By Julia Maenius, UTSA Athletics Communications
EDITOR'S NOTE: This feature appears in UTSA's game program for Saturday's contest with UNLV. For the complete program, visit www.GoUTSA.com/program.
Adaptation to change is an integral part of athletic success. Changing positions, shifting coaching staffs or picking up a new sport are all indications of success through adaptation. For senior outside linebacker DeQuarius Henry, adaptation has been his game.
Beginning his athletic career as a basketball player, Henry took to tackling and defensive strategy his senior year of high school.
"One of the coaches at my high school asked me to try out for the football team and I was not interested in football at first but decided to give it a try," Henry said. "Once I started to play, I really liked it and they started to notice me."
As one of the only current players in the program recruited by inaugural head coach Larry Coker and his staff in 2015, Henry finalized his decision to become a Roadrunner based on the relationship he built with Coker.
"This was one of the only FBS schools that recruited me and the entire Coker staff was very interested in me as a player," Henry said. "[UTSA] showed the most love to me. They wanted me more than anyone else and I really appreciate the respect they gave me. I loved the city too, so that was why I wanted to come to UTSA."
A defensive weapon since arriving on campus for the 2016 season, Henry has seen the phases of transition and change. Head coach Jeff Traylor has implemented a culture of character and effort into the program, and Henry believes it is so effective for the team and fans because of Traylor's commitment to the players.
"I bought into his culture so much because I saw how much he cares about the players through his actions and how much he believes in his players," Henry said. "Coach Traylor gives his players the opportunity to speak up and be who we are. We really appreciate that as players, so we love that the most."
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the collegiate season, Henry and 11 of his teammates were offered an additional year of eligibility to play by the NCAA. Inspired to play another season by the passion of Traylor for the program and his recognition of comradery throughout the team, Henry suited up for a final season as a Roadrunner.
"The type of culture that Coach Traylor brought to the program was nothing like I have ever seen before," Henry said. "I believed in him and the other coaches so much that I decided to stay and be a part of the culture one last time."
Starting his career at UTSA as a defensive end, Henry made the transition to outside linebacker for his final two seasons, placing an emphasis on improving his game through the ability to adapt to change on the field.
"I have focused on being able to adapt because I have had a lot of defensive coaches, so my biggest thing is being able to adapt my game," Henry said. "Using both of the aspects of playing defensive end and linebacker to be more physical and play more coverage are definitely the things that I have seen improve in my game."
During Henry's six seasons with the Roadrunners, he has played in 43 contests, registering 82 tackles, 10 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss and forced four fumbles.
"I am motivated to play hard for my daughter back home, the players on this team and it is the type of player that I am," Henry said. "I just want to give it 110 percent. I want to give it all out there for my guys and for the love of the game."
Having experienced all three of UTSA's coaching staffs, Henry draws on his knowledge and observation of the advancement of the program to step up as a leader on the team, providing insights as to what the program was like before Traylor took the reins.
"Since I am one of the old heads, I have seen the program grow from nothing to what it is now," Henry said. "For me to have seen both sides of what the program was, I was really grateful to see the good and the bad. My teammates make me be a great leader because I have seen what we used to be and what we are now. They push me to be a leader because we could be so much more than this."
This season, one of Traylor's many slogans and methods of culture implementation is "Trust the Process." Henry values the importance of setting an example on the field by encouraging his teammates to focus on the process of winning rather than the records and statistics the team has accumulated.
"Some people fall in the love with the destination and the results, the fans and everyone see us out there having a good time and winning, but they don't see what we do in practice," Henry said. "My thing is to fall in love with the process and give it all you've got with the little things so that the destination and the results will be what you want it to be.
"My goal is to leave this place impacting somebody and impacting the team," Henry said. "It is not really about the stats. The statistics will play itself out, but my biggest goal is to have these young guys learn something from me. I want to be a positive role model for those guys. That is what it is all about, having something bigger than me, the team, the players, because that is what I care most about."
As a father of a five-year-old daughter, Henry leans on the lessons he has learned on the gridiron — time management, perseverance and a strong mentality — to tackle fatherhood as an athlete.
"The Triangle (of Toughness) really does travel," Henry said. "From football to being a father, one thing I appreciate about the game is that it has taught me to balance both at the same time. It is all about the balance of mental toughness. Being a father takes a lot of time, commitment, resiliency and perseverance. I have to be mentally strong enough to learn my plays, be on time and ready for practice and do what the coaches ask me to do while making enough time for my daughter. I am grateful that the game has taught me how to go through adversity and figure it out."
Coming off of a 31-28 win against Memphis and a 37-30 win at Illinois, the Roadrunners have led an undefeated season thus far, prompting fans and spectators to comment on the heart and resiliency of the team.
"It is about the culture," Henry said. "Those big games that we won, it wasn't just one guy or won by luck. We really believe in our coaches and our team. Everybody out there is mentally locked in because we know what we have to do. To play with passion, perfect effort and mental and physical toughness, we really believe in those pillars, so we are going to do everything we can to play for Coach Traylor and play for each other."
Henry earned his bachelor's degree in communication in December of 2019. Following his graduation, he plans to invest his time in entrepreneurship with his own trucking business.
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