HENRY: 'And there before me, a pale horse!'

HE'S GOT 2 stars next to his name and wasn't rated or evaluated by Scout.com because he came onto the radar so late. But he remains one of the more intriguing pickups for Mike Riley in the 2011 class. His prep teammates call him "The Freak", due to his freakish speed, athleticism and 6-5 frame. But it took about five seconds for a BF.C poster to bestow a new nickname upon him.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death...

When new Beaver d'Vante Henry out of Moore, Okla. leapt onto the scene about 24 hours before Signing Day, his verbal was noted on the BF.C boards as a defensive end / athlete, or DE/ATH.

A longtime BF.C poster, beavermobile, chose not to acknowledge the slash mark and offered up this aside.

"OMG!!!! We signed DEATH to a scholly!"

HENRY AS A BEAV might just end up serving up a little 'death' to opposing offenses, figuratively speaking of course.

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He's 6-foot-5 with blazing speed. How fast? Henry ran the anchor leg of last year's Southmoore 400-meter relay team that won the state championship. His 40 time has been clocked at 4.35.

Did we mention that he's 6-foot-5?

Henry played cornerback his junior season -- he weighs just 192 pounds and will need to put on weight. But Mike Riley sees him as eventually being between 210-230, and wreaking havoc over his OSU career.

Why Oregon State? Erin Hartigan, Midlands Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com, asked him that very question, and more, for BeaverFootball.com.

"I like the program -- how structured they were," said Henry. "Felt more at home there. I knew that's where I wanted to be."

Does he anticipate coming in and competing for a starting spot/significant turns/making an impact right away?

"It depends on if I qualify," he said. "If I do qualify, then yes. I will compete right away. But if I don't, then I'll probably go to a junior college for a while."

Henry also said he could delay enrollment and work to get qualified over the winter and join the Beavs in January of 2012.

Henry said he just doesn't know at this point how it will all turn out. So stay tuned, both for if he qualifies in time for August's fall camp, and to see if for his first game in a Beaver uniform, he rides into the stadium on a pale horse. Figuratively speaking, of course.

NOTABLE NOTE:

Henry as a senior racked up 65 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception in 2010.