time football player,” Henry said.
Henry says he wants to be a leader and make a difference in the world because of the way his Ohio State teammates and coaches have inspired him.
“This team and school, honestly, has helped me become a leader and has made me want to make a change in the world,” Henry said. “I'm around guys every day that are going to make a difference in this world. And I should also be one of those guys that make a difference as well. So having those guys around you that are doing those things already motivates me in everyday life.”
Henry is grateful for the constant support he’s received from Frye, Ryan Day and the rest of Ohio State’s coaching staff – recently revealing on social media that Day went out of his way to make sure Henry got the best treatment possible as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer – and says he’s continued to use the lessons he learned while he was playing for the Buckeyes in his daily life.
Coach day was always by my side! I remember vividly him talking to me multiple times during my treatments and making sure I was always apart of the team! Love our coaches and the thought they put into my family and I during our toughest times. Much love Im sorry to hear this.
— King_Henry2.0 (@AveryHenry731) February 5, 2025
Exactly! Thats when I realized I made one the best decision of my life. If it wasnt for him and the family I gained along the way I wouldnt be here. He jumped a lot of loopholes to make sure I was getting seen immediately. https://t.co/QSQSvt1QVU
— King_Henry2.0 (@AveryHenry731) February 5, 2025
“I remember going through some problems when I first came here, family problems, and (Frye) was always like, ‘Here's how you fix it. Here's how you do it. And this will be the outcome.’ Three simple steps. And I've always looked up to that,” Henry said. “And I think that's always helped me. I remember in chemo, I was like, ‘This is how I'm going to do it, and this is how I'm going to beat cancer.’ And it was just like that. That's what they instilled in me. And that's what makes me the man I am today. So I'm very thankful.”
