With NFL career over, Chad Henne ready to pass on finer points of playing quarterback

You wouldn’t think that a gadget play called in a Central vs. Southern junior high game could change someone’s life, but it did.

Chad Henne was always fast; running back seemed like the right spot for him. He had a strong arm, too, developed on the pitching mound and playing shortstop throughout his youth.

When the Wilson Central eighth-grader threw the football 30 yards downfield for a touchdown on a halfback option Jim Cantafio took notice.

Wilson’s head football coach summoned Henne to the high school gym the next morning.

“From then on,” recalls Henne, “I competed as a quarterback and worked on quarterback fundamentals every morning.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

That junior high play led to a long career at quarterback, including 15 seasons in the NFL, and to a spot in the Berks County Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Henne will be inducted Sunday along with James Bryant, Bob Dudek, Matt Lytle, Greg Storr and Ron Zeiber.

The induction comes less than four months after he ended his playing career by winning a second Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Henne took over at quarterback midway through Wilson’s season opener in 2000 and went on to set passing records for the Bulldogs and Michigan Wolverines and spend 15 seasons at that position in the NFL.

As a 15-year-old freshman he started Wilson’s final 10 games, threw for 1,835 yards and helped the Bulldogs go 9-2 and tie for the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 title.

Before his first varsity game Cantafio tabbed Henne as “the best high school quarterback I’ve ever seen at this age”; that turned out not to be hyperbole.

Henne became the first freshman quarterback selected for the All-Berks team.

He will be the first to tell you he leaned heavily upon and succeeded because he had a talented, veteran team around him that included All-State pick Andy Roland, his tight end; Section 1 Receiver of the Year Brett Harbach; and all-league linemen such as Mike Nelson and Curt Reichart.

He had butterflies before that first game against Harrisburg, for sure, but he showed poise beyond his age and performed at a high level. He threw 190 consecutive passes at one point without an interception.

“When you get the opportunity and you’ve got other people depending on you, especially older guys, it’s tough to earn their confidence,” Henne said. “That was the biggest thing: I didn’t want to let the seniors down.”

It was that way at Michigan where he learned a couple days before the 2004 season-opener against Miami of Ohio that he would be starting at quarterback. He became just the second true freshman in program history and first since Rick Leach in 1975 to start the season-opener at quarterback.

Just like at Wilson he had an experienced, talented crew around him – he was throwing to future NFL receivers Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant and Steve Breaston – and he excelled. As a freshman he tied the program record for touchdown passes in a season (25) and threw four scoring passes in the Rose Bowl, a 38-37 loss to Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns.

He was a four-year starter in Ann Arbor and set program records for career completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns, just as he had at Wilson, where he set Berks records that likely will never be touched.

Before he turned 16 Henne had his first Division I college offer, from Louisiana State and Nick Saban.

That’s where his focus is now that he’s retired from playing: He wants to help young players develop, gain attention, and potentially earn scholarships.

He recently launched a website — 24-7QB.com – to promote his efforts to teach young players the finer points of playing quarterback. He’s offering private and group sessions.

“I feel I can create relationships here and we can really build something and help these guys out in our county,” Henne said. “I want to (get things) up to speed in Berks County and try to get these guys an advantage.”

He has informally helped coach players at his alma mater, Wilson, for years but says he isn’t ready to take the next step and join Doug Dahms’ coaching staff, at least not right now.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t want to do it,” Henne said, “I’m just a little hesitant because of (the) time (commitment). I retired to be with my family more than I was when I was working. That’s the biggest thing.”

Henne and his family – wife Brittany, a Wilson grad, and children Chace and Hunter – have always returned home during the offseason. Now that they’re here year-round Henne wants to establish deeper, lasting roots in the community.

He’ll work with Cantafio at camps in the Lancaster area but his primary focus will be building his brand here at home.

At some point he could end up on the Bulldogs’ coaching staff but not right away, he said.

“I don’t know if it’ll be within five years, maybe 10 years when my kids get in high school,” he said. “At some point I’ll try to get back involved. For me, it’s just too soon (after retirement) and I’m just not ready mentally.”

In addition to Wilson, Henne is also offering to help coaches at other Berks football programs. He played for one of the great offensive minds in the game, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, the past five years and wants to share that knowledge.

“Anyone around the county can reach out to me and we can have a consulting session where I can look at what you’re doing offensively (and I’ll tell you) what I think you can do to get better,” he said.

“My goal is to stay local and build up (football), use my contacts to bring some light to this area again.”