Most Impactful Rebels for 2019: No. 10 Lakia Henry

OXFORD, Miss. — As we count down the days until the Ole Miss season opener against Memphis in the Liberty Bowl, we are releasing who we think the Top 50 Most Impactful Players will be for the Rebels this season. This series is a way for Ole Miss fans to learn more about players to keep an eye on this fall.

With 10 days before kickoff, coming in at No. 10…

Lakia Henry

Lakia Henry was a consensus four-star prospect at inside linebacker according to ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports, out of Dodge City Community College when he signed with Ole Miss in the Class of 2019. He picked Ole Miss over offers from nine other SEC schools, including Alabama, Auburn and Florida, as well as other top national schools such as Texas and Florida State.

As a freshman at Dodge City CC, the 6-foot-0, 235-pound Henry, led the team in tackles and tackles for loss with 110 and 13, respectively. As a sophomore, he was second on the team with 77 tackles for the season. He was ranked as the No. 3 overall JUCO player and the No. 1 JUCO inside linebacker after his performance last season. 

Henry, who enrolled at Ole Miss at the end of May, sat down with the The Rebel Walk at Media Day to discuss the challenges of fall camp. “I’m ready for the challenge of fall camp,” he said. 

Ole Miss LB Lakia Henry

With a couple of weeks of fall camp under his belt, Henry told the media last week the biggest challenge he has faced so far has been adjusting to the various coverage schemes of defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre’s 3-4 defense.

Lakia Henry practicing at LB for the Rebels. (Photo: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

“Just knowing what to do…knowing who to cover, knowing which way to drop. I feel like that was the hardest thing coming into it, but I feel like I’m good now when it comes to that,” Henry explained. “I just need to keep working at it to get better.”

During the first two weeks of fall camp, Henry was seen taking mostly first and second team reps. However, after senior inside linebacker Willie Hibbler was sidelined for a few days with an injury, Henry took over first string reps at one of the inside linebacker spots, with MoMo Sanogo at the other starting spot.

Although media cannot observe Saturday scrimmages, it was reported in the first scrimmage that Henry did not miss any tackles during the one-on-one opportunities. On Monday, in the recap to the media of the scrimmage, Coach Luke mentioned Henry by name — the only defensive player he singled out — saying the LB “flashed” with his performance.

Henry was asked to describe his performance in the scrimmage. “I feel like I did well,” he said.

Lakia Henry on his first scrimmage with the Rebels

Be on the lookout for No. 1 on defense this fall. He’s going to be a big factor in stopping the run for the Rebels moving forward!

Hotty Toddy!

Most Impactful Rebels for 2019

10. Lakia Henry
11. Sam Williams
12. Qaadir Sheppard
13. Jacquez Jones
14. Miles Battle
15. Jerrion Ealy
16. Braylon Sanders
17. Eli Johnson
18. Myles Hartsfield
19. Dontario Drummond
20. Jon Haynes
21. Montrell Custis
22. Demarcus Gregory
23. Bryce Mathews
24. Royce Newman
25. Tylan Knight
26. Tariqious Tisdale
27. Octavious Cooley
28. Jalen Julius
29. Luke Logan
30. Nick Broeker
31. Austrian Robinson
32. Quentin Bivens
33. Willie Hibbler
34. Isaiah Woullard
35. Jadon Jackson
36. Grant Tisdale, Kinkead Dent, John Rhys Plumlee
37. Keidron Smith
38. Snoop Conner
39. Michael Howard
40. Vernon Dasher
41. Ryder Anderson
42. D’Vaughn Pennamon
43. C.J. Miller
44. Charles Wiley
45. Sincere David
46. Mac Brown
47. Jason Pellerin
48. Chandler Tuitt
49. Dannis Jackson
50. Jonathan Mingo

Derrell Hart

Derrell has covered Ole Miss athletics in the past for Rebels247 at 247Sports. He attended Delta State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Biology. He is currently pursuing his Pharm.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy with an expected graduation of May, 2020.