06-23-2008, 03:22 PM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
Posted on Mon, Jun. 23, 2008
Former Peach County star Henton officially a Georgia Southern Eagle
By Michael A. Lough - mlough@macon.com
The last football game Antonio Henton played in Georgia was a state championship game. The next football game Henton is likely to play in his home state will be against a national championship favorite.
The former Peach County standout quarterback spent this morning enrolling at Georgia Southern, making his transfer from Ohio State official and complete.
"All I know," Eagles head coach Chris Hatcher said just before lunchtime, "is that he's in school here right now and he's a Georgia Southern Eagle."
Henton took care of the necessary paperwork in Statesboro and began taking classes in the school's final summer session, as did offensive lineman Trey Dunmon, a former Hawkinsville standout who is transferring from Georgia Tech.
"We'll physical him up this afternoon," Hatcher said of Henton. "And he'll start lifting weights in the morning."
In transferring from a Football Bowl Subdivision team to a Football Championship Subdivision team (formerly divisions I-A and I-AA), Henton is eligible immediately and should be on the field when the Eagles visit Georgia on Aug. 30.
Henton passed for 3,927 yards and 49 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Peach County, rushing for 900 yards and 12 touchdowns in the same span. He earned a long list of honors as a senior and took that resume to Ohio State.
Even before arriving in Columbus, Henton was compared to Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. Henton redshirted - and battled groin and shoulder problems - during Smith's senior season.
He played in four games last year before being suspended after an arrest for solicitation. He pleaded guilt to a lesser charge nearly two months later and was reinstated but didn?t play again. Henton unofficially dropped to third on the depth chart in the spring, and a logjam was created at the position with the signing of highly touted recruit Terrelle Pryor of Pennsylvania.
The transfer reunites Henton with Rance Gillespie, his head coach at Peach County, who Hatcher hired a few weeks after taking over at Georgia Southern in January of 2007.
"We're getting an outstanding player and a great kid," Gillespie said. "I think he's very excited to be here. He grew up in Fort Valley, so he's familiar with all the traditions here and the type of program that he's becoming a part of."
Ohio State officials contacted Georgia Southern last week, Hatcher said, and indicated Henton may inquire about transferring. Henton then did and finished the process this morning after his first meeting with Hatcher.
"He's a good guy, but we knew that," said Hatcher, who is keeping Henton off-limits to the media today. "Rance coached him all the way from the eighth grade on. We got a coach who coached him through the most important years of his life.
"We knew what we were getting."
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Former Peach County star Henton officially a Georgia Southern Eagle
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