Mark WiedmerNASHVILLE - Midway through practice Friday afternoon at the Tennessee Titans' rookie camp, Jacob Huesman handed the ball to Derrick Henry, then watched in awe as the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner put on as much of a show an NFL running back can in a game of touch football while wearing a helmet and shorts.
"He took one up the middle, went to the sideline and hit another gear," said Huesman, the former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga quarterback who was invited to the camp as a tryout player. "I was like, 'Wow, that's the next level.'"
Another gear.
The next level.
That's where the Titans hope Henry can help take them, much as he carried Alabama to the national championship last season while totaling 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.
For a team that finished 25th in the NFL in rushing on its way to a 3-13 season, including a total of eight rushing touchdowns from its top five ground-gainers, a player like Henry would seem essential for the Titans, even with 2014 offensive player of the year DeMarco Murray on the roster via an offseason trade.
That's been the early criticism of drafting Henry in the second round, especially since his 40-yard time of 4.52 seconds is slower than Murray's 4.41. But Henry is also seven years younger than Murray, who's 28, and with running backs, the legs can go quickly, especially as the 30th birthday nears.
Besides, if the Titans really can find a way to run the ball effectively with both Murray and Henry earning double-digit carries, it shortens the game for a Tennessee defense that hasn't proven it can become a championship-caliber unit.
Defensive lineman Jurrett Casey might not agree - "I think we'll be a top-five defense, for sure," he said during the Titans Caravan's stop in Chattanooga earlier this month - but regardless of how much the defense improves, Henry should do much to help the offense and the man who preceded him as the Heisman winner: Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
"I liked a lot of things he did,'' Titans coach Mike Mularkey said Friday after watching Henry practice for the second time that day. "Some of the holes, some of the plays we are running - his reads on the run were good for the very first day with a whole new offensive line and a fullback in front of him."
You might expect that of a Heisman winner. But another thing that impressed Mularkey about Henry might have been unexpected of a guy known for running it and running it and running it until he averaged 26.2 carries a game last season for the Crimson Tide.
Added Mularkey: "Some of the things he did protection-wise - some of the guys got beat up front, and he had no problem stepping right up and picking up the leakage."
If you want to know one reason why Alabama has won four national championships in seven seasons under coach Nick Saban, Henry's response to being told of Mularkey's praise as a blocker bears repeating.
"That's Alabama," Henry said. "Everybody blocks."
The best news for the Titans is that not even the NFL has many backs throwing blocks who stand 6-foot-3 and tip the scales at 240 or more pounds while running a 4.52 in the 40.
Or as rookie offensive tackle and Titans first-round pick Jack Conklin noted Friday, "(Henry) looks like a D-end out there running the ball, but he is a lot faster."
Added Huesman: "Most of the guys at this camp are a lot like me speed-wise. It's not that different from college. But (Henry's) different. I watched him on television a lot. Now I'm seeing it again. I haven't seen speed like that very often in person."
Befitting any rookie, Henry said Titans running backs coach and former Crimson Tide player Sylvester Croom is already on him about his footwork.
"I felt comfortable, but I know there's things I definitely have to get better at," Henry said. "But it was good to get out there and fly around, do everything we learned in meetings. If I've got pads on, I'm going to play. I'm just trying to play hard and hustle."
There are those who question the wisdom of employing two power backs on the order of the 6-0, 217-pound Murray and Henry in an increasingly pass-happy, quick-strike league.
But maybe that's also the Titans' secret weapon. Be different. Be physical. Force over flash. If there's an analogy, it might be why wishbone-type teams are often successful on the college level. If you only see this type of attack once or twice a season, it can be difficult to defend.
Or as Titans safety Rashad Johnson told The Tennessean when describing the offensive potential of Murray and Henry over the traditional backfield of thunder and lightning (power and speed), "Thunder and thunder."
It may not work, of course. Nothing much has for this franchise since 2008, the last season the Titans made the playoffs. But this being another election year at the close of a two-term presidency, history could repeat.
Even if it doesn't, Henry sounds like a Heisman winner any team would love to have, just like the Heisman winner just before him who also proudly represents the Titans.
"Marcus and I talk all the time," Henry said. "As long as I work hard and behave myself, everything else will take care of itself."
That mindset would certainly seem the best way for the Titans to not only find that other gear needed to reach the next level but also develop the consistency required to remain there for more than a season or two.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.