Alabama Game Week Scouting Report: Ole Miss Linebacker Lakia Henry

BamaCentral and NFL Draft Bible team up to profile key players Alabama will face this season, who have a chance to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Ole Miss

Senior linebacker Lakia Henry turned heads during training camp when he made a bold statement about the Ole Miss defense this season. 

“I think we can be the best defense in the SEC and the country, and I’m not saying that because it’s Ole Miss,” Henry said. “I truly believe that in my heart.”

It was a tall order considering the Rebels gave up a whopping 38.3 points per game last season.

So far, they have been better, but not quite at that level. Ole Miss has given up 22.7 points per game, which ranks 10th in the conference. It also yields up 341 yards per game, which is also 10th.

One big difference regarding Henry from a year ago is that he's no longer the middle linebacker, having moved to an outside spot where he can be better utilized as a pass rusher. 

In 2019, he led Ole Miss in tackles (88) during his first season after transferring from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College. Last season, he appeared in nine contests with six starts at linebacker and finished with 62 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Against Alabama, he started at middle linebacker and was credited with five total tackles. 

He'll be an interesting matchup against Alabama's two receiving tight ends. 

Lakia Henry

Jersey: No. #0
Position: Linebacker 
Height: 5-11
Weight: 235
DOB: 10/2/98
Draft eligible: 2022
Hometown: Vidalia, Georgia
High School: Vidalia

Pros:

Tremendous athlete with a lot of speed and burst at the second level. Henry can come downhill in a hurry and is dangerous on the blitz. His speed allows him to beat blockers to spots. Possessing great range and physical skills in coverage, Henry has the movement skills required to be a high-level coverage linebacker. Working angles and quick hands allow him to stay clean when flowing to the ball. He maintains a low center of gravity to absorb contact. Going for the ball, he forces fumbles.

Cons

Henry has bad eyes and is very slow to process. On play-action and run-pass options, he takes multiple steps forward and takes his time before recognize the fake, leaving lots of space vacated behind. His aggressive nature gets the better of him when lead blockers kick him out of gaps. Henry lacks length to stack blocks. He falls off of ball carriers due to a lack of physicality.

Summary:

Compact linebacker with great movement skills, Henry has the athletic traits to be a high-level player in the NFL. He struggles to read plays and does not stack blocks. Henry projects as a developmental weak side linebacker who can contribute on special teams immediately thanks to his athleticism. If he can improve his processing, he has a lot of the tools to be a quality starter.

Grades

6.3 (current value)/8.2 potential value

BamaCentral Analysis

When Henry's on, and we mean really on, he can be scary good. For example, against Vanderbilt in 2019 he notched a career-high 15 tackles along with his first sack for the Rebels. During last season, he had 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles against Florida. He closed the regular season with three straight games with double digits in tackles including 12 against LSU. However, so far this season he hasn't been much of a factor, with eight total tackles in three games, five of which came during the last game against Tulane. He also has yet to have a sack. Part of that has to do with being ejected for targeting against Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham in the second quarter of the opener. 

BamaCentral will profile two different Ole Miss players each day this week the Crimson Tide prepares to host the Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Also check out NFL Draft Bible for more evaluations.

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