Henry hoping to gain from loss
Defensive tackle sheds 20 pounds of weight, bulks up on work with his playbook
Willie Henry’s “Big Earl” nickname does not seem as apropos as it once did.
The Ravens defensive tackle has shed almost 20 pounds since last season and no longer has the belly he hated seeing in photos. Listed at 6 feet 3 and 291 pounds, Henry declared that he is in the best shape of his career.
“And I feel lighter, too,” he said recently at the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills. “So I feel quicker. I feel stronger and more explosive. So give credit where credit is due, to the guys in the weight room that I’ve been training with to get me feeling the way I’m feeling now.”
Henry’s new svelte l ook has caught the attention of teammates and coaches.
“If you look at him now, his body composition is way different,” defensive t ackle Brandon Williams said. “The way he sees the field is different. The way he sees plays, he’s diving in more to the playbook. He’s a game caller for us. He’s one of those guys we look for. He’s actually coming up as a leader now. He’s doing a great job. He’s getting into the playbook. He’s working on his body composition. He’s changed completely. I can’t wait to see Willie Henry this year.”
Said defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Ravens vs. Bears Canton, Ohio Thursday, 8 p.m. TV: Chs. 11, 4 The Baltimore Sun will publish a special section Sunday to commemorate Ray Lewis’ induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Martindale: “I noticed the weight loss when he came back for [organized team activities]. He’s really backed up the weight. It’s just that [strength and conditioning coach] Steve [Saunders] and those guys have done a great job of lowering his body fat and things like that. So he’s moving around. But it’s really the same weight. It’s just that he’s done a nice job this offseason of getting bigger, faster and stronger.”
Listed at 308 pounds heading into the team’s regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 31, Henry said he actually lost nearly 20 pounds toward the end of the season. The 24-year-old regained some of the weight in the offseason, but shed the extra baggage through a strenuous conditioning program overseen by Ben Herbert — the football team’s strength and conditioning coach for Henry’s alma mater, the University of Michigan — and a diet regimen that cut out what he called “bad food.”
“So what I did was I got serious,” Henry said. “I was serious before, but me and Carl Davis, we just attacked the offseason. We had a great offseason here during OTAs, and we just continued to build on what we had built here. Wewent up to Michigan and I got right with my guys up there at the university with Coach Herb and those guys. So it was just dedication to come back out here in the best shape possible.”
After taking what amounted to a redshirt year in 2016 when he was the organization’s fourth of five fourth-round draft picks, Henry finished with 33 tackles, 3½ sacks, five passes defended and two fumble recoveries last season. Exceeding those numbers is the objective for the upcoming season.
“Getting the reps that I got definitely set the foundation, and the only thing with that is building on that foundation and making it stronger and building on top of it,” he said. “I want to do more great things — whether that’s making more tackles, more tackles for loss, more sacks. I’m just expecting everything to be up from last year.”
As healthy as the weight loss, it might also affect Henry’s ability to contribute to the run defense. But Henry dismissed that notion.
“I feel like stopping the run is also a mentality,” he said. “A lot of times, it’s Defensive tackle Willie Henry came to training camp 20 points lighter this summer. bone-on-bone and man-on-man type of stuff. It’s about being aggressive and wanting it more than the offensive lineman wants to move you out of the way. I’ve still got that same mindset. I finished the season at 295. So the weight is still there. It just looks better on me. It’s going to fool you a little bit. You might say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t look as strong.’ But don’t be fooled. The weight is still there.”
Defensive line coach Joe Cullen said the weight loss has not reduced Henry’s effectiveness against the run in practices.
“He always had the flashes of really being good in his rush game, but he’s really playing the run better,” Cullen said. “I knew he was going to help us in pass rush, which he did last year.”
So can Henry still be called “Big Earl” after the weight loss?
“Oh, he’s still ‘Big Earl.’ To be big is up here,” Williams said, pointing to his head.
Henry said someone tried to call him “Big Slim,” but that nickname belongs to Davis.
“No, I’m still ‘Big Earl,’ ” he said. “That’s not going anywhere. I’m still going to be ‘Big Earl’ for a very long time.”