Chris Henry Jr. let the nation know what he's all about.
The 5-star commit was in the national spotlight on Saturday when Mater Dei traveled across the country to take on St. Thomas Aquinas in the featured game of ESPN''s High School Kickoff last week. Mater Dei won 26-23, and it was in no short part due to Henry's big-play ability.
Henry, a composite top 50 national prospect, had a touchdown catch of 22 yards that got Mater Dei on the board, but it was the 81-yard catch that showed everything you'd want to see in a top receiver. He showed physical talent by using his size to high point the ball and shield the defensive back from being able to make a play, and then he showed the breakaway speed to finish the play.
Another angle of the Chris Henry Jr catch. 6-5, 210 lbs. Wow pic.twitter.com/l7oqznCVy3
— The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) August 23, 2025
What made all this more impressive is that Henry missed most of last season with a knee injury, but on Saturday he showed no signs of being anything less than fully recovered.
Longhorns and Ducks aren't giving up
Henry has said that his recruitment has been shut down, but don't expect schools to stop contacting him until the ink dries on his letter of intent. The blue-chip prospect has been committed to Ohio State for over two years and visited other programs like USC and Miami before deciding to put an end to it in April.
Two schools that have been hitting Henry up as of late are Texas and Oregon. Henry has also indicated thathe's done taking visits, but if that changes in the near future, two places to monitor will be Austin, Texas and Eugene, Oregon.
Making his father proud
Unfortunately, Chris Henry Jr. was just two years old when his father, Chris Sr., tragically died after falling out of the back of a moving truck. For those of us that saw his Dad at West Virginia and in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, the physical attributes are nearly identical. The elder Henry was a big-bodied pass catcher with long strides that lived for the big play.
And much like his father, Chris Henry Jr. appears to have those physical talents that you just can't teach. The elder Henry had physical skills that were compared with Randy Moss, and that is not an exaggeration. Had he not had disciplinary issues at West Virginia, he would've likely been a first-round pick instead of a third-round pick.
One would think the elder Henry is smiling down as he sees the young man carrying the name forward. Get ready Buckeye fans, you've got a good one.