Last Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, Badger faithful collectively gasped when starting cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu came limping off the field following a tackle on The Citadel's first offensive play.
Who would replace the Badgers' All-Big Ten junior who had started each of the past 16 games?
Enter Aaron Henry.
Henry, a true freshman out of Immokalee, Fla., stepped in and played a key role in UW's 45-31 victory over the Bulldogs. He finished the game with six tackles, five of them solo stops.
It wasn't scary for me at all, we go through that in practice all the time,"" Henry said. ""I was just trying to go out there, trying to go through all my reads. We have to get better with some little things in the secondary. But for the most part, I think it went really good.""
""Aaron Henry, other than a defensive penalty and one tackle, played a pretty good football game,"" Badger head coach Bret Bielema said in his weekly news conference.
The defensive penalty Bielema referred to came on The Citadel's second drive of the game. On a third-and-three at the Badgers' 23-yard line, Bulldogs quarterback Duran Lawson threw deep near the corner of the endzone in the direction of wide receiver Andre Roberts.
The pass fell incomplete, but Henry was flagged for a 10-yard holding penalty, giving The Citadel a first-and-ten at UW's 13-yard line. Four plays later, Lawson would find Tim Higgins over the middle to even the score at 7-7 with 7:28 remaining in the first quarter.
""Aaron has a pretty good mind, he understands what he's doing, but he's still a freshman,"" Bielema said. ""That's really the most extensive work he's had at corner in a live situation.""
Henry recovered, though, and he and the defense was able to tighten up in the second half and preserve the victory.
""In the first half it was a little rough,"" Henry said. ""But overall, as a defense, in the second half we really came out, and that's how we need to play the whole game.""
According to Bielema, Henry was a guy the coaching staff originally thought would play on special teams and 20-30 snaps from the line of scrimmage. Due to his extensive time at corner on Saturday, Bielema said he removed Henry from the kick return team.
Henry showed flashes of being a player who can step up earlier this season against Washington State. The freshman snuffed out a fake punt, staying with his man who was streaking down the sideline to simulate punt coverage.
Cougar punter Darryl Blunt lofted a pass down the sideline, which Henry picked off and returned 26 yards to the Cougars' 46-yard line. The play put a halt to any comeback hopes for Washington State and led to a scoring drive that would put the Badgers up 42-21 with 10:35 to play.
""Coming in they recruited me as a defensive back of course and they wanted someone who could come in and step up and make plays,"" Henry said following the win. ""We have a whole bunch of playmakers on this team and I am just fulfilling one of the roles.""
With Ikegwuonu set to return to action this week and the start of the Big Ten season, Henry's playing time on defense may be limited. But there is no doubt in the minds of Badger faithful that Henry has made his mark, and will continue to do so throughout his career.
""He's obviously going to make some mistakes, but the one thing is, there's nobody out there with a stronger mind than Aaron Henry,"" Bielema said.
