As the Sam Houston State Bearkats roll up Highway 6 for their Saturday battle against Baylor, they’ll have the perfect navigators in Will Henry and Victor Carmichael.

And should the Bearkats lose their way defensively at all, it again wouldn’t be a bad idea to turn to Carmichael and Henry, a pair of former Waco-area high school stars who are seldom lost when it comes to making plays.

For Henry, a former hard-hitting linebacker at La Vega, and Carmichael, a standout safety from University, Saturday’s game at Baylor will serve as a rare — and welcomed — homecoming.

Sam Houston State free safety Victor Carmichael, a former University High School star, returns a fumble for a touchdown last season against Western Illinois.
Sam Houston State photo

“I definitely think this will be one of the most exciting games of my college career,” Henry said. “I’m glad I get to come to Baylor, come back to my hometown and have a chance to show everybody the player I’ve become.”

What Henry and Carmichael have become are a package of dynamite defenders capable of turning offensive game plans into smoldering rubble. Last year, Henry earned honorable mention all-Southland Conference honors while tallying 71 tackles and a team-high 11 tackles for losses. Carmichael, meanwhile, started eight games at free safety, recording 52 tackles and taking a fumble back 21 yards for a touchdown against Western Illinois.

“The best thing about Will is that he’s got great explosiveness,” first-year Sam Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “I don’t know what he runs in the 40, but he’s just got tremendous burst to the ball. ... Vic, I love his explosiveness, too. He can do a lot of things on the field, and we’re blessed to have him among a pretty good group of safeties.”

Back at La Vega, Henry was like a crash test dummy come to life, constantly hurling his body into full-speed collisions with opposing ball carriers. As a senior in 2007, he made 180 tackles and forced six fumbles, claiming the Super Centex Defensive Player of the Year award.

Heading to Huntsville

But Henry’s package of power and passion wasn’t enough to prompt scouts at Bowl Subdivision schools to overlook his slightly-undersized build. Sam Houston, however, extended an offer, and Henry has made the Bearkats look brilliant ever since.

“We knew if someone could look past the fact that he was undersized and gave him a chance, he was going to do great,” La Vega coach Willie Williams said. “He’s a football player. The thing about Will, he practices as hard as he plays.”

Fritz has witnessed that all-out devotion. What he loves most about Henry is that the linebacker seems to find a way to the ball even when it appears the physics won’t allow it.

Will Henry, the Super Centex Defensive Player of the Year at La Vega in 2007, finished second on Sam Houston’s team with 71 tackles in 2009.
Sam Houston State photo

“I’ve been telling guys that Will kind of morphs himself, changes shapes,” Fritz said. “When he’s coming on blitzes, he can turn a shoulder and get really small and get to the ball. He’s tough to block in space.”

Like Henry, Carmichael wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of University. He signed with Kilgore Junior College in the spring of 2007, and stepped in as an instant impact player for the Rangers, eventually earning all-conference and all-America recognition.

“I’m not surprised at all at what Victor’s done, because he’s an outstanding player,” said former University head coach LeRoy Coleman, now an assistant at La Vega. “He played safety quite a bit for us, and he was one of those players who would come downhill and strike you pretty good.”

Yet that freewheeling style resulted in a shortened season for Carmichael in his last year at Kilgore at 2008. He suffered a dislocated elbow trying to make a tackle, leading to a painful trek to the bench.

“That was a hard pill to swallow,” Carmichael said. “You work so hard, and then it’s taken away. That’s why I’m hoping for an injury-free season this year, because injuries have really kept me from reaching my full potential.”

Henry will open the season as the Bearkats’ starter at outside linebacker, while Carmichael is currently running second-team at free safety. But Fritz said that Carmichael should see “30 to 40 snaps” on defense each game while also playing a crucial role on the team’s “block party” kicking game unit.

Both Henry and Carmichael have buddies in the NFL — “Perrish (Cox) is a busy man, so he’s hard to catch,” Carmichael said, chuckling — and would love nothing more than to join them in the pros someday. For his part, Henry said he can’t imagine a life without football.

“Hopefully if I play my best, when I get to the end of my senior year I’ll get a chance to play at that next level,” Henry said. “That’s not what I’m solely focused on, but I think about it.

“I love the game, and I’ve still got my passion. I’ll have it when I’m old and gray. The only way I’m leaving the field is on a stretcher.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

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