Cason Henry details battling through injuries, how he's feeling heading into 2024 season

It’s still frustrating for Cason Henry to think about. To work so hard to get back, only to get knocked down again.

While very talented, Henry’s career at South Carolina has been riddled with injuries. After not seeing much action as a freshman, he was ready to roll and become a regular on the offensive line in 2023. But before he could even get going, the injury bug hit him hard.

He originally worked his way back from a knee injury during the offseason and earned a starting spot. But in the first matchup of the year against North Carolina, he went down four plays into the game. He had gotten rolled up from behind and suffered a lower-body injury.

“To get hurt in the first game … it’s kind of ironic,” Henry said during the Garnet Trust Hour on 107.5 The Game. “It’s almost funny to do all that work and have it shattered like that in so little time. And it was incredibly demoralizing.

“And so when I walked off that field, I was basically like looking at the sky and I was like, ‘This is just ridiculous. There’s just no way that this is happening. I can’t believe it.'”

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Just when it felt like the world was crumbling on top of him, there was a sliver of hope. After taking time to pray about his situation over the next few weeks, he found out he hadn’t torn his ACL. In fact, he said he hadn’t torn anything that wouldn’t be able to heal on its own.

So instead of undergoing surgery, Henry went through rehab and still had a chance to play again in 2023.

“I took hold of that bright side and I was like, ‘Okay, well, I can train back and this will be fine,'” Henry said. “I just had to will it back. And that’s pretty much what I did. I just prayed about it. I trusted the process and trusted the people around me to get me back and it has worked so far.”

As it turned out, Henry would make it back in time for the Jacksonville State game in early November with a few weeks left to go in the regular season. But just when he thought he was back to normal, he went down with another injury and didn’t play again the rest of the year.

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Now in his third year at South Carolina, Henry’s mindset has improved. He’s feeling much better now and will come into fall camp healthy, something that may sound foreign to him.

“I’d say I’m fully back. I had a really good spring for me personally. I took it slow getting back, which I needed to do last year because I was trying to play through injury in the season and it just wasn’t working,” he said. “I was in a ton of pain all the time and I wasn’t really enjoying it. So I had to just step back and I was like, I need to do what’s best for me and kind of get ready for next season because I know I’m gonna play next season and I know they need me to play and I can’t let my guys down.”

So far this offseason, the key for Henry has been preparing his body for a full season of SEC football. By putting plenty of time in the weight room and on the field, he said he’s “feeling great now.”

“I’ve done a lot of work with Coach Chip (Morton) in the weight room. I’ve done a lot of work with our strength staff, our conditioning staff, like our training staff,” Henry said. “Everybody has come together to really help me get back and teach me what to do, how to do it so I can prepare myself adequately for the season, and I really appreciate all of them for that.”

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