Jacob Henry, son of WWE legend Mark Henry, a football star
AUSTIN, Texas (BVM) – The least surprising part of Lake Travis High School junior defensive lineman Jacob Henry’s game is his power. At 6-foot, 275 pounds, Henry can be seen frequently throwing around opposing offensive linemen and skill position players like they are ragdolls. While his size certainly helps, it doesn’t hurt that Henry has a former U.S. weightlifting champion as a father.
Jacob’s dad is none other than Mark Henry, a former Team USA Olympian and WWE Hall of Famer, who has been long known under his stage nickname of “The World’s Strongest Man.” The apple doesn’t seem to have fallen far from the tree with Jacob either as his lifts in the Lake Travis weight room have gained plenty of social media attention in their own right.
“I didn’t think it was going to blow up as huge as it did,” Jacob admitted. “I wanted the college coaches to see how strong I am and I remember hitting the [600-pound] squat and the next day having like 300,000 views. I was like, ‘That’s great, that’s probably where it will peak.’ An hour later, 600,000 views. By the time the day ended, it had 1.2 million views. It’s still insane to me.”
600 🏋️♀️🎸 @LTHSCavFootball @AEW @TheMarkHenry pic.twitter.com/6YRnpLkwtX
— Jacob Henry (@TheJacobHenry_) July 14, 2022
Of course, his strength comes as no surprise. Not only did he have the genetics from his father, who was a three-time U.S. national weightlifting champion and the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic champion, but he has had his dad help him throughout his journey in the weight room, on the gridiron and even the wrestling mat.
“As a kid, he looked like a superhero,” Jacob said. “My dad never forced anything on me and I think that’s something that’s been beneficial to my life. When I told my dad I wanted to play sports he was like ‘I’m not going to force you into this. If you want to do this I’m going to 100% support you but we’re going full throttle.’ Still, every day, the lessons he taught me I’m going to use when I have kids someday.”
I’m so proud of my son Jacob. Check him out and give him a follow. https://t.co/wJsjOZkkIR
— TheMarkHenry (@TheMarkHenry) September 14, 2022
Now, Jacob already has a few accomplishments of his own. Last season for the Cavaliers, Jacob finished the year with 29 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on his way to being named the Lake Travis sophomore of the year.
On the wrestling mat, Jacob arguably did even better as he went 36-10, won a district title and placed sixth at the UIL 6A Boys State Championship in the 285-pound division. In track, Jacob helped the Cavaliers win a district championship too.
Man.What a season I’m so grateful for the memories I got to share with my team and the seniors (Which our friendships I will carry deeply)Winning the District Championship and placing at State was a dream come true. Now it’s on to Track season.But next year,I’m coming back for 🥇 pic.twitter.com/DXUImjQMzr
— Jacob Henry (@TheJacobHenry_) February 27, 2022
However, football has become one of Jacob’s main passions, along with wrestling. In six games so far this season, Jacob has recorded 29 total tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks. While it’s still relatively early in Jacob’s prep career, having only played a season and a half on the varsity level, he has greatly impressed.
“Last year I was competing for a national championship for track in AAU and I wasn’t going to football workouts or camps and strength and conditioning,” Jacob said. “I went to fall camp a little out of shape and that was hard for me to start out the year but the coaches believed in me. This year I took it seriously. I went to as many football camps as I possibly could. I went to as many college visits as I could…just trying to be the best athlete I could possibly be so I could produce on the field.”
Though he has not publicly announced any scholarship offers and is not currently rated by any of the major recruiting agencies, Jacob has made a handful of unofficial visits to college campuses. Among the programs Jacob has seen include Oklahoma, Texas and USC.
“Seeing the programs, what they stand for and what they’re trying to build or what they already have built, I was in awe,” Jacob said. “The recruitment process has been a blessing. I have no idea where I will end up. I have no offers yet, but I know they will come in due time as long as I keep working hard and pushing to be the best player and person I can be. But, the recruitment process has been very exciting so far.
“I just know whoever takes a chance on me, it’s going to mean the world to me and I’m going to take everything serious and wherever I go I’m going to give it all until I fall.”
I had a wonderful experience at the University of Oklahoma.Thank you @MiguelChavis65 ,@CoachToddBates ,and @CoachVenables for the wonderful experience. pic.twitter.com/9pNptU1bVs
— Jacob Henry (@TheJacobHenry_) July 29, 2022
Jacob has also gotten recruited as a wrestler as well and hopes that he could possibly do both football and wrestling at the college level, but he’s set to go wherever he best fits, even if that means choosing wrestling over football.
“The goal for me is to play college football, possibly wrestle in college, graduate and if I could play professional football that’d be a dream come true,” Jacob said.
For Jacob, while he has hopes of a collegiate football career and making it to the NFL, his ultimate dream is to follow his dad into the wrestling ring.
“I’m very attracted to professional wrestling, it was one of my first loves,” Jacob said. “That is a profession I want to pursue after college…It’s a blessing to have a father that knows so much about the business and we get to talk about it so when I start wrestling I’ll be 10 steps ahead of the game. The end goal is definitely to be a professional wrestler whether that’s WWE, AEW or New Japan, wherever I go I want to be the best.”
With two more wrestling campaigns and a season and a half left on the gridiron, expect Jacob’s name to begin circulating around recruiting circles even more this time next year. As a player who has clearly shown DI strength in the weight room and is growing his game on the football field, Jacob could be one of the hottest commodities in Texas high school football in the near future.
