U-M alum Braylon Edwards stoops to new low by bashing MSU’s Xavier Henderson
‘Hate Week’ is alive and well in the state of Michigan, and while I appreciate a lot of the back and forth jawing that the UM-MSU rivalry produces, one former Wolverine took things too far on Tuesday.
Braylon Edwards, one of the top wide receivers in Michigan football history, has made a name for himself post-football mostly by being loud and obnoxious, and once again that’s the case.
On Tuesday, while co-hosting the Woodward Sports talk show, Edwards took time out of his day to take a shot at current Michigan State senior safety Xavier Henderson.
A year ago, after the Spartans came from 16 points down to beat the Wolverines in East Lansing, Henderson went on a mini rant to begin the post-game media availability.
“Yes sir. What they talking about now? What they talking about now? It sounded good. It sounded good, before the game," Henderson said. "Thanks Mike Hart. Coach D said it would never be over, still not over. Thanks (Chase) Winovich. Thanks (Taylor) Lewan. Thanks Braylon Edwards. I bet you know Chuck Brantley’s name now, don’t you? It sounded good, but I don’t know what they talking about now."
Brantley, of course, had the game-winning interception last season which capped MSU’s victory. Edwards had said earlier in the season that he couldn’t name one person on the Spartans’ defense.
After ignoring Henderson’s remark for a year, Edwards decided that five days before the next meeting between Michigan and Michigan State, in which the Wolverines are currently a 23-point favorite, was the time to respond to Henderson’s rant.
“Since Xavier Henderson wanted to open up his mouth and say, ‘I bet you know [Brantley’s] name now’ – he had four tackles. You had four tackles. Congratulations,” Edwards said.
“You still gave up 550 yards of total offense. You let Cade McNamara, who’s a guy that hadn’t passed for 180 yards, throw for 384 yards. You let our running backs go for a 150, again. You didn’t get any sacks, you didn’t get to the quarterback, you did exactly what I said you guys were going to do. You’re a bad defense that got bailed out by ‘K9’.
“You got the ‘W’, so I’m going to leave it there and say, ‘Congratulations’, but since that game, what’d you do the next week? Oh, you guys gave up 40 to Purdue. What’d you do two weeks after that? 56 to Ohio State.”
First off, it’s cringe-inducing that a 39-year-old man (Edwards) is taking a shot at a college athlete, even one who has been around the block for some time in the 23-year-old and fifth-year senior Henderson. We all know about the verbal barbs that have been thrown back and forth in this rivalry, particularly from the Wolverines side. Henderson was simply responding to those barbs in the heat of the moment, immediately following one of the biggest games of his career. You’d think a full-grown adult, and a former athlete, like Edwards would understand that.
Secondly, how lame is it that Edwards brings up Michigan State’s defensive performances about Purdue and Ohio State? If Michigan fans or alums can take joy in the Spartans losing other games or performing poorly after they beat the Wolverines, that’s an indictment on them.
Edwards, of course, tried to downplay his initial quote about not knowing anybody on Michigan State’s defense.
“Before [Michigan State won], earlier in the week, [Woodward Sports co-host] Ryan Ermanni and myself were talking about we couldn’t name anybody on Michigan State’s defense. Now, it was all sarcasm…at the end of the day, it was a joke. That’s what we do on this show,” Edwards said.
“What we said was your defense sucked, and here we are, 365 [days later] almost to the day, and you’re defense is actually even worse. So, I would pipe down and see what you guys got going on Saturday.”
Again, it’s pretty lame and eye-roll inducing to hear Edwards’ rant during the week of a game in which Michigan is heavily favored. It’s easy to talk smack in the position the Wolverines find themselves in, and several of their players have indeed been vocal about what they expect to occur on Saturday.
But this is a new low for Edwards, who has routinely been loud, obnoxious and crass during his post-football career. However, there can be no doubt that Henderson will be made aware of Edwards’ remark, and if the Spartans pull off another upset, we’re certain the Spartan senior’s response will be a memorable one.
Edwards' full comments regarding Saturday's game between Michigan and Michigan State can be viewed below.
