Veteran KJ Henry not buying into the hype of "talking season"

Henry isn't buying into the hype of "talking season."

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Aug 22 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – KJ Henry has been around for a while, and he knows that as the Tigers prepare to take on Georgia in the season opener, talk is cheap. The only thing that matters is what happens on the field.

The veteran defensive end out of North Carolina understands the talk leading up to a preseason top-five clash, but he isn’t buying the hype. Not yet. He also isn’t buying into the hype surrounding the Tigers’ defensive line.

"First off, I would say it's talking season and I think that's kind of funny when you say hype. That's not what it's about for us," Henry said. "We know we will have great competition coming in Week 1 and a great challenge and one of the best offensive lines in the country. We are just trying to prove ourselves right at the end of the day. On Sept. 4, we will have a great test of what we have accomplished over the summer and how hard we worked.

"As far as the hype, we'll see what it's worth at the end of the season."

Henry is more invested in his journey and making sure this is his best season.

“Finally coming into this fourth year, I think about my journey. Starting off coming in, couldn't really lift anything, it was really about getting my weight up and trying to get confidence in the playbook,” he said. “It was getting my feet wet. Getting that first year of being one of the guys that we depended on, and now it's just trying to dominate every day and being an instinctive football player. I've always relied on my football IQ as one of my strong suits. Now I'm really just trying to sharpen those tools and make that something that really pushes me to make plays on Saturday. I'd probably say that's the best thing that I've been able to work on."

However, he has been impressed with the depth along the defense.

"Definitely have seen a great amount of depth,” Henry said. “We have 20 guys on defense coming back that have started games, and one-fourth of that is defensive ends, and almost half are defensive line. We know we have a lot of experience and know what they are doing. It definitely has been a good start to camp so far."

Henry said the defensive line is made better by the Tigers’ offensive line, perhaps the most maligned position group last season.

"I think what's not been spoken about is a lot of depth on the offensive line as well. They are definitely still trying to figure everything out and get that cohesion, which is different from an offensive perspective than a defensive perspective,” he said. “But the depth is there. A lot of young talent and a lot of experienced guys that are leading the way. It's been great to compete against. I see tenacity and grit, the toughness and fight.

"Each day, we know we have to come out here and give it our all to be productive, because those guys are bringing it and pushing us, and they're going to have us ready and we're going to have them ready. From a camp perspective, I would say they're getting it done each day."