Faced with opportunity, Michigan State WR Tyrell Henry ready to make noise this fall
East Lansing, Mich. – Keon Coleman’s departure from Michigan State via the transfer portal in April has set the stage for the Spartans’ young receivers to earn more playing time this fall.
Tyrell Henry, a sophomore from Roseville, Mich., is one receiver that’s expected to take a step for the Michigan State. Henry joined the This is Sparta! Podcast on Thursday to discuss how the departures of Coleman and starting quarterback Payton Thorne have affected the wide receiver room and team as a whole.
“I think it put a chip on our shoulders,” Henry said. “I think it made everybody hungry. Coach Hawk (Courtney Hawkins), and even in the room, we said, ‘A lot of those targets just went on the table.’ Somebody has to catch the ball. That really just lit us all up, like it’s our time. There isn’t any time to wait, there isn’t any time to pout. We’re all Division I caliber players, we all know we can play. We have the potential to be great. So that’s what I think it brought up. It just brought out the want to be great and the people who aren’t scared to be great.
“For me especially, it’s about not being scared and just doing what you have to do. At the end of the day, this is what we’ve been paying our whole lives for. If it comes up to you, if it’s on the table, are you not going to grab it? No, we’re going to go get it. I think that’s what it is for the whole team. We can show everybody that we don’t need this, this and that. Just because this player left or this player left, we’re just nothing? No, we’re going to do what we have to do. It just put a little grind mode on us. Like that Spartan Dawg mentality, it just hit us again and we’re right back on it.”
Henry played in 11 games for Michigan State last season, primarily on special teams. A former three-star recruit, Henry took over kick return duties for senior Jayden Reed, who battled injuries throughout the season.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Henry led Michigan State with 10 kickoff returns for 183 yards last season. Henry’s longest return went for 30 yards against Ohio State on Oct. 8. He also played 20 offensive snaps in Week 2 against Akron.
Never one to turn down an opportunity, Henry entered his freshman year determined to make an impact at multiple positions.
“I was coming in and I wanted to show everybody that I could do more things than just be a receiver,” Henry said. “I think that showed a lot, just being able to play special teams and then eventually get my chance at returner, which I think I did pretty good at that, too. Just showing that other aspect of my game, that toughness, just being able to show something other than catching the ball as a receiver. And being a good teammate overall, I think that helped me a lot.”
While continuing to develop as a receiver and kick returner this spring, Henry also practiced punt returns with the goal of being an all-purpose returner this fall. Returning punts, however, is a totally different ball game compared to returning kickoffs.
“Kick return is way easier to catch the ball and judge the ball,” Henry said. “There’s only so much you can do off the floor. Now punt return, going against Bryce Baringer in practice, that’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. He would knuckleball the ball, the ball would go left, right and then right back down.”
Henry has high expectations for himself in his second year at Michigan State.
“I wrote it down in my notebook,” Henry said. “I probably have four notebooks around here and I have it on the front page of every notebook. I want to be an All-Big 10 returner – or receiver, but I said to myself, ‘Look, I know I’m going to do my thing at receiver, I know that’s what I want to do, but I want to show the scouts, I want to show everybody that I’m a returner, too.’
“That’s my biggest goal is just to stay healthy, become an All-Big 10 returner and at receiver, just show everybody that a kid from Roseville really can do it.”
To achieve those goals, Henry has worked on getting stronger this offseason while maintaining the athletic traits that made him an intriguing high school prospect.
“(This offseason), I’ve basically just been getting bigger and stronger while making sure I keep my speed and keep getting faster,” Henry said. “Also making sure I know the playbook inside and out. That’s a big thing, just knowing that’s what I’ve got to do so I can get the trust from my teammates, the quarterbacks, the coaches.”
Henry worked closely with Reed last season to improve as a kickoff returner, a position he’s played since high school.
“It was just a natural thing I picked up,” Henry said of being a return man. “Just having the vision to be able to look through things and see the holes open up before they even open up, that’s just a little thing I’ve always been able to do.”
Henry also played defensive back and receiver as a high schooler, but he began his football career at quarterback. Henry played the position through his sophomore year at Roseville. It wasn’t until his new high school coaches were hired that Henry finally made the switch to wide receiver and defensive back.
With Reed’s guidance, Henry felt he improved as a receiver and returner last season. Henry said that Reed and redshirt senior wide receiver Tre Mosley have been two of the most impactful leaders for him since he arrived in East Lansing.
“When I first came here, the guy I could relate to the closest, game-wise was J-Reed,” Henry said. “Me and J-Reed spent a lot of time together. A lot of my running after the catch, returning ability, route running, I think he helped me the most football-wise. In terms of being a route runner, we could bounce ideas off each other.
“But I think in terms of just off the field and being a better person and just going to social events, I think Tre Mosley has helped me the most. Tre Mosley is like a real brother to me. So in terms of on the field, J-Reed was always one of the guys where I was like, I can see my game inside his game. We’re not the same, obviously, but I could see my game inside his game. And then Tre Mosley, I can see his life path and what he’s doing. I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”
Henry said he’s also learned a lot from competing against guys in practice. Certain defensive backs tend to get more out of him than others.
“Wide receivers do talk,” Henry said. “But me, I’ve never really been a talker. I play the game a little different. People play the game with anger or like they’re the game. I’m having fun, I’m smiling, I’m running the ball with a smile on my face. But when I go against J-White (Justin White), he always brings something out of me, I’m not going to lie. He always brings something out of me.
“I love going against Gelo (Angelo Grose). Gelo’s a good opponent to go against. He’s smart. He’s been there for a minute so he knows, even if he doesn’t have to be the most athletic, he knows exactly how his breaks are going to be. He might know exactly what you may be doing just based on your things.”
“Gelo, he isn’t much of a talker, but he will say some things to you,” Henry continued. “But Justin White, he talks to you. He’s going to talk to you all day, non-stop.”
Having been in the program for over a year now, Henry has had some time to evaluate his teammates and observe what each brings to the table. A few of his classmates have impressed him on the defensive side of the ball this spring and summer.
“I think Jaden Mangham is going to be a great safety,” Henry said. “He can fly around, he’s not a knucklehead, he knows what he’s doing. He’s had experience, he’s gained weight. He’s moving side-to-side, he’s running fast, he can tackle, he can catch. Everything you need in a safety. He’s long, he has good agility, everything. I think him being able to have that experience that he had last year, coming in and having that confidence that he knows he can do it, I think he’s going to be good. I want to put Malik Spencer in there too, because Malik’s a dawg too, and Dillon (Tatum)’s a dawg too.”
On the offensive side of the ball, Henry believes that Mosley can unlock a new part of his game this season as an experienced veteran.
“No knock (on him), but it was never, ‘Tre’s the No. 1 on this team right now,’” Henry said. “I think Tre, he wants to be that No. 1 receiver. I think that’s going to put that chip on his shoulder. I think he’s going to play, like, 10 times better. He’s going to get more touches. I think you’re going to be able to see that he can run, he’s fast, he runs good, crisp routes. He has the best hands on the team, I think. We call him Mr. Reliable. If you throw it to him, he’s going to catch it, I don’t care where the ball is at. He’s played, he has experience, but I think he’s going to take it to another level this year. And him taking it to another level is going to take everybody else in the room to another level also.”
Despite losing significant pieces like Coleman and Thorne to the transfer portal this offseason, Henry has high expectations for his team this fall. But he also realizes it takes a certain level of focus and dedication for the team to reach their collective goals.
“I think as a team we need to focus on ourselves,” Henry said. “We had a lot of stretches last year, things that went on. But I think this year, just coming together and just showing everybody that we’re together and not really focused on what other people have to think about us, I think that’s the biggest thing.
“In terms of winning games, I think, personally, that we should be contending for Big Ten Championships. I think that every year. That’s not, like, a crazy goal. That’s not outrageous. That’s something that Spartan Nation wants and that’s something that we expect, so that’s something that we should be striving for every year. That being said, the only way we get there and get past that is just focusing on what we have to do and focusing on ourselves and not letting other things deter us.
“And then a big thing that we (didn’t have) last year is just being able to stay healthy. Just having the whole team healthy, keeping each other up in practices, keeping each other all together and keeping the whole brother camaraderie together. So I think that’s the biggest thing is focusing on ourselves, making sure we’re all healthy, and then just going out there and playing for each other.”
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