Of Henry as a "battler" and a "fighter."
Of Henry as someone who would not take a moment
off, who would push to the brink of breaking, whose
only acceptable response would be harder than before.
And that was just in a certain environment.
"People need to understand how hard of a worker
he is," Marve said. "From my experience, he was one
of those guys that I could call at any time and be like,
'Hey, you want to go to the gym? You want to go throw
some footballs?' He was always the guy to say 'yes'
fast. He'd be that kind of friend, too, that he would
even get on me sometimes. He'd be like, 'Hey, man, we
need to work on this, you messed this up in practice,
let's spend a bit more time.' "
Every teammate and friend of Henry's likely could
share similar stories, moments when he was there to
support, to encourage, to challenge, to listen.
It doesn't take them long to learn that about Henry,
that he's the cornerstone of the program.
"I was lucky enough to be in the room with him for
two years," said former quarterback Sean Robinson,
now Purdue's starting weakside linebacker. "Rob Henry — and I think everyone knows this, even the public
— is an unbelievable person and a great friend. He's
loyal, he's humble, he puts everyone else before himself.
"And he doesn't
change no matter
who's around and
everybody appreciates him for who he
is. The Rob Henry
you see today is the
same Rob Henry
you're going to see
tomorrow and that
you saw yesterday.
That's just who he
is."
And
though
Henry wants to
be a winner and
desperately wants
to finish his football career with a
flourish, if it is his
13
IllustrateD volume 24, issue 1
steadiness, his exemplary work ethic, his leadership,
his character that end up being his legacy, that's just
fine.
"What really means something to me is what my
teammates think about me and what my coaches think
about me, the impact I can have on the university and
the football program," Henry said. j
f
