DD: Elliott Henigan has a bright future if he continues to work hard

[cowboyjoe]

Elliott Henigan has a bright future if he continues to work hard
Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 2:30 PM
Steve Irvine -- The Birmingham News
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UAB's Elliott Henigan is poised to be one of the top defensive tackles in C-USA. (The Birmingham News, Hal Yeager)
UAB defensive tackle Elliott Henigan measures the distance he's traveled as a football player in years. Or, to be more precise, Henigan says it's been "light years, man."


Share "I've seen film when I first got here and I'm like 'I used to play like that? Where's the technique? What's he doing standing straight up and he's not coming off the ball?'" Henigan said. "I'm really happy with how I've developed."

Henigan showed up at UAB as a 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end with more potential than fanfare. He was a very good player at The Lovett School in Atlanta but was lightly recruited.

He enters his junior season as a 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive tackle who could become the program's second NFL draft choice at his position. Eddie Freeman, who was selected in the 2002 second round, is the only other UAB defensive tackle chosen in the draft.

"He's the best pass-rushing defensive tackle that I've ever faced and I've faced some pretty good guys," said UAB center Darion Smith, a junior college transfer from Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Mississippi. "Guys that are at Auburn, Tennessee and stuff. I think he's NFL caliber if he can just develop that motor 100 percent. He's an awesome player. If he can understand his potential and the tools that God has blessed him with, he'll be unblockable. He commands a double team."