Fify-one years ago this week the iconic, game-changing show “Soul Train” made its TV debut. Not only was it a major moment for the culture because it showcased us for us to see on a weekly basis, it helped promote our artists, our dances and our style. Whether other folk watched or not, we were watching. “Soul Train” literally felt like the original FUBU — for us by us. Now, were there other folk who served as investors, funders and execs giving the okay to put it on the air? Sure. But if it hadn’t been the phenom enon that it was, the show would have been canceled afer season one.
It was the strength of Black support that kept “Soul Train” alive for so long. It was the magic of Black support that had our artists clamoring to be showcased. It was the beauty of Black support that made “Soul Train” more than a show, but in the words of the late host Don Cornelius, “the hippest trip in America.” “Soul Train” is gone but the power of Black support need not be. Let’s channel that energy toward Black businesses, Blackfolk who stand against the powers that be, Black children in the education system, Black elders and Black communities in general. Because truth be told, we all could stand a little more “love, peace and soul.”
On a recent edition of the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” Jef Johnson talked about the nerve of the Oath Keepers, a para-military organization that worships the myth of white supremacy and that openly seeks to unleash mass violence on Black people, claiming to be the “real Americans.” “Tese guys aren’t real Americans. Tey represent the exact oppo site of what America stands for,” said Johnson. And to that statement I say, “WTH?”
Te Oath Keepers certainly don’t represent America on paper: “We the people,” “unalienable rights,” “democracy” and “equality.” Tey’re all about “we the privileged white male
few.” But in the real-life, nuts-and-bolts of America, the Oath Keepers are absolutely the “real Americans.”
I mean, what is more “American” than inficting violence on people of color or blaming Blacks or any other scapegoat of the moment (i.e. immigrants, Muslins, LGBTQ, women, scientists, etc.) for all the country’s ills? What is more “American” than ignoring facts and promoting some whitewashed version of “history”? What’s more “American” than being more com mitted to the symbols of democracy (i.e. the fag) than the actual practice of democracy (i.e. standing against voter suppression)?
The Jan. 6 hearings are proving to the nation what Blackfolk knew all along; that the conspiracy to overthrow democracy went from the lowest, three-teeth-having, trailer park-living, white supremacists, to the highest levels of low life U.S. lawmakers and captains of capitalist industry. So, you can be forgiven for thinking justice is about to “roll down like a river, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Spoiler alert: it’s not.
We’ll get some symbolic justice crumbs, i.e. a few folk getting sentences to create the illusion that justice is actually blind. But if justice were truly blind, Brett Favre would have been under the jail long ago for stealing $5 million in federal funds designated by law to go toward Mississippi’s poorest of the poor. Donald Trump too. But let Nook-Nook, RayQuon or LaTeesha get caught borrowing someone’s EBT card, and they’re behind bars, no questions asked.
• Texas teachers spend more out-of-pocket.
Why is R. Kelly back in the news?
See National Night Out at Emancipation Park pics and videos.
e family of Roderick Brooks, a Black man fatally shot by Sgt. Garrett Hardin, a Harris County Sheriff ’s Office (HCSO) deputy, recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hardin.
e suit seeks to make the case that Brooks’ death was avoidable in part because of misconduct Hardin was guilty of that went unpunished.
Hardin critically injured a man just one week before shooting and killing Brooks, yet Hardin remained fully employed and faced no disciplinary action.
The lawsuit asserts that one week before killing Brooks, Hardin approached a man who was under the influence and used his stun gun on him, causing the man to fall over an overpass and fall 35 feet, thus becoming “critically injured.”
Earlier this year, shortly after Hardin shot and killed the unarmed Brooks on July 8, the Defender reported that local community leaders and activists Deric Muhammad, Dr. Abdul Muhammad and Sadiyah Evangelista Karriem held a press conference that brought Brooks’ killing to the public’s attention.
According to reports, a er a call was placed to Harris County law enforcement, the officer that shot Brooks was said to have jumped out of his vehicle, pursued Brooks on foot, and a er catching him, shot Brooks with a taser, pummeled him with
his fists and then fatally shot him in the neck.
One of the main questions asked at that press conference centered on why a reported shopli ing incident had to serve as a literal death sentence for Brooks, who has been described by those who knew him as a gentle, harmless spirit.
“It is the officer’s job to de-escalate situations like these,” said Deric Muhammad. “ e problem with this case is, there is really no situation to de-escalate. e situation was escalated by the deputy.”
The press conference was also attended by family members of Brooks, as well as Warren Randle, the father of Jalen Randle, another Houston-area unarmed Black man shot and killed by police in April.
“ is was not a violent human being. He was unarmed. He was not a threat to anybody. He was so-called shopli ing from the Dollar General. What could be valued high enough in a damn Dollar General to where it was worth taking somebody’s life? Everybody in this room knows that if that had been a German shepherd, they would have treated it better than they treated Roderick Brooks,” said Muhammad.
HPD released body camera footage of the incident showing that at
one point before the shooting, Brooks grabbed Hardin’s stun gun when it fell but never pointed it in Hardin’s direction. Moreover, Brooks never gained real control of the stun gun while pinned on his stomach.
“I will f*cking shoot you,” said Hardin to Brooks while tussling for the stun gun.
is local tragedy has now become national news after Brooks’ family filed the lawsuit.
Family attorney and local activist Karriem told HuffPost, “Harris County is harboring a criminal; we will use every tool of justice that we can to get justice for Roderick Brooks.”
An August HuffPost report seems to validate Karriem’s claim. According to that report, since 2004 the HCSO suspended Hardin without pay on eight separate occasions. e reasons? Infractions including crashing his patrol car into another vehicle, giving false statements to his supervisors and making lewd and sexual remarks to officers working under him.
Moreover, according to HCSO policy, deputies are not supposed to use electric shock devices on people who are on an “elevated or unstable surface,” the lawsuit says.
Hardin was never placed on administrative leave in the case, and one week later he shot Brooks.
It’s been more than three years since Baytown Police Officer Juan Manuel Delacruz gunned down Pamela Turner, in a parking lot in Baytown. Now, her family is hoping they can finally get justice.
This week, the trial began against Delacruz, who is charged with first-degree aggravated assault by a public servant. Delacruz killed Turner in a shooting that was caught on video after the officer approached the 45-year-old grandmother in the parking lot at her apartment complex in May, 2019. Ever since that fateful date, the police narrative has conflicted with what attorneys and Turner’s family say actually happened.
as a security officer for the complex, claims he attempted to execute a warrant over a prior confrontation
Pamela TurnerTurner reportedly had with building management. An independent autopsy found that Turner was shot three times, including one fatal shot to her chest and another to her abdomen. Another shot penetrated Turner’s cheek.
Delacruz was reportedly patrolling the parking lot when he saw Turner, who police said he had “prior dealings” with. According to police, Turner had outstanding warrants, prompting Delacruz to approach and try to arrest her. A bystander began recording video on his phone and filmed Delacruz using his Taser on her before pulling out his gun and shooting Turner multiple times at close range. Police said Turner tried to grab his Taser despite video evidence suggesting the contrary.
The Baytown Police Department went on to describe Turner as the aggressor in the Brixton Apartments complex parking lot and said Delacruz was justified in using excessive force a er Turner seized a Taser and attempted to use it on the officer. In addition to the felony charge, Delacruz is facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed on what would have been Turner’s 46th birthday last year.
He did not have to use deadly force while she was laying on her back. He absolutely knew that Taser could not be fired again without her changing the cartridge.”
BEN CRUMP“I should be calling my mother and singing happy birthday this morning,” Turner’s daughter, Chelsie Rubin, said on the day the suit was filed. “But instead I’m standing in front of all of you fighting once again to try to bring recognition and demand the justice that my mom deserved and should have been
offered a long time ago.”
Turner and Delacruz lived in the same apartment complex and she reportedly told her family that she felt targeted by the officer on more than one occasion. Turner’s family maintains that she was in the midst of a mental health crisis a er battling paranoid schizophrenia.
Delacruz, who also served
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Turner’s family, said in a tweet that a guilty verdict would mark “the 1st time a jury has found an officer guilty for a Black woman’s death.”
Crump said the video shows Delacruz never gave Turner any verbal commands and proves his life was not being threatened when he fired the fatal shots.
When Rev. Ed Young of Second Baptist Church called Houston “the most dangerous city in America,” Mayor Sylvester Turner was quick to come to his city’s defense. Young’s claim may have been a stretch, but the real ity is that crime has spiked in Houston, just as it has in every other major city across the country. And ofcials are working overtime to address the escalating problem.
Contrary to Young’s claim, Houston is far from the most dangerous city in the country. Criminologists say Houston’s murder rate is actually in the “middle of the pack” for major American cities. In 2020, the frst year of the homicide surge, Houston tallied about 17 murders per 100,000 people, less than half the rates recorded by several other large cities, including St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, Memphis and Cleveland.
Still, Houston has seen a sharp rise in homicides each of the last two years, start ing with a 43% surge from 2019 to 2020 — similar to the increase measured across all of Harris County, including Houston and the other incorporated cities. Murders across the country spiked by 29% that year, as a number of large cities — including Chicago and New York — recorded increases north of 50%.
Counts of assault also rose about 30% across Harris County in 2020, while property crimes saw a slight decline, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s “index crimes report,” which collects data from local law enforcement. Homicides climbed last year, from 400 to 469. 2021 marked one of the city’s deadliest years over the last three decades. Houston also surpassed Dallas for the highest murder rate among Texas’ large cities — though still well behind other big cities around the country.
Overall, Harris County law enforcement agencies tallied 632 homicides last year, a
12% increase from the previous year, according to DPS data. Te uptick was driven almost entirely by murders in Houston, however, with the homicide rate in unincorporated Harris County staying fat at about 5 killings per 100,000 people.
Following back-to-back years of sharp increases, the murder rate has begun to recede in Houston and the county as a whole. And each major cate gory of violent crime — mur der, rape, robbery and assault — has declined countywide through the frst half of 2022 compared to the same point last year, according to DPS data
Officials are working to combat the escalating problem, and in fact, recently received help from the Department of Justice. Houston and Harris County will receive $2 million as part of a nationwide
grant program to help commu nities reduce gun crime and other serious violence.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite and U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery joined leaders from federal and local law enforcement agencies to announce a frst-of-its-kind initiative targeting violent crimes in the Houston area.
“We will employ a data driven approach to frst iden tify and then prosecute the worst of the worst gangs and gang members who are disproportionately responsible for the violent crime gripping this community,” Polite said. “Everyone should feel safe in their homes, in their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, violent crime deprives too many of our commu nities of that fundamental security.”
The new initiative will include
Houston Public Media
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in the first eight months of 2022, the Houston Police Depart ment has responded to 51 domestic vio lence-related homicides in Houston.
“Domestic violence is bigger than life. It takes your life away,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said.
Harris County saw a 40% increase in domes tic violence homicides from 2019 to 2020. Family violence homicides
in Texas grew by nearly 80%, and more than half involved a gun.
Houston police said strangulation calls increased 130% as well.
“I think that we need to recognize that we’re facing a phenomenon that is going to take a massive community col lective effort,” Jackson Lee said.
In 2021 Harris County Health and Relationships study found that of their survey participants impacted by domestic violence, almost 52%
reported an increase since the COVID 19 pandemic. Texas has long seen three times the number of family violence deaths since 2017, with rates of family vio lence increasing across all three counties.
“Take any sheriff, any deputy, any constable, any police officer, anyone involved in protecting our community,” Jackson-Lee said. “Ask firefighter and they will tell you the number of calls that they have to go to dealing with domes tic violence. The police will tell you many frightening situations where the woman is involved.”
prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s organized Crime and Gang section, investi gative agents, analyst, forensic experts from the FBI, HPD, HCSO and more.
Te Department of Justice is awarding $100 million worth of similar grants across the United States.
“Together we will work coordinated, tar geted, intelligence driven eforts with our law enforcement partners,” Lowery said. “As a team, we will develop strong cases where the defendants who possess the greatest danger to threats to the community will be arrested, will not be released, and will receive signifcant prison sentences. But second, we’re going to educate, train and support the citizen.”
Programs include the Chance program, reentry programs, community policing and de-escalation training, as well as safeguard ing communities and mentoring programs. Tere are also initiatives to help prevent school violence.
The Texas Health and Environmental Alliance (THEA) is calling on the state to conduct in-depth studies on the health of residents living in Kashmere Gardens and Fi h Ward. Several residents recently joined THEA at a press conference requesting the Texas Department of State Health Services to do more studies on the community’s health. On Sept. 21, the department confirmed dioxin was found in every one of the 47 soil samples they collected around the Union Pacific Railroad, and in more than a quarter of the samples the dioxin levels exceeded the EPA’s non-carcinogenic riskbased treatment levels for children. Dioxin is a toxic carcinogen that’s been linked to cancer. Earlier this year test samples found traces of creosote near the railyard, which used to be a creosote treatment facility. Union Pacific has said it is working to clean up the site, but residents say progress isn’t happening swi ly enough.
The Biden administration has quietly changed its guidance to disqualify borrowers who have privately-held FFEL and Perkins loans. In a remarkable reversal that will affect the fortunes of millions of student loan borrowers, the U.S. Department of Education has quietly changed its guidance around
who qualifies for President Biden’s sweeping student debt relief plan. Until recently, borrowers who took out federal student loans many years ago, both Perkins loans and Federal Family Education Loans, qualified for debt forgiveness. e guidance now says those borrowers cannot obtain one-time debt relief. It’s unclear why the department reversed its decision.
Harris County’s 2023 fiscal budget went into effect on Oct. 1. Yet, the county hasn’t been able to pass its budget because two
Republican commissioners have refused to show up for the vote. Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey say they don’t agree with the budget and therefore have not shown up for a quorum. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said several vital programs are in jeopardy of being cut. “It puts our hospital system at a $45 million dollar deficit. at means 10,000 jobs at risk. It means 3,000 people that can’t get colonoscopies and it means longer wait times for everybody in the community.” Under state law, the county has until Oct. 28 to pass the 2023 budget. If that doesn’t happen, the budget from last year will stay in place.
Initiative to address District B’s lack of opportunities, resources
Houston City Councilmember Tarsha Jackson announced the BeSuccessful Community Capacity Building Initiative that addresses poverty and public safety within District B. e initiative will offer job training and wraparound services to residents in her district to help improve their quality of life.
BeSuccessful is focusing on five challenges within District B: workforce development, public safety, community capacity building, economic development and the quality of life. One way the initiative will provide residents with job opportunities is by hiring and training 25 community resources navigators that will connect residents to job training, education opportunities and other resources. Each organization will host two readiness workshops per month and host 10 Besuccessful job fairs with rotating locations. District B covers North Houston which includes neighborhoods like Kashmere Gardens, Acres Homes, Fi h Ward, Greenspoint and many others. District B consists of 195,000 residents, mostly Black and Hispanic, who on average earn less than $25,000 a year. e five-year initiative will require $27 million in funding, and will have to be raised through grants or private funds and partnerships.
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can vote anywhere
to
million registered to vote in
voters
• More than 2 out of 10 mail ballots were rejected in Harris County due to Senate Bill 1 in the last election
• Jason Lee, the son of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, is deputy campaign chair for Beto O’Rourke campaign.
• 35 family members of Uvalde school victims throw their support behind O’Rourke.
• Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing has cost Texas $14 million.
Churches are gearing up to get folks to the polls as they kick off a GOTV campaign during the weekend of Oct. 29 and 30. It will involve preachers going to the pulpit and special messages for the congregations. “We intend to inspire, inform, and ignite every pulpit and person in the pew,” says Dr. James Dixon Community of Faith Church pastor and president of the Houston NAACP.
Formore details go to: www.naacphouston.org
Out of all the community colleges in the Houston area, Lone Star College is the ONLY ONE to agree to participate in the full disparity study underwritten by Harris County. We applaud this institution. A disparity study looks at spending with minority and womenowned businesses. Originally, Houston Community College agreed to conduct a study but recently went back on its word. Now they are unwilling to provide multiple years of data needed for the study, offering only a few months for review.
Considering we have six community colleges in the Houston area, and they all claim to do business with people of color, why is it so difficult to show what you are doing, especially since Harris County is paying for it? Let the numbers speak for themselves. They cannot do any worse than Harris Health which had “0” amount of business with people of color a er their disparity study.
Democratic incumbent Adrian Garcia is facing a familiar opponent in former County Commissioner Jack Morman. Not hearing much about this race.
Democrat incumbent County Judge Lina Hidalgo and her opponent Alexandra del Moral Mealer are in a tight race with Mealer leading by four points. Neither one of them has a lot of personality. In the Black community, those for Hidalgo talk about how she has managed the many crises over the last years from COVID-19, flooding, Texas power grid crisis, and more; while others say she failed to hire Blacks on her staff and has failed in community outreach. Although we are over a month from election day, neither candidate is pursuing the Black vote. Let’s see if it gets better in the coming weeks.
Republican incumbent Jack Cagle is also in a tight race with Democrat Lesley Briones considering the precinct lines were redrawn creating a district that is comprised of 53% Democrats. Of course, Democrats think they will get this seat. But election day will soon reveal the make-up of the court.
In June 2021, Republican lawmakers and officials from the National Rifle Association joined Gov. Abbott when he signed a state law that protects firearm makers, retailers and industry groups. Note that companies that have anti-gun policies are considered to “discriminate”
against the industry and are unable to do business with Texas.
Senate Bill 19: Prohibits government entities from contracting with businesses that “discriminate against the firearm or ammunition industries.” This hurts companies that are anti-
guns or don’t support pro-gun companies. There is a rumor that the next legislative session may use this same type of law to block pro-choice supportive companies from doing business with the state.
WOW… this is going to a whole new level.
Popular comedian, radio personality and Ready to Love host Nephew Tommy recently shared the news that he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in May of this year with his social media fans. Te good news is, it has since been completely removed and he’s on the road to recovery.
Te Houston native, whose real name is Tomas Miles, told his more than 424,000 followers that he beat the disease and is on the mend.
“May 18th, 2022, I got the call that I had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer,” he said. “August 24, 2022, surgery was performed. All cancer is 100% gone. No chemotherapy necessary.”
Te media personality also urged fans to get regular checkups.
He said a personal trainer discovered a lump on his neck while they were working out. Miles went to his primary care physi cian and was referred to two diferent specialists. On May 18, he received a phone call telling him he had cancer.
He thanked his wife, Jac queline, for being by his side.
“Thank you to my wife for her support. I am truly blessed,” he said in a cap tion accompanied by a photo of him in a hospital bed with his Jacqueline by his side. ALL CANCER IS 100% GONE.”
Jacqueline and Thomas have been married since 2016 but met in 1986. Tey share two sons and a daughter together – Tomas Wesley Miles III, Sydnei Miles, and Jhordyn Miles.
He continued in his post, “GOD IS IN THE BLESSING BUSINESS. My voice is slowly coming back around. Get ready…I
will grab that Mic once again.”
Tis is a timely message and one that has been echoed by various celebrities who have experienced cancer scares frst hand or through the ordeals of loved ones. Cynthia Bai ley recently urged people to get their health checks as her mother, Barbara Ford Morris, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. Chicago Med s tar Marlyne Barrett just shared that she’s battling uterine and ovarian cancer presently.
As for Miles, in a follow-up post, he thanked all of those who supported him through prayers, visits and more.
“I am humble and grateful to have you in my life,” he said in a caption.
“To those going through difcult times or a major storm in your life…the best thing I can tell you.
Some of the country’s hottest comedians are coming to town for the “We Outside Comedy Tour.” e star-studded line-up includes Tony Rock (“Think Like A Man,” “Mann and Wife,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “All of Us”), Michael Blackson (“Next Friday,” “Meet the Blacks”), Ryan Davis (HBO’s “Insecure” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) , Karlous Miller and Kelly Kelz.
Johnson, who made a name for himself with national touring stage plays, says he’s ventured into bringing comedy to the masses because laughter “truly is the best medicine.”
INFO
Saturday, October 8 8 p.m. NRG Arena https://jecaryous.com/ comedy/we-outside/
The “We Outside” Comedy Tour is a nod to the cultural expression that we’re in the hottest place to be and doing the hottest things,” said producer and native Houstonian JeCaryous Johnson. “It’s about enjoying life, getting lit, letting your hair down and truly experiencing entertainment with no limits and no pressure – just pure funny.”
“We’re coming off a trying few years, from being stuck inside from COVID, to adjusting to the new normal. I wanted to offer people the opportunity to get out with family, friends or loved ones and just have a good time,” Johnson said.
Houston is one of 22 cities the comedy show is touring. Attendees have taken to social media to praise the improvisations, real-life scenarios and the multiple non-stop laughs per minute.
“You never know who will be roasted on any given night, including the audience,” Johnson said. “You will not get a line-up of laughs anywhere like this.”
Like this story on social media for a chance to win two tickets to the show!
A biography of the late George Floyd is among the works included on lists of nominees for the National Book Awards.
“His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” by Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, is a nonfiction nominee, e Associated Press reports. The tome “reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd’s life and legacy—from his family’s roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing—telling the story of how one man’s tragic experience brought about a global movement for change,” per Penguin Random House.
e Floyd biography is longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award in the nonfiction category along with “John A. Farrell’s “Ted Kennedy: A Life,” New Yorker writer Kathryn Schulz’s “Lost & Found: A Memoir” and Anna Badkhen’s “Bright Unbearable
The Rockets are already making moves this preseason. They have traded Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chris, and David Nwaba to OKC for Derrick Favors, Maurice Harkless, Ty Jerome, Théo Maledon, a 2026 second-round pick, and cash considerations.
Former Prairie View A&M football coach Eric Dooley returns to The Hill this weekend to face his former team a er he le last season to coach Southern. Dooley led the Panthers to the SWAC West title and a berth in the conference championship game before announcing his decision to leave. The Panthers, who are 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the SWAC, come into the game with No. 4 power ranking in HBCU football while the Jaguars (2-2, 1-1) are ranked sixth.
The PVAMU golf program is under new leadership a er Jameshia Levister was hired recently to replace Michael Rice as the head coach of the Panthers’ men’s and women’s programs. Levister, a one-time LPGA player, comes to PV a er serving as the director of golf at Lincoln University, where she became the first African American woman in MIAA history to lead both the men’s and women’s programs.
Houston running back Ta’Zhawn Henry rushes during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/ Eric Christian Smith)
By Terrance Harris
It might have been easy for University of Houston senior running back Ta’Zhawn Henry to question his journey, but he never did.
Henry just stayed the course as his stellar high school career took him from Lamar High School to Texas Tech and now UH. Henry had moments where his talent shined but he had never been the primary back until this season.
His faith kept him focused and determined.
“I always prayed on it. I just knew one of these years I was going to be a starter and God did it,” Henry said recently to e Defender. “I prayed and God just put it in front of me. I just have to execute and make plays.
“Everything is in God’s hands right now.”
But it has been quite the journey getting to this point. Henry, who is 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, began his career at Texas Tech playing for two seasons under Kliff Kingsbury, who is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Henry then landed at UH where he thrived last season as a backup in Dana Holgorsen’s system.
Kingsbury and Holgorsen are both products of the Mike Leach (former Texas Tech coach) system which made Henry’s move to the Cougars make sense.
“I learned so much playing for Coach Kliff in his offense, so when I transferred here to
Houston I knew Coach Dana and Cliff knew each other so that’s how I got here honestly,” Henry said. “I guess Coach Kliff called Coach Dana and they had a little conversation and that’s how I transferred to UH, back to my city.”
Now it’s all in front of him.
First-year UH running backs coach Mike Jinks has been impressed with what he has seen so far from Henry since spring ball through fall camp and through the first five games of the season.
Henry had been slowed by a nagging ankle injury since the end of fall camp but had a career game in the 34-27 win over Rice with 112 yards and a touchdown rushing to lead the way for the Coogs.
“It looks like the game has kind of slowed down for him a little bit,” Jinks said. “His vision is kind of at another level. He is probably, pound for pound, one of the toughest running backs in the [American Athletic Conference].”
Henry, who had just 25 yards on eight carries in last week’s loss to Tulane, said he is back to feeling normal again.
“ e first two games I was banged up with an ankle injury type deal so I’ve been very limited in reps and limited in playing how I wanted to play because I couldn’t really make the right cuts, the cuts I normally make during
practice because I was banged up and hurt a lot,” he said. “But now I’m feeling good, 100 percent healthy so I’m ready to go play and continue playing good.”
With Henry back healthy, it’s expected that the Cougars will have one of the best running back tandems in the AAC with Pearland product and USC transfer Brandon Campbell sharing the load in the backfield. Campbell currently leads UH in rushing with 243 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries while Henry is right there with him with 51 carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
“If we can get them both healthy they could be pretty fun to watch. I think right now if they are both healthy it would be a 1A and 1B situation,” Jinks said of Henry and Campbell. “I think they play off of each other extremely well so I’m looking forward to getting them both back to full speed and getting those guys back out there.”
In the meantime, Henry is enjoying and appreciating the opportunity his college football journey has presented him.
“I was just telling my family, starting my senior year and starting in my city, it’s just crazy,” said Henry, who will also graduate this semester. “I couldn’t script this any better, it just fell into my hands.
“I just prayed on it and I just stayed the course and never gave up.”
Worthing High School sophomore defensive end and wide receiver Jacory urman is a 6-foot-2 highlight mixtape on the football field. Whether it is batting passes down or turning heads in jump ball scenarios, urman will make you look in his direction anytime he is playing.
“[ urman] will be the top tight end in the country in 2025,” said the Bayou City Preps Foundation. “He will have every college in the country knocking on his door in Sunnyside.”
As an admirer of NFL star Julio Jones, urman wears the number 11 in honor of the Tampa Bay receiver. urman’s game is reminiscent of Jones with his raw playmaking abilities to be more physical than his opponent.
On the defensive side of the ball, urman is a ball-swatting
machine who can get to the quarterback on occasion. And as urman muscles up and tightens up his pass-rusher skills, watch for him off the blind side edge because he is coming with bad intentions.
Worthing’s head coach Brandon Ellis described what urman brings to the gridiron on the offensive and defensive side.
“He gives us everything,” Ellis said. “He’s a young guy that is talented on the offensive side. He can really go up and get the ball. And on the defensive side, he is long-armed, he gets off the ball and can get to that quarterback.”
e Defender spoke with urman about his style of play, playmaking abilities and more.
“I did the best I can on defense, I helped my team make plays, and took on blocks and double teams to help my team make the plays.”
“It’s just having long legs, being athletic and making plays the best way I can.”
Being a featured underclassman
“I will just be myself for my team. I respect them and know them all very well.”
Keeping the winning streak alive
“ Doing my assignments...while controlling my anger and emotion…”
Twitter: JacoryThurman
Dream school: Louisiana State University Favorite layer: Julio Jones
Favorite artist: Michael Jackson
Hobbies: Sleeping and chilling
Shout-outs: “Davion Edwards, Vashawn Smith and the rest of my team.”
With star North Shore quarterback phenom Kaleb Bailey going down, the one thing that remained consistent in a 38-3 victory over cross-town rival C.E. King was the Mustangs running game. And a big reason why is North Shore senior running back Rashaad Johnson.
At 5-feet-9 200 pounds, Johnson is a load running the ball north and south with reckless abandonment. In the win over C.E. King, Johnson had a 24-yard run to start the game and is clutch for big moment collisions on the goal line.
e Defender spoke with Johnson to discuss his approach to the game and more.
Visit www.defendernetwork.com for article clips and pics
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