Henry Hasselbeck set to blaze own path at Michigan State
WESTWOOD, Mass. (BVM) – The last three years have been anything but stationary for Xaverian Brothers quarterback Henry Hasselbeck who enters his upcoming senior season in the same place for the first time in his high school career.
With three different stops throughout his first three prep years, the journey has involved some extra travel. From a year in Nashville to a return back to his home state of Massachusetts, the star quarterback has been on the move throughout the early portion of his prep football career but he wouldn’t change any part of his recent path.
After COVID-19 shut down sports in the Massachusetts area ahead of his freshman year, family friend and Lipscomb Academy coach Trent Dilfer called Hasselbeck’s father, Matt, and asked if Henry was up for playing in Tennessee. The chance to play for both the school’s freshman and junior varsity teams would offer a great opportunity for the freshman quarterback, but one that would last much shorter than anticipated.
#tbt Lipscomb Academy pic.twitter.com/tSm8yjpoEi
— Henry Hasselbeck (@HenryHasselbeck) June 11, 2021
Just two games into the year, an elbow injury would sideline the freshman, who would opt to stick around the program even without the chance to play. While the brief campaign ended his chance to get game reps, the season would still give the rising quarterback the ability to learn the position from the sidelines.
“It’s the best type of football you could ever get,” Henry said of his Lipscomb Academy experience. “Everything’s about football. The school loves football, the people around the school love football, just a great group of guys there.
“Coach Trent Dilfer came in with one of the most complex high school offenses you’re going to find. It’s run like a college… It was like drinking out of a firehose for football.”
While playing would have been his preferred route, the year provided Henry a chance to pick up on the nuances of being a quarterback. From reading coverages to determining defensive fronts, being a part of the quarterback-centric program allowed for a perfect environment for Henry to build off of as he returned to Massachusetts in 2021.
Junior year Hudl highlight reel preview. 🎥🏈 @XBHS_Football (link in bio) pic.twitter.com/JNSuD3iBf1
— Henry Hasselbeck (@HenryHasselbeck) April 28, 2023
After splitting time as the starting quarterback his sophomore year at Belmont Hill, Henry would switch things up as he entered this past season. With his father’s television job switching to a Saturday focus, the quarterback would opt to go to Xaverian, where he could play games on Fridays instead of Saturdays. Matt, who coaches for his former high school team, has been the perfect sounding board for his son as he progresses at the position he once manned for 17 seasons in the NFL.
“We’re both very alike in a lot of ways where we’ll see things in the same way,” Henry said of the father-son dynamic. “Say I mess up in practice, I’ll just turn to him and he’ll give me the look and I’m like, yeah, I know what I did wrong. We kind of both know how to fix it. I’ve heard him point out stuff to work on for [other quarterbacks] on TV so I just try to work on stuff like that. When it comes to advice, he knows what he’s talking about.
“He does a good job of not being too pressuring. A lot of people might assume he should be very hard on me and all this stuff but he does a great job and I couldn’t ask for any more.”
.@HenryHasselbeck is a Spartan 🙌
📸: @JustinThind pic.twitter.com/MGiD3cTJwO
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) July 1, 2023
While Henry’s steady improvement on the football field brought some early attention, his advancement in the lacrosse world became what stood out for the former Belmont Hill and Xaverian two-sport athlete. When September 1 hit for colleges to reach out to high school athletes, Henry’s collegiate interest would come not from Division I football programs, but lacrosse ones.
“I had not started a season as the starting quarterback in football which didn’t help me much with football recruiting,” Henry said. “I wouldn’t say I was late with recruiting but I wasn’t early and lacrosse recruiting came heavy. So, just being in the moment, I committed to Maryland, which I could not be more thankful for.
“I love lacrosse, if football didn’t work out I would be going to College Park, Maryland to go compete for a national championship.”
Henry, who’s sisters Annabelle and Mallory both play lacrosse at Boston College, have the makings of a rising lacrosse family with their arrival onto the scene. While college lacrosse offers reassured Henry’s love of the game, the dual-sport star knew his passion remained elsewhere.
“As much as I love lacrosse, it’s been a dream of mine to play [football],” Henry said. “Michigan State and others gave me an opportunity to play and that’s what my heart wanted to do so I chose it.”
With parents in Boston College’s Hall of Fame, and two sisters currently playing for the Eagles, a decision to commit elsewhere may have come as a surprise for some. But, interest from Michigan State in the spring proved to be just what Henry was looking for as he entered his senior year.
“When it comes to Boston College, I’m going to say ‘we’ a lot when I talk about them,” Henry said. “I’m always going to be a BC fan… It was just kind of like between the two, it could have been a coin toss, but something felt right about Michigan State.
“I’ve never been up to Michigan State before and I really only saw them on TV. The first thing [we did] was get on campus and I loved [it]. I would say that was one of the biggest things for me. Being around the guys and the team, I really liked the environment they had going there.”
Excited to announce that I have committed to play football at Michigan State! @MSU_Football @Coach_mtucker @JayJohnsonFB @MSUFBRecruiting @JakeReiling97 @CoachCKap @M2_QBacademy @XBHS_Football #GoGreen ⚔️ 🟢⚪️ pic.twitter.com/nmLLGf6S1O
— Henry Hasselbeck (@HenryHasselbeck) July 1, 2023
Henry, who is set for one final prep season before making a return to the Midwest, is excited to have his sole focus back on football. With lacrosse coming into play over the past few years, this season offers the Xaverian quarterback a chance to be fully committed to his football teammates. With summer work already underway, Henry and his father are already hard at work.
“Just try and get one step better everyday,” Henry said. “Just control the controllables. Control everything that you have power over and everything will work out. [My dad] has done a great job coaching fundamentals and just the very small critiquing stuff. His main point right now is just control the controllables and if you do that, all the other stuff will figure itself out.”
