LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson walked gingerly through the myriad of celebrities on his way to the stage at the Kodak Theater. The soft-spoken speedster nervously began to think of what he could say. He had not prepared a speech.
Seconds earlier he heard his named announced by the ABC Monday Night Football crew as the winner of the “Best Play” at the 2003 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. A last-second, 75-yard game-winning touchdown catch on a Hail Mary pass eight months earlier set the course in action.
Al Michaels, John Madden and Lisa Guerrero presented Henderson with the trophy as the other nominees – Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, Michael Vick and LeBron James – looked on. And for moral support, Henderson brought his mother, Cheryl Lemon, on stage with him.
“Why not?” Henderson said after being asked why he conducted the rare act of bringing his mother on stage to receive an ESPY. “I brought her on stage with me to show my appreciation for her and to give back to her. She raised me by herself.”
The ESPY winner from Opelousas caught a pass that made the most noise during the 2002 college football season, but you will not hear it from him. In fact, you will not hear much at all from him. He is what you would call, “quiet.”
“He doesn’t say much,” said LSU receiver Michael Clayton. “It says a lot about a person when they can win an award as prestigious as the ESPY and still be humble and still be the same person.”
Henderson said he was excited to meet all the celebrities, and his mom was “very excited to meet Michael Vick.”
“I am so proud of him,” Lemon said. “It was an amazing experience.”
She did not expect to go on stage, but she said, “Well, he wanted me to go, so I went.”
Lemon said when her son caught that pass in Lexington, Ky., she ran outside screaming and hollering so loud the neighbors heard her. She said the owner of a car wash down the street and around the corner called her later on to ask if she was the one making all the noise.
“My mom can talk,” Henderson said. “I don’t know why I’m so quiet.”
Lemon said he always has been quiet, ever since she can remember.
“He was always such a good kid,” she said. “Whenever I would let him spend the night with a friend, the friend’s parents would call me to tell me how good he behaved and how quiet he was. They would say, ‘He doesn’t make a noise. How do you get him to talk?’ He doesn’t tell me things unless I ask him specific questions.”
LSU quarterback Matt Mauck said Henderson does not say much, but when he does it is usually “the right thing.”
His shy personality off the field conflicts with his flashy playmaking ability on the field. He runs the 40-yard dash consistently in 4.3 seconds, making him the fastest player on the field in most cases.
“He is such a talented player,” Mauck said. “Any time you have a guy who runs a 4.3, you have a guy with playmaking skills. He has developed nicely into a great receiver. He is more aggressive now, and he has improved catching the ball.”
Henderson almost was not allowed to play football. His mother said she was scared to let him play because she didn’t want him to get hurt.
“But he was so much faster than everybody,” she said. “I finally realized that those big guys couldn’t hurt him because they couldn’t catch him.”
Henderson led the team last season with eight touchdown catches and accumulated 447 yards on 23 catches despite missing the final two and a half games with a broken arm.
On that cool, crisp Kentucky afternoon in early November, Henderson caught five passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns on his way to earning SEC Player of the Week honors. But the last catch, dubbed “The Bluegrass Miracle” is what everyone remembers.
“I knew he was going to win [the ESPY],” Clayton said. “I got teary-eyed when they called his name. The guys he was up against do the plays they were nominated for all the time. But not many people have ever made a play like Devery did against Kentucky. And it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
Henderson’s nickname is “Boo Boo.” Neither he nor his mother are sure where or when he obtained the name, but it stuck. His mother said he had other nicknames – Chocolate, Bow-Bow, D2 and lil’ Devery – but Boo Boo has stood the test of time.
Ironically, an LSU wideout in the 1990s known for his blazing speed – current Kansas City Chiefs’ receiver Eddie Kennison – has the nickname “Boo.”
Lemon is hopeful that her son will follow the same route in the future.
“[Playing in the NFL] would be such a big accomplishment for him,” she said. “I had to stop my athletic career because I got pregnant with him. I just tell him to ‘keep on going and don’t let anything stop you.’ I want him to give it his best shot and don’t think about what he could have done.”
Henderson was named to The Sporting News All-Spring team in 2003 after leading all LSU receivers in spring scrimmages with 17 catches for 251 yards. In the Spring Game, Henderson caught seven passes for 146 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown.
This will be Henderson’s second full season at receiver after playing running back his first two seasons. The college football world will be keeping a close eye on him.
“When he played running back, he did not want to switch to wide receiver,” Clayton said. “But he is humble and does what he can for the team.”
The 6-foot senior also will handle special team duties by returning kickoffs. Last season, he returned 11 kickoffs and was one of the nation’s
leaders with 27.7 yards per return.
Henderson is the lone senior in the Tigers’ stable of exciting, young wide receivers. He strained his hamstring during fall practice, but head coach Nick Saban said he is looking better. Freshman blue-chip receivers Amp Hill (MCL surgery) and Craig Davis (dislocated elbow) also were injured in fall practice. Hill will be out for three months and Davis will return to the lineup in a few weeks.
“We expect to have a great season, and I want to help the young receivers,” Henderson said. “We’re pretty quick this year. We just want to go out and make as many plays as we can. I want to try and be a leader this season and do what I can to help the team.”