The physical differences between E.J. and Erin Henderson are mostly subtle, mostly slight. Six years, maybe five pounds and perhaps two inches are all that really separate these football-playing brothers.
Personality, now that's a night-and-day story.
"He's a little more introverted, I'm a little more extroverted," Erin said when he met with reporters in February at the NFL's scouting combine in Indianapolis.
That became apparent with the next question. How long did it take to get the reserved E.J. out of his shell?
"It took me about 15 years just to get him to talk to me," Erin said to laughter all around.
Ever since E.J. left Aberdeen to pursue a college career at Maryland in 1998, Erin has been following in his footsteps. First at College Park, where Erin had a distinguished, albeit shorter, career; now in the NFL, where E.J. has spent the past five years with the Minnesota Vikings.
This weekend, Erin Henderson, 21, is expected to become the fifth Terp in six years to be drafted into the NFL as a linebacker, joining E.J. (2003), Leon Joe (2004), Shawne Merriman (2005) and D'Qwell Jackson (2006).
Considering the Terps also are represented by former linebackers Eric Barton, William Kershaw and David Holloway in the NFL, it has become a prestigious club.
"It's a great thing to be part of," the younger Henderson said last week. "It's really exciting to carry on that legacy. All those guys are pretty successful in the NFL, and I'm gonna be a great linebacker."
Henderson arrives after playing just two seasons at Maryland. A knee injury cost him his redshirt freshman year, and he passed up his senior year after getting a degree in communications in December.
Some think he would have benefited from another college season.
"Henderson would have been better served, in my opinion, by going back to Maryland for another year," Mel Kiper Jr. said in an e-mail. "My feeling is that unless you're a first-round pick, why leave early?"
Kiper, Baltimore native and ESPN draft analyst, gave Henderson a fourth-round grade in his annual draft report, but expects him to go early on the second day. (In the NFL's revised format, rounds three through seven will be on Sunday.)
When Terps coach Ralph Friedgen asked the NFL for an evaluation last season, the draft advisory board projected Henderson going in the third round. But there was no consensus.
