In this file photograph from 2001, UT’s John Henderson, winner of the previous year’s Outland Tophy as the best college defensive lineman in the country, helped let the air out of many an opposing offense. He played eight years in the NFL and spoke to the current Volunteers on Monday in Jacksonville, Fla.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ahead of its first TaxSlayer Bowl in practice Monday, the Tennessee football team got a special visit from one of the bigger names — and athletes — on its impressive list of former players.
John Henderson, a two-time All-America defensive tackle for the Volunteers who went on to play eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and go to two Pro Bowls, spoke to the current Vols before they went to Hodges Stadium around noon for their first on-site practice for Friday’s TaxSlayer Bowl.
“He came back and requested to speak to the team,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “He was outstanding. I know our players enjoyed his message.”
Henderson, better known as “Big John” during his Tennessee career, finished his three-year stint with the Vols with 165 tackles, 22.5 for loss and 20.5 sacks before becoming Jacksonville’s first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 2002 NFL draft. In 2001, Henderson recorded 12 sacks and 21 tackles for loss, the third-most for each stat in a single season in program history.
During his time with Tennessee’s players Monday, Henderson showed them a popular YouTube video of his pregame ritual in which he would have a trainer repeatedly slap him in the face to fire him up before games.
“I’ve seen the video before. It’s funny to me,” freshman defensive end Derek Barnett said. “He’s just got a trainer slapping him in the face, and he’s going crazy.
“He was getting hyped in the meeting talking about this game and our practice today,” Barnett added. “He’s a legend, and he’s from Nashville, too, so I look up to him.”
Henderson watched Tennessee practice Monday.
“You could see the excitement, you could see the energy and you could see the passion,” Jones said. “We led off with the YouTube video of him and the trainer that’s become very widespread. He was laughing about that. You could see the passion and the energy, and the great players have an energy level about themselves.
“It’s a great illustration for our players of the excellence we have here at Tennessee.”
Two more transferring
Jones confirmed that sophomore defensive end Jaylen Miller and freshman cornerback D’Andre Payne were not in Jacksonville with the team and will transfer from Tennessee.
After playing in three games in 2013, Miller appeared in nine games as a defensive reserve and recorded two tackles and one quarterback hurry this season, while Payne made four tackles (two on special teams) in eight games.
“Wherever they feel they can play, we’ll help them,” Jones said.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Payne was a four-star recruit out of Washington, D.C., and he becomes the fourth player from Tennessee’s 2014 signing class to decide to transfer, joining tailback Derrell Scott, tight end Daniel Helm and defensive end Dewayne Hendrix.
Defensive end Joe Henderson and tailback Treyvon Paulk won’t return for different reasons.
Jones became a little defensive when asked Monday about the departing players.
“I’m proud of these players,” he said. “Let’s make sure we understand that: Everyone wants to talk about other things. There’s a reason why we’re here, and it’s the efforts of these football players, and they’ve done a tremendous job. It’s all about the bowl experience.”
Barnett looking back
While spending Christmas with his family in Nashville, Barnett said, he did video study on his iPad and went over notes of Iowa to keep his mind on football and “get a little advantage” for Friday’s games.
The time off also allowed the All-SEC selection to reflect on his first season at Tennessee.
“Coach Jones told us there’d be a bunch of reflecting time over these past couple of weeks with our break and even this week,” he said. “I thought about it, and I thought it was pretty cool to reflect back and think about football in my freshman year and my last year of high school.
“I came a long way. You think back from high school to now, you’ve gotten so much better as a football player and as a person as well. You just learn a lot.”
Barnett set Tennessee freshman records with 20.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks this season, but he believes he can improve by playing better with his hands and becoming a “better student of the game.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.