STARKVILLE, Miss. – A chronic hip injury sustained during the 2007 Mississippi State football season has terminated the Bulldog playing career of junior quarterback Michael Henig.

Henig, who suffered the injury during August two-a-days, has been under the initial care of Dr. Rusty Linton of Columbus, Miss., and then hip specialist Dr. Thomas Byrd of Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Byrd’s recommendation of surgery, and the resulting eight month rehabilitation process, led to Henig’s ultimate decision to forego his senior season at State.

“I have had a good career,”  Henig said.  “Coach Croom and his staff have let me live out a dream of playing football in the Southeastern Conference.  We won at Alabama and we beat Ole Miss the first time I played them.

“But I have had several injuries and surgeries while playing,”  he said.  “I’ve got to look to my future.  My body can’t handle another surgery.  I want to be able to play with my kids one day.

“Coach Croom has got it (the program) going in the right direction,”  Henig said.  “I am comfortable with my decision.”

A native of Montgomery, Ala., Henig played in 23 career games and started 12 times.  He broke into the starting line-up for the final three games of his redshirt freshman season, a campaign that ended with that 35-14 win over the Rebels in 2005.

He was limited to just seven games during his sophomore season by two fractures of the same collarbone, the first in Week 1 and the second in Week 11.  In between, he led MSU to a 24-16 victory over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Injury again struck during the ’07 season.  He was limited to seven games by a broken hand that required surgery and then the hip ailment.

For his career, Henig completed 171-of-386 passes for 2,278 yards.