When Ivory Miller’s eldest grandchild signed with MSU, she planned to move to the area from Sarasota, Fla., to watch him play in his senior season.
But when senior cornerback Cedric Henry was declared academically ineligible two weeks before the season opener against Central Michigan last season, her plans were altered.
Instead of becoming a cheerleader, she assumed a more familiar role - counselor.
“It was a coincidence I was here when all the things happened,” she said. “It was really good for him and good for me. He really needed someone that understood him.
“I thank God every day that I was here.”
Henry said the move created a perfect situation.
“I fell back on her, and she kept preaching wisdom into my ear. I kept eating it up,” he said. “It was kind of tough seeing my fellow teammates out there and knowing I should’ve been beside them.
“But I pushed through it, and it made me a better person and a stronger person.”
Meanwhile, Henry just focused on elevating his grade-point average and working toward graduation - even with prospects of playing in the NFL lingering.
“I wanted to complete my college career,” he said. “I wasn’t satisfied with it. And my mom wanted me to focus on my grades and graduating. She wants me to get my diploma if I don’t do anything else.”
At 5-10, 182 pounds, his size may have been a concern for some teams, however, a player that runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds isn’t something NFL scouts overlook.
“He’s got great reaction,” defensive secondary coach Troy Douglas said when talking of Henry’s strength. “He reacts and makes plays on the ball very well. And he’s a physical guy. Most guys his size don’t like to throw it up in there and tackle and do those things.”
Now, Henry wants to put things behind him and focus on the upcoming season. Henry said it’ll be easy to get back to the level he played at as a junior.
“It’s like riding a bike,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been doing for years.”
After two solid seasons in the MSU secondary, Henry enjoyed a breakthrough year in his third season at MSU and established himself as one of the top cover corners in the Big Ten.
In his junior season, he tallied five interceptions and 24 pass break-ups. The previous two seasons he had no interceptions and 17 pass break-ups.
The media and the conference’s coaches recognized Henry with All-Big Ten honors in 2000 after he helped the Spartan defense rank seventh nationally in pass defense.
Henry said he’s disappointed he didn’t get the chance to face-off against the Big Ten’s best wide receivers in the 2001 season - namely former Wolverine Marquise Walker and former Golden Gopher Ron Johnson, who are in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively. This year, he has his radar focused on a new target.
“Last year, I missed out on the chance to really show what I had at the college level against the big-name receivers that are in the NFL now,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that (game against Wisconsin). I hope (Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans) is healthy by the time we play them.”
Now, Henry is more focused on Saturday’s game against Eastern Michigan. However, it’ll be as big a day for him as it’ll be for his grandmother.
“I’m so happy and so proud of him,” Miller said. “He’s going to bleed green again.”
Romando J. Dixson can be reached at dixsonro@msu.edu.
