Even while watching the ACC lacrosse final in Charlottesville yesterday, I kept an eye on nfl.com just to see where Maryland's guys would go.

Resident humorist Dre Moore went in the fourth round to Tampa Bay. And Erin Henderson went ...

... to nobody.

He wound up signing a free agent deal with Minnesota last night, reuniting him with his older brother E.J. And while he showed his frustration when contacted by the Baltimore Sun --- "I'm a terrible football player, that's all I can think of," he said --- one of the worst parts of this has to be getting second-guessed for leaving College Park with a year of eligibility.

And honestly, he shouldn't have to put up with it.

Did he wind up losing some money in it all? Yes. But if a guy has a history of injuries and is pretty much assured his college degree, why shouldn't he get out of Dodge while he can?

Henderson's extensive injury history was going to be an issue if he came out this year or next year. He led the ACC in tackles per game last fall, so it wasn't like he was going to roll up far gaudier numbers as a senior.

If there's a lesson to all of this, it's that there are certain positions where there is far greater supply than demand, and linebacker is certainly one of those spots. It's easier to find athletic, instinctual, hard-hitting linebackers than it is to, say, uncover quick, agile, effective defensive linemen.

Offer one troubling reason at a high-supply position, and you'll be passed over.

That's a lesson Henderson learned this weekend.

But he would have absorbed it at this time next year anyway had he stuck around for another season with the Terps. He was still going to head into the pros with a surgically reconstructed knee, and his long-term durability was going to be questioned at that time as well.

Henderson's decision didn't work out the way he hoped it would. Just remember that doesn't mean it was the wrong choice.

--- Patrick Stevens