QB Antonio Henton (transfer to Ga. Southern and FT. Valley St.)

[OHSportsFan]

I hope we can keep a game-tracker for AH in this thread...

If I had to guess, I dont think my sports package picks up GSU games.

I'll definitely be watching for the score of his first game (assuming he wins the QB spot) against Georgia...how sweet would a big time performance and possibly an upset @ Georgia be?

I guess bittersweet would be a better way to think of it though :(.

 

[Steve19]

I don't think this is a zero sum game. I think that Pryor will work out but that doesn't make losing Antonio any easier.

Antonio Henton appears to be a good somebody that got into the wrong situation at the wrong time. He ended up paying a higher price that appears to be a lot higher than it should have been, in part, because of factors well out of his control (e.g., the recency of the Clarett issues, slow progress of the justice system).

I am sorry to lose him and think he will be missed.

That said, the Ohio State Buckeyes will step up and fill the gap.

Antonio, go in peace and be well.

 

[Buckskin86]

Henton feels at home at GSU
Donald Heath | Thursday, June 26, 2008 Ohio State transfer could be Eagles' starting quarterback in 2008

STATESBORO - Quarterback Antonio Henton wasn't connecting with his Ohio State teammates. At Peach County High School, he called plays by numbers. In Columbus, it was a lot more complicated.

And when you add in a little Southern drawl...

His Buckeye teammates called him Willie Beamer, a fictional character from Oliver Stone's 1999 movie, "Any Given Sunday."

"I looked at the movie. (Beamer) couldn't call plays, so I was like, 'That's not my name,'" said Henton on Wednesday, now wearing a Georgia Southern jersey while recalling some of the playful ribbing he took at OSU.

It's been a week since Henton finalized his decision to leave the Buckeyes and transfer to Georgia Southern, suddenly giving depth to a position that once was filled with question marks.

In 2005, Henton threw for 2,117 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading Peach County to a Class AAA state championship.

He was the state's player of the pear and after a redshirt season in Columbus, appeared the heir apparent to the OSU starting quarterback job when Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith finished his eligibility.

Things didn't work out that way. He couldn't beat out the backup and four weeks into the season got into legal trouble. He was a long way from home and a longer way from where he wanted to be: behind center and leading a college football team.

So he looked into coming home.

Monday, Henton enrolled at GSU. Tuesday, he competed in the Eagles' 7-on-7 drills.

"I talked to all of (the quarterback hopefuls Tuesday)," Henton said. "They're nice guys. I had a lot of questions my first day and they helped me out. I'm glad they're not looking at me as an enemy or some guy coming over with a big head."

A fresh start

Henton understands he's getting a second chance to make a first impression. He met local media Wednesday. He looked comfortable. He looked big.

At 6-foot-2, 236 pounds, Henton might be bigger than most of GSU's past fullbacks. He said his 40-yard dash time is 4.57 seconds. Only Jayson Foster and Greg Hill might have been faster.

GSU head coach Chris Hatcher and offensive coordinator Rance Gillespie said Henton's a perfect fit for the Eagles' spread offense. They said he has a strong arm and can scramble when a play goes awry.

Gillespie, who coached Peach County in 2005, said Henton is as good a person as he is a player.

So this is where Henton feels comfortable. Ironically, he left because he wanted to get away from Georgia and returned in part because he missed home.

Henton said his parents only visited Columbus once in two years. He has three younger siblings and an older sister.

To come home meant starting at the bottom of the depth chart. He doesn't mind. He'll give up the big-time atmosphere to ride the yellow school buses to the football stadium.

"If I was going to go somewhere, I wanted to be in Georgia," Henton said. "To keep moving from state to state, that's not a good thing. ... I liked the tradition. I learned about the yellow bus situation and there seems to be a lot of great people around.

"It's up to me. If I go out and prove I should be the guy to start, then maybe I'll work my way up. If I go out there and do nothing, I'll stay down."

http://savannahnow.com/node/523234

Posted on Thu, Jun. 26, 2008 reprint
Henton is happy to be with Eagles
By Mike Brown - [email protected]

STATESBORO --Antonio Henton didn't say it, but it was rather obvious Wednesday afternoon that the former Peach County standout did not transfer to Georgia Southern to be a fourth-string quarterback.

For one thing, schools do not hold news conferences to introduce fourth-string quarterbacks who are summer transfers. That's what Georgia Southern did for Henton, who transferred to the school from Ohio State.

Eagles head coach Chris Hatcher was not in attendance, nor were any members of his staff. They were attending an out of town coaching clinic.

Henton, however, did not need any support in explaining his decision to leave one of the top programs in the BCS for one of top teams in the FCS.

Ohio State played for the national championship each of the past two seasons while the Eagles have won a record six FCS national titles.

There has been much speculation that Henton did not see a future with the Buckeyes with last year's All-Big Ten quarterback Todd Boeckman returning and highly touted Terrell Pryor having signed with OSU last spring.

"I didn't look at it that way at all," Henton said. "You've got to earn your spot to be the guy going in.

"Todd is a real good quarterback, and so is Joe Bauserman. Coach (Jim) Tressel is going to give them every opportunity to go in there and earn it. I felt I could compete and earn it, too. Coach Tressel told us all we would have a chance. I'm not shy from competing."

The strongest consideration in going to Georgia Southern, Henton said, was an opportunity to return home where he could be close to family and friends, and they could see him play.

"My parents were able to come to Columbus only once in the two years I was up there," said Henton, who has an older sister and four younger siblings at home. "It was a big adjustment for me going from a small town to a big city like Columbus."

Henton, 6-foot-1, 230 pounds in his No. 17 jersey, said he finally made the decision last week to transfer. He said he went to Tressel to talk to him about it, and the Buckeyes' head coach said if he gave him a list of schools he was interested in, he would help him any way he could.

There was only one school on Henton's list: Georgia Southern. The Ohio State coach had no problem in granting Henton his release when he knew he would not have to face him in the future.

"I could have gone to a lot of Division I schools, but I wanted to come home to Georgia, and I didn't want to sit out a year," Henton said. "That left Georgia Southern, plus Coach (Rance) Gillespie was here."

Henton is happy to be with Eagles

 

[Buckskin86]

Antonio Henton in Statesboro
June 25, 2008

STATESBORO, GA -- On Monday... Antonio Henton enrolled at Georgia Southern. That's news because the former Peach County quarterback made the transfer from Ohio State.

Today... I caught up with multiple threat quarterback and asked him which he liked better... to run or throw.

"I like to do whatever it takes to win," says Henton. "If it comes down to throwing, I throw it. If it comes down to running, I run. I just want to win."

Henton said he throws the ball better than he runs it. He led Peach County to the state title in 2005 when he played for Rance Gillespie, now the Georgia Southern offensive coordinator. That will help make the transition easier. "I felt like if I was going somewhere I would play for him again. That's not saying anything bad about coach (Jim) Tressel. He's a great guy and he's got a good coaching staff around him. The players, we built a bond, we were like brothers. I'm trying to get it the same here in Statesboro."

WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Antonio Henton in Statesboro

Pop Up Video

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[Padraig]

Just in case any of you in the Georgia / Tennessee / Carolinas area had the desire to catch an Eagles game and were in close enough proximity, here is their schedule for the '08 season:

Football - News - Georgia Southern University Eagles Athletics (hmmm...couldn't get the direct link to schedule for some reason )

...anyway

Good luck, AH!

 

[RugbyBuck]

I wondered (and posted) why AH didn't sit out a year and then run Paul Johnson's show at Georgia Tech. It's probably clear, though, that he won't be a NFL qb and GSU is a solid program. D1 isn't everything. He's got the chance to play right away and be a hero in middle/southern Georgia. I guess, there's much to be said for that. People still remember Tracy Ham from the old wishbone offense GSU ran twenty years ago.

Hell, I can't be too down on him, I came back to Georgia from tOSU for law school.

Welcome back South, AH.

 

[Wells4Heisman]

Just in case any of you in the Georgia / Tennessee / Carolinas area had the desire to catch an Eagles game and were in close enough proximity, here is their schedule for the '08 season:

Football - News - Georgia Southern University Eagles Athletics (hmmm...couldn't get the direct link to schedule for some reason )

...anyway

Good luck, AH!

I've seen them play a few times, I might be going to the UGA Georgia Southern Game since I might be going with my boss.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Notebook: Hatcher enjoying competition on roster

By Daniel Shirley - [email protected]


GREENVILLE, S.C. --

Georgia Southern head coach Chris Hatcher said he has told incoming transfer and former Peach County standout Antonio Henton that he wants Henton to win the Eagles' starting quarterback job.But Hatcher said he has told Lee Chapple and Kyle Collins the same thing.
"We want those players to want to win those jobs," Hatcher said at the Southern Conference Football Rouser on Wednesday. "We tell them all that, at every position. We want that kind of competition for players to win jobs."
Henton spent two seasons at Ohio State, redshirting in 2006, and will be a sophomore with the Eagles this season. His former Peach County head coach, Rance Gillespie, is the Eagles' offensive coordinator.
Chapple is a redshirt freshman and Collins is a sophomore.
Cont...

 

[shetuck]

Savannah Morning News: Mixed day for Ohio State transfer Henton

Mixed day for Ohio State transfer Henton
Donald Heath | Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 12:30 am


Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern quarterback Antonio Henton drops back to pass as he runs drills Friday during the Eagles' first practice. (Photo: Richard Burkhart)

STATESBORO - The buzz started early - 8 a.m. early.

"Is that the guy from Ohio State?" asked an onlooker from the Georgia Southern practice sidelines Friday.

For the first week of preseason football drills, at least, quarterback Antonio Henton will be known to many as the guy from Ohio State.

Henton transferred in from Columbus, Ohio last month, bringing a reputation that includes a strong arm and solid leadership skills - qualities Coach Chris Hatcher wants from his Hatch Attack engineer.

But the guy from Ohio State doesn't have the first-string job just yet. He'll have to beat redshirt freshman Lee Chapple who, during the spring, earned the No. 1 label heading into fall camp.

"Whoever's the best one will play," Hatcher said recently. "It's that way with every position on the team."

Actually, Henton is No. 3 right now.

"I expect to show the coaches I'm committed to the team," said Henton after the team's initial two-hour workout. "I'm trying to get their trust (that) I'm a guy who can play and do good things. It all starts here, in camp, in practice to prove myself."

cont'd...

 

[osustamm]

Lets get a vBet on Henton starting....

 

[Buckskin86]

Posted on Sun, Aug. 03, 2008
Henton looking to improve with each Southern practice
By Mike Brown - [email protected]

STATESBORO --Antonio Henton has only been a part of the Georgia Southern football program for slightly more than a month, and it shows.

The former Peach County quarterback, who transferred to Georgia Southern from Ohio State in June, got in his second workout Saturday, and he said he still has a long way to go.

Georgia Southern opened preseason practices Friday with 90 players on hand per NCAA rules as it begins preparation for the Aug. 30 opener at Georgia.

Much of the attention from fans and media the first two days was focused on Henton, who is one of the more high profile recruits or transfers for the Eagles in the past few seasons.

Redshirt freshman Lee Chapple opened camp as the starting quarterback, a position he earned last spring. His backup is sophomore Kyle Collins.

Sophomore Billy Lowe's career is over due to a back injury which required offseason surgery. Lowe, who transferred from Northern Illinois last year, is not listed on the roster.

During the first three days of fall camp, the Eagles will hold split practices with the team being broken up into two groups. One group - consisting primarily of newcomers - will practice in the morning while the other group lifts weights. In the afternoon, the two groups switch.

Head coach Chris Hatcher said by splitting the squad in two, it gives the coaching staff a better opportunity to take a closer look at the players and what they can do.

"We will have some new players sprinkled into the afternoon group to give us depth at certain positions," Hatcher said after the morning practice. "This afternoon (with the older players) will be a lot sharper practice, but nevertheless, we threw a lot at them and they hustled around the field."

While Henton is battling Chapple for the starting position, the two have become fast friends since his arrival.

"We're roommates," Henton said. "He's a great guy. We understand it's all about competition."

Henton said Saturday's practice was better than the one he had Friday, and that was what it was all about: getting better each day.


"I can't afford to have a bad day," Henton said. "I'm not satisfied with what I'm doing now. I have to work hard to learn the plays, and every time I step on the field, I have to take care of business."

Henton looking to improve with each Southern practice

 

[shetuck]

CPD: Former OSU quarterbacks fight for jobs

Ohio State football: Former OSU quarterbacks fight for jobs

by Doug Lesmerises
Monday August 11, 2008, 12:27 PM

Quarterbacks Rob Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton weren't going to start at Ohio State, and neither of them is guaranteed to be the starter with his new team.

[...]

At Georgia Southern, Henton is also involved in a three-way battle, but a reporter who's around the team told me Henton is No. 3 right now and doesn't have much of a shot to start by the time the Eagles open the season. So Henton won't be the one to help his old Buckeye teammates by knocking off No. 1 Georgia in the opener.

This reporter said Henton was missing receivers early in camp and also is still picking up the offense. He thought Henton had a chance to earn some playing time by the middle of the year, maybe be part of a two-quarterback system, but it hasn't happened yet.

cont'd...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

GSU's QB competition heating up
Adam Van Brimmer | Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 12:30 am




STATESBORO - Chris Hatcher will soon name Georgia Southern's starters for the season opener.
All except the quarterback, that is.
Sounds kind of like planning your wedding before proposing to the bride. Or buying a 1960s muscle car without knowing how to use a clutch and stick shift.
But then Hatcher isn't ready to marry either Lee Chapple or Antonio Henton yet. And his offense needs to be ready to race no matter which quarterback is in the driver's seat.
So the competition goes on - and might not end until the Eagles return to Statesboro from the opener against Georgia.
Cont...

"The biggest thing for me was to show all these guys I wasn't some guy transferring in from a big school with the big head to match," Henton said. "There's nothing negative about my attitude."
Quite the contrary, Chapple said. He found Henton "eager to learn" and "humble." Both were highly decorated prep players with similar skills. Henton trumps Chapple physically - he outweighs him by 40 pounds - but otherwise Chapple could have been the Buckeye and Henton the Eagle coming out of high school.
Their play thus far in camp reflects those similarities. Chapple is the better runner, Hatcher said, but Henton impresses with his pocket presence. He moves well enough to allow his receivers time to break free down field.

"Chapple had a good spring, but it's fall now," Hatcher said. "The best player will play."
In other words, the starting job is no longer Chapple's to lose. It is up for grabs.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Eight Eagles suspended for Georgia game

By NATALIE SAYEWICH
[email protected]
Posted: Aug. 21, 2008 9:40 a.m.
Updated: Aug. 21, 2008 9:40 a.m.

In the wake of Georgia's barrage of suspenion announcements that came throughought the course of the offseason, Georgia Southern ? which opens its season against the Bulldogs on Aug. 30 ? countered by announcing several suspensions from their football team to begin the season as well.
Wednesday afternoon, Georgia Southern second-year coach Chris Hatcher announced via media release that eight members of the team would not play in the season-opener in Athens "due to a violation of institutional rules". Three of the eight would serve an additional one-game suspension the following Saturday when the Eagles take on Austin Peay.

The battle at the quarterback position continues as redshirt freshman Lee Chapple and sophomore Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton are both listed in the No. 1 spot. Hatcher said that if the team played tomorrow, both would see time behind center.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Gillespie has reunited with a former Peach County quarterback at Georgia Southern.
Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton is competing with redshirt freshman Lee Chapple for the starting job.
"It's looking more and more like we might end up playing both of them," Gillespie said. "I think they're both really good and I think both of them give us a chance to win here."
No matter the quarterback, Georgia Southern's offense will have a different look than a year ago when it led the Football Cha mpionship Subdivision with 326.3 rushing yards per game and was 103rd in passing while going 7-4.