Lakia Henry Settles in for Senior Season

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss senior linebacker Lakia Henry is looking forward to Saturday’s season opener against No. 5 Florida.

“It has been a roller coaster ride really,” Henry said. “For us to be here right now is unreal and I am going to make the best of it. If we play five or ten games just being out there playing. Going to be butterfly’s as usual but once that first play is over the jitters are gone and it is time to play football.”

This season, the coaching staff has moved Henry to the “will” linebacker position also known as the weakside or inside linebacker. As a junior, he started every game at inside linebacker for the Rebels and led the team in total tackles with 88.

“It’s not really that much different,” Henry said. “It’s all really the same I am playing mostly in the boundary. (The coaches) want me to run and make plays. It’s not going to be much different but I expect to have a high production than I did last year.”

Prior to arriving in Oxford, the Vidalia, Georgia native played two years of JUCO at Dodge City Community College. During that time, Henry did not play in front of that many fans, which he feels has got him accustomed to playing in quieter stadiums like the ones fans will see this year due to COVID-19. 

“Both sides have to be focused in,” he said. “To me in junior college, I didn’t play in front of any fans anyway. So for me, its kinda like going back to day one of playing football. I feel like that is going to be an advantage for me personally.”

The Landshark defense has stepped up in the last few weeks of scrimmages against the offense.

“I think it’s just us learning our defense, knowing what to do and where to lineup,” Henry said. “That’s most of the game where we lineup that’s the game and play fast. They are what we have been doing over the past few weeks to learn this defense.”

Henry is looking ahead to what Florida might do that could present a challenge for the defense against quarterback Kyle Trask.

“We have to stop the run and that is the main thing,” Henry said. Their offense is based off of a lot of RPO’s to make them one dimensional. (Trask) is a really good quarterback and it is going to be hard to stop him but we have to stop the run first. I feel like if we stop the run we will be in a better position to make the plays.”

Kickoff for Ole Miss and Florida in the Vaught is Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN.