Chad Henne

Chad Henne served as the engineer for a team that relied heavily on its ground game over the years, but he's a classic pocket passer with a big arm. With his quick setup and arm strength, he gave the Wolverines an added weapon in their offensive arsenal. In 47 games -- all starts -- at Michigan, Henne set the Wolverines' career marks with 828 completions of 1,387 pass attempts for 9,715 yards, 87 touchdowns and 37 interceptions, in addition to setting records with 1,567 plays participated in for 9,400 yards in total offense. Henne also produced 26 200-yard passing performances, the second-best total in UM history. Henne was a highly-decorated passer at Wilson High School. He was rated the seventh-best player in the country and third-ranked quarterback by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report (also rated third in the nation at QB by Prep Star). Rivals.com rated him the third-best quarterback in the nation and the state of Pennsylvania's second-ranked prep player, receiving a five-star rating. He was also ranked third nationally at quarterback by Super Prep and second by Collegefootballnews.com and MaxEmfingerRecruiting.com (also received a five-star rating from Max Emfinger). Henne was named one of the Adidas Fab 50 National Playmakers in 2003 and rated the best quarterback in the nation by The G&W Recruiting Report. He earned All-American honors from that recruiting service, receiving the same accolades from Parade. He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Game and competed in the Big 33 All-Star Classic. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year award for the state of Pennsylvania and was the recipient of the Wilson Most Valuable Offensive Player Award as a senior. In addition, Henne added first-team All-State honors from the Associated Press and was a three-time first-team All-Berks County selection, adding All-Berks/Lancaster Lebanon Offensive Back of the Year honors as a junior and senior. He earned second-team All-State honors as a junior and first-team All-Berks County and all-league honorable mention as a freshman. Henne set the Pennsylvania District III all-time passing and touchdown records (7,071 yards and 74 touchdowns), as he completed 147-of-249 passes for 1,743 yards and 19 scores his senior season, when he also rushed for 450 yards and five scores. He threw for more than 4,000 yards in his sophomore and junior seasons alone, completing 64.4% of his passes for 2,088 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions (two came on deflections) while rushing for over 600 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. As a sophomore, Henne passed for 1,405 yards and 16 touchdowns and completed 53.4% of his throws for 1,835 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman. He also competed in track and was timed in 100-meters at 11.2. He threw the javelin a career-best 195.5 feet. He was a two-year starter on the basketball team, averaging eight points and eight rebounds per game as a senior. Henne enrolled at Michigan in 2004 and quickly took over quarterback duties, starting all 12 games. He received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award and was an All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention by the league's coaches and media. He added Freshman All-American accolades from Scripps/Football Writers Association, Rivals.com and The Sporting News Freshman All-America first team. He finished the year as the top true freshman quarterback statistically in Michigan and Big Ten history, connecting on 240-of-399 passes (60.2%) for 2,743 yards and 25 touchdowns, ranking third on the school's single-season list for attempts, completions and yards. He also tied the school record for most touchdown passes in a season (25 shared by Elvis Grbac in 1991) and ran for two more scores. In 2005, Henne again started all 12 games. He completed 223-of-382 passes (58.4%) for 2,526 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He ranks fourth in Michigan history in touchdown passes in a season, fourth in completions, fifth in attempts and seventh in passing yards. He tossed at least one touchdown pass in 11 of the 12 games and threw for at least 200 yards in seven contests. As a junior, Henne earned Rivals.com All-American third-team honors. He was a Manning Award finalist, Maxwell Award semifinalist, Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist and Walter Camp Award candidate. The All-Big Ten Conference second-team choice started all thirteen games. He hit on 203-of-328 passes (61.9%) for 2,508 yards and 22 touchdowns with eight interceptions, ranking fifth in U-M's season record list for touchdown passes, eighth in attempts and completions and tenth in passing yards. Henne's hopes for Heisman Trophy consideration in 2007 were quickly dashed in the team's loss to Appalachian State in the '07 opener. The preseason All-Big Ten Conference pick later suffered a lower leg and right knee injury that would sideline him for the second half of the team's Week Two game vs. Oregon and forced him to sit out the Notre Dame and Penn State games. When he returned, his mobility was negated due to lingering issues with his knee, in addition to suffering a shoulder separation vs. Illinois and an ankle sprain vs. Michigan State. He finished with 1,938 yards on 162-of-278 attempts (58.3%) with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He lost 120 yards on 24 carries, finishing his final campaign with 1,818 yards in total offense. Henne started all 47 games in which he played at Michigan. He completed 828-of-1,387 passes (59.7%) for 9,715 yards, 87 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. Of his pass completions, 118 were for at least 20 yards, but he also had 159 of his pass attempts deflected by the opposition (196 passes defended total). He rushed 180 times for losses of 315 yards (minus-1.8-yard average) and three scores. He posted five solo tackles and participated in 1,567 offensive plays, amassing 9,400 yards in total offense. The Michigan passer turned the ball over eight times on 20 fumbles and was sacked 89 times for losses totaling 588 yards.

positives

Has a thick lower-body frame, with good muscle tone in his thighs and calves...Generally durable athlete, who started 39 consecutive games before he was sidelined by injury...Has decent quickness moving around in the backfield, showing the balance and slide to step up and away from pressure but is not a threat as a runner...Ready to throw at the end of his pass drop. He might drift some in the pocket, but he shows good upper-body mechanics...Drop-back style passer, who can throw on the move but is not a running quarterback...Throws with a tight circle, flicking the ball out with adequate quickness and does a good job of maintaining focus downfield...While his release is not the fastest (will be late sometimes), he has the arm strength to stretch the field and air the ball out...Better when he takes a three-step drop and shortens his throws...Has a good grasp of the playbook and needs minimal reps to retain plays...Puts in the extra hours after practices and in the film room...Has good command in the huddle, and is slowly developing adequate leadership skills...Does a nice job of delivering the ball over the top, but is equally effective when using a three-quarters sidearm motion...When throwing in the short area, he shows a nice, tight circle on his attempts but lacks touch when he throws deliberately or high...Has functional skills and can throw a decent fade downfield, but must do it with better consistency...Not quick to flush and hangs tough under the pass rush, but must work on getting the ball on time...Does a decent job calling the audible and is an unselfish sort who will credit teammates...His short-area touch needs improvement, as he will leave a few short, but puts good zip on throws in that area...Throws impressive fades, but will miss the wide-open streak and short throws when pressured...Has the feet to avoid the bull rush and has shown improvement maintaining focus to complete the play, doing an adequate job of running through progressions, when he has time to scan the field. However, he will force it when pressured at times...Not a big running threat, but will buy some time with his feet.

compares to

JOEY HARRINGTON-Atlanta...Henne is a good mechanic with the arm strength to air it out, but he needs to do a better job of timing throws, as he tends to hold on to the ball too long. He will get "happy feet" when pressured and run too early, but he lacks good ball-security skills and that has led to 14 fumbles in 39 games. He lacks ideal trajectory on his passes, as he will short-arm often, leading to 30 interceptions and 138 other passes deflected by the opposition. Like Harrington, he is an erratic performer, who can look sensational one minute, but tries to do too much and gets caught with the ball in his hands. Any general manager daring to consider him a first-round target will soon see himself on the unemployment line. Henne has too many of Harrington's deficiencies to be considered a franchise quarterback.

negatives

Lacks upper-body tone and does not have the ideal height you look for in a quarterback...Gets very animated making audible calls and pre-snap changes, but has just adequate judgment...Competitive, but tries to carry too much of the load and lacks the creativity to improvise...Needs to throw the ball away more, as he seems bent on forcing the ball in order to complete the play and it has resulted in several costly miscues (37 interceptions, 159 passes deflected, 20 fumbles)...Has good arm strength, but lacks a quick and explosive release...Quick to set up, but holds the ball too long and will pat it before unleashing it, lacking ideal trajectory, which has resulted in a high amount of passes getting defended on him (168-of-1,113 passes were either picked off or batted away by the opposition)...His arm strength is sometimes negated, as he takes too long to deliver the ball on deep outs...Will also underthrow when passing in the short-to-intermediate areas (better when he takes a three-step drop to throw, as he gets the ball out quicker and with better touch than when he pats the ball)...Very inconsistent on the deep-out, as he can get rattled by pressure...By holding the ball too long, he is susceptible to the costly sacks (sacked 89 times for losses of 588 yards)...Has good field smarts, making his throws into traffic befuddling...Has the strength to fire into the deep secondary, but his receivers often have to break off their routes, as he doesn't lead them well or get the ball to the outside shoulder and away from the defender...Will step up to avoid the rush, but will tuck the ball and run too early, leaving the ball exposed, resulting in a high amount of fumbles...Needs to improve his timing, especially on deep throws, as he does not hit his deep targets in stride that much (will also rush some of his throws)...Tends to get tunnel-vision and stay on his primary target too long. Must do a better job of reading route progressions and locating other targets...Needs to square his shoulders better when trying to throw downfield on the move, as he will look awkward trying to maintain balance on the run.

2007: Suffered a right lower leg contusion/ankle sprain late in the second quarter of the Oregon (9/08) game, as Henne was hit out of bounds by Willie Glasper. He stayed in the game for one more play until the first half ended, but did not return from the locker room for the second half. The injury would force him to sit out the Notre Dame (9/15) and Penn State (9/22) games...Separated his right shoulder in the second quarter vs. Illinois (10/20). Left the game, but returned in the second half. He then sat out the following week vs. Minnesota (10/27) to recover from that injury...Sprained his right ankle, but continued to play throughout the Michigan State clash (11/03) with the injury...Re-aggravated his shoulder injury and left in the first quarter vs. Wisconsin (11/10).

Campus: 4.76 in the 40-yard dash

310-pound bench press

32-inch vertical jump

32 1/4-inch arm length

9 3/8-inch hands

Right-handed.

Attended Wilson (Wyomissing, Pa.) High School, playing football for head coach Jim Cantifio

Rated the seventh-best player in the country and third-ranked quarterback by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report (also rated third in the nation at QB by Prep Star)

Rated him the third-best quarterback in the nation and the state of Pennsylvania's second-ranked prep player, receiving a five-star rating from Rivals.com

Ranked third nationally at quarterback by Super Prep and second by Collegefootballnews.com and MaxEmfinger Recruiting.com (also received a five-star rating from Max Emfinger)

Named one of the Adidas Fab 50 National Playmakers in 2003 and rated the best quarterback in the nation by The G&W Recruiting Report

Earned All-American honors from that recruiting service, receiving the same accolades from Parade

Played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Game and competed in the Big 33 All-Star Classic

Named Gatorade Player of the Year award for the state of Pennsylvania and was the recipient of the Wilson Most Valuable Offensive Player Award as a senior

Added first-team All-State honors from the Associated Press and was a three-time first-team All-Berks County selection, adding All-Berks/Lancaster Lebanon Offensive Back of the Year honors as a junior and senior

The second-team All-State honors as a junior added first-team All-Berks County and all-league honorable mention as a freshman

Set the Pennsylvania District III all-time passing and touchdown records (7,071 yards and 74 touchdowns), as he completed 147 of 249 passes for 1,743 yards and 19 scores his senior season, when he also rushed for 450 yards and five scores

Threw for more than 4,000 yards in his sophomore and junior seasons alone, completing 64.4% of his passes for 2,088 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions (two came on deflections) while rushing for over 600 yards and six touchdowns as a junior

As a sophomore, he passed for 1,405 yards and 16 touchdowns and completed 53.4% of his throws for 1,835 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman

Also competed in track and was timed in 100-meters at 11.2

Threw the javelin a career-best 195.5 feet

Was a two-year starter on the basketball team, averaging eight points and eight rebounds per game as a senior.

General Studies major, enrolled in the Division of Kinesiology

Born Chad Steven Henne on 7/02/85

Resides in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.