Film gives Henderson, 'Dogs early break

ROBERT TURBEVILLE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Georgia cornerback Jamie Henderson spent extra hours watching film before playing Arkansas.
Game film first, over and over, and then a movie called Remember the Titans on Friday night.
He said both helped him Saturday against the Razorbacks.
The movie, Denzel Washington's latest about a football team that fights through racial problems, brought No. 25 Georgia closer as a team, Henderson said, giving the Bulldogs the mind-set they needed coming into Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
"We saw that team come together, and we said we're going to do the same thing," Henderson said.
Sounds good, anyway. But it's highly unlikely one movie blew open a game that was supposed to be close, even if Georgia was more fired up than usual.
Now the other film, the game film that Henderson spent extra hours watching, that definitely helped. Because of that, he made a perfect break on a Robby Hampton pass early in the first quarter, intercepted it and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
The play, Arkansas' first from scrimmage, was simple enough, but its importance to Georgia was huge. It gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with 9:25 left in the first quarter, and it gave them all the momentum. Georgia led 24-0 by halftime and cruised to a 38-7 victory.
"That, to me, set the whole tempo," Georgia defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs said of Henderson's interception. "We had to continue to play well, but that really relaxed us and certainly put more pressure on them."
Georgia came out strong, driving 55 yards on 14 plays to the Arkansas 21, but settled for Billy Bennett's 39-yard field goal.
Arkansas' Alvin Ray returned the ensuing kickoff 13 yards to the Razorbacks 33.
Arkansas lined up in a one-back set with two receivers left and two tight ends. The split end lined up left against Henderson was Boo Williams, Arkansas' main receiving threat. Georgia was running Cover 2.
Hampton took a pre-snap look and saw that he had a hitch route open, but he didn't look back until he was ready to make the throw because he didn't want to tip off where he was throwing. Hampton said from watching film he expected the corner to "bail out."
That didn't happen.
Hampton dropped back three steps, turned to his left and threw toward Williams. Henderson was breaking to make the play before Hampton released the pass. Hampton never saw Henderson until it was too late.
"I was on Boo Williams, and I kind of figured they were going to get the ball to him early," Henderson said. "I saw the three-step drop, and I knew it was something quick, so I broke up on it."
He broke, plucked it from the air and sprinted untouched down the right side of the field for a touchdown.
"It's my fault," Hampton said. "I predetermined the throw. I took my three steps, turned and made the throw, and he was there."
"The corner just squatted and read Robby's eyes," Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said. "The film study showed in that particular formation, two tight ends and two receivers, that they've been very, very soft. But, boy, he broke on it, and he broke on it in a hurry.
"Boy, it makes me wish I'd called a hitch-and-go."
It was a dangerous move by Henderson. Arkansas could have been running the hitch-and-go, with Williams stopping short, then streaking down the sideline. With Williams' size and speed and with Henderson, a 6-3, 191-pound senior, out of the picture, it could have been a big gain for Arkansas instead of a huge turn for the worse.
But "when they three-step, it's never really a stop-and-go," Henderson said, referring to what he picked up by watching film. "Stop-and-go is four steps."
Henderson said he was determined not to give up plays to Williams.
"I've got a lot of respect for Boo," Henderson said. "He's a great receiver. He's 6-4, 230, and has great speed. I just went into the game with the mind frame that he's not going to make highlights out of me."
Henderson had seen enough game film to know how not to be a part of a Williams highlight.

This article was published on Sunday, October 1, 2000

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