Tyrell Henry makes one-handed circus catch for first career touchdown
Tyrell Henry entered Friday’s season opener against Central Michigan without a reception. He spent last year mostly on special teams for Michigan State, meaning he didn’t record a catch at wide receiver.
It’s safe to say he’ll always remember his first one.
Henry fought off a defender who was flagged for pass interference and still made the one-handed catch to haul in the 10-yard touchdown reception from Noah Kim. That helped put the Spartans ahead 24-7 over Central Michigan as the fourth quarter got underway.
Last year, Tyrell Henry took 10 kick returns back for 183 yards, but was never a big part of the offense. He could find himself in a bigger role this season with Keon Coleman out of the picture. With a catch like that, he certainly opened some eyes in the season opener.
The play was set up in large part by a big play from Christian Fitzpatrick. He made a sweet catch of his own and turned it into a 72-yard reception. That got Michigan State to the CMU 10-yard line, which is where the rest of the magic happened.
Michigan State got off to a slow start on offense, but eventually took a 10-7 lead into halftime after a Nate Carter ran in a 2-yard touchdown to put the Spartans back out in front. Mel Tucker’s group looked better out of the break as Jalen Berger took a 12-yard carry into the end zone to make it a 17-7 Michigan State lead with 2:42 to play in the third quarter.
What’s at stake for Mel Tucker, Michigan State in 2023
This year is Tucker’s fourth at the helm and the second since he signed a lucrative contract extension. His second season in 2021 went incredibly well with an 11-2 record and saw him receive a 10-year, $95 million contract. However, Michigan State missed out on a bowl game in 2022 with a 5-7 record, adding to the pressure on Tucker and the Spartans this year.
He understands what’s at stake, but Tucker said his expectations for himself are even higher than those outside the program.
“I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself all the time,” Tucker said, via SpartanMag. “So the pressure I feel, the same pressure I feel every day and for the last 27 years is to coach hard and get the people that are around me to coach hard and play hard. No one could put more pressure on me than I put on myself. I mean, there is no situation possible.
“And so I mean, I’ve coached at the highest level, the smallest place I’ve coached was Miami of Ohio for one year in ‘99 and I’ve never been anywhere where you weren’t expected to win games.”
On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.