Evergreen State QB on silver and gold radar

IDAHO IS projected by GoVandals.net to take two QBs this class. One who garnered early UI interest was a 6-6, 215-pound field general out of Spanaway, Wash. Despite his size, he's not the drop-back, pocket passer one might expect, although he does have a cannon. Senior tape was just mailed to Moscow, and there are other reasons why you might see Idaho get in on him.

Oliver Henry, (6-6, 215), out of Bethel High certainly has some size to him. But that doesn't mean he won't make plays on the run. Indeed, he excels at it.

"He's got abnormal mobility for someone who is so tall," said Bethel coach Gavin Kralik. "He moves very well. And he's very accurate throwing the football."

Idaho, along with Boise State, is in the mix for Henry, said Kralik, although the Vandals were showing more interest earlier this recruiting season. Here's why:

Henry made few summer camp appearances and that hurt his recruitment -- but Idaho did see him at two of those he performed in, said Kralik. Prior to the season, Idaho recruiting coordinator Luther Carr was impressed, so much so a possible offer was talked about. But the following weekend, Henry didn't have a good day.

"He went and threw at another camp and another Idaho coach was there. And he didn't do so well. He fell off their list then. But we just finished our season and he led our state in passing. He had a real good year...he's got a good film that will get in their hands," said Kralik.

That film went out to Idaho late this week.

Oliver completed 195-of-320 for 2,879 yards and 25 TDs this season. His career passing yardage: 6,471 yards and 57 TDs. He started the last 28 consecutive games.

WITH A COLLEGE QUARTERBACK, there are, always, the intangibles to consider. Verbal commitments come earlier and earlier every year, and the quarterback position leads the pack in the race to land early pledges. Many schools have their guy in hand well before their senior seasons, and staffs often take only one quarterback a class.

Some highly regarded prep QBs have absolute rockets for arms or ungodly stats, yet in the end they don't make all that much of a splash as a collegian. On the other hand, there are the signal callers who don't get near the same level of recruiting hype who seemingly will their team to wins over the course of impressive college careers.

But the "late bloomers" and "steals", they're rarely characterized that way until their sophomore or junior year in college.

Mental toughness, maturity, football smarts, being a leader -- however you want to characterize it, some guys just have "it".

Henry, says Kralik, is one of those guys. And he has good reason to think that way.

Oliver did have 14 interceptions on the season, but there's also more to that story. Probably five or so were the result of tips, the kind that just as easily could have been completions. A bigger reason is what was going on at home.

Seven of the interceptions came over two games early in the season, when it appeared his mother was, at any moment, going to lose her battle with leukemia.

Later, as a tribute to his mom, Henry played in the Homecoming game less than 24 hours after she passed away -- because that's what she would have wanted him to do. He completed 21 of 38 passes for 358 yards and five TDs.

“There was no way I was going to lose that game,” Henry told the Tacoma News Tribune. “It was for my mom.”

THE NUMBER ONE thing many fans want to know about a quarterback -- is his arm strength. Lest you wonder if Henry also has a strong arm, he does.

"I saw him where he threw a 55 yarder -- off his back foot -- rolling out to his right," said TNT staff reporter Ryan Divish.

Good feet, a completion percentage that has increased every year, senior tape is on it's way to Idaho for a guy with that "it" factor. Stay tuned.

Oliver Henry profile and junior video (senior video will be available soon)

NOTABLE NOTES:

For more on Oliver, a sad read and a well written article from The Tacoma News Tribune. You can fine it here.

Oliver bench presses 290 pounds. He also excels in the discus and shot, and is one of the favorites to take the state title in the discus this year.