Bob Asmussen | 'Bad cop' Henry pushing Illinois in right direction

CHAMPAIGN — Away from the football field, Aaron Henry seems to be the kind of person you’d want your kids to emulate: Engaging, smart, friendly. A big personality.

That’s away from the field. But in practice and in meetings, the second-year Illinois defensive coordinator is not to be messed with by his players.

How does he coach them?

“They would tell you, ‘Hard as hell,’” Henry said this week. “I’m very demanding. Extremely demanding.”

A year after his defense struggled — ranked 93rd nationally in points allowed — Henry’s guys are again playing at a high level.

The defense is fifth in takeaways nationally and 15th in points allowed. Why is Illinois 4-0 and ranked No. 19 in The Associated Press Top 25? Start with Henry’s defense.

Henry learned from what went wrong in 2023 and shares the lessons with his team. A lot. With no sugarcoating.

“I’m allowed to be the bad cop because they’ve got a lot of good cops that are their position coaches,” Henry said. “If everybody’s a good cop, nothing gets done and nothing gets solved.”

Defensive line coach Terrance Jamison calls Henry the voice of the defense.

“In terms of corrections, he’s going to tear them down, but he’s going to build them up,” Jamison said. “He’s speaking on behalf of all of us. We’ve got great synergy on the defensive staff.”

The bad cop has a soft side.

“The guys know I love them and I care about them,” Henry said. “But with that, I think you’re only allowed to be tough on them if you have a personal relationship with them.”

At the end of every practice, Henry walks through the locker room. It’s another chance to connect.

“Somebody could be having a tough day,” Henry said. “You probably got on someone through the course of practice and they probably took it personal because that’s the society we live in. In that moment when I walk through the locker room, I’m able to turn off the ‘Coach’ hat and turn on the ‘Brother’ hat. ‘Hey dude, I’m only hard on you because I want you to be great.’”

The Illini players aren’t offended. In fact, they admire him.

“I love that guy,” outside linebacker Seth Coleman said.

“He’s just a great leader,” defensive back Miles Scott added Wednesday after practice. “Great energy all the time. He’s a great person to play for.”

Scott understands what Henry is trying to do.

“I feel like good coaches should get on your nerves,” Scott said. “They should make you mad at times because he’s trying to bring the best out of you all the time.”

Defensive lineman TeRah Edwards came to Illinois after earlier playing at Northwestern. Like the rest of the players on defense, he is a Henry fan.

“He’s always going to light a fire under us,” Edwards said. “He’s going to hold us accountable.”

Does Henry, who played defensive back at Wisconsin under Bret Bielema, favor the secondary? Hardly.

“If I’m being honest, he gets on the DBs the hardest,” Edwards said. “He cuts them no slack.”

Strong relationshipJamison joined Bielema’s Illinois staff in 2021, the same time as Henry.

“It’s awesome to work with Aaron Henry,” Jamison said. “A young coach I’ve seen grow in this profession. A leader of men.”

It isn’t all work.

“We have a lot of fun on the defensive side of the ball,” Jamison said. “It starts with him.”

Corey Parker works alongside Henry in the secondary, joining the staff this year from Toledo.

“It’s great working with Coach Henry,” Parker said. “Great man. Great coach.”

The chance to work with Henry drew Parker to Illinois. His Toledo team played at Memorial Stadium to open the 2023 season.

“I saw who he was when we came here,” Parker said. “For me, it was just coming down to, ‘How can I help this guy?’ That’s what it’s all about.”

Winning finishHenry received major props for his late-game calls in last Friday’s 31-24 overtime win at Nebraska.

Illinois went after Cornhuskers freshman star quarterback Dylan Raiola.

“A good credit to Aaron and the defensive staff,” Bielema said. “At halftime, we talked about, ‘Let’s pressure this guy.’ We wanted to heat him up a little bit.”

Illinois secured the win with linebacker Dylan Rosiek sacking Raiola.

“An incredible call by Aaron in the end,” Bielema said.

Difficult timesHenry is working wonders with the Illinois defense while dealing with personal, family tragedy.

The week of Illinois’ game against Central Michigan, Henry unexpectedly lost his sister, Ashley Lee.

Henry worked the game in Lincoln, Neb., returned with the team to Champaign-Urbana and then flew out the next day for his sister’s services in Florida.

His players were there for him.

“We’re all a family, so we just tried to help him,” Scott said.

“It was tough,” Edwards said.

“We definitely rallied around him,” Coleman said. “We wanted to win for him.”

Henry’s loss of a loved one put football success in perspective. On Wednesday, Henry was nominated for the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award.

“Once you walk outside this facility (Smith Center), real life is here now,” Scott said.

“It makes you realize that this is bigger than football,” Edwards said. “He’s going through a tough time. He needs us.”

Bright futureAt age 35, Henry has plenty of years left on the sidelines.

Will they all be in C-U? Not if it goes the way his supporters hope.

Henry has skills that scream “head coach.”

When and where? To be decided.

His players and fellow assistants believe he has the right stuff to make the move. Some day.

“Just his leadership skills alone,” Scott said. “I feel like he can be in the head coaching role.”