The last time Chas Henry attempted a field goal to decide the outcome of a game, he failed.
The senior missed a game-tying try from 42 yards against Mississippi State in place of injured kicker Caleb Sturgis to ensure a loss for Florida on Oct. 16.
“My confidence was really low,” Henry said.
But during Florida’s bye week, he used the extra time off to regain the confidence he lost. Even former UF kicker Judd Davis gave Henry a call to make sure he was in the right state of mind.
“Ninety percent of it’s mental and 10 percent is physical,” Henry said. “It’s kind of like the same thing in golf. It comes down to the person doing their job right. It’s the same thing for holding and the same thing for snapping.”
So, when he stepped onto the field in overtime with a chance to knock in a game-winning 37-yard field goal Saturday, Henry made sure not to flinch.
But it wasn’t out of a lack of effort from Georgia. The Bulldogs called a timeout in an attempt to ice him, and UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham grabbed his throat and screamed that Henry was going to choke.
“I started laughing, like, ‘You’re going to ice me? I’m not even the kicker,’” Henry said. “So I start looking and I see the guy doing the choke. I look at him again and he does like, ‘You’re gonna choke.’ So I take my helmet off and I gave him a little smooch. I blew him a little kiss.
“That might be why he got a little upset about that. Then he did it again.”
None of that bothered Henry, who also leads the nation with a 48.8 yards per punt average. Not the choke signal or the crucial field goal.
“I think it’s ridiculous that people are trying to say, ‘Oh, he should have to apologize for (the choke sign) and everything,’” he said. “It’s just an intense game.”
Henry went about his business and kicked the ball straight through the uprights like he knew he would.
“Going into this one there was no doubt in my mind that we were making this kick and we were going to win,” Henry said. “This was game over.”
