LOS ANGELES — LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson and his mother Cheryl Lemon accepted the school’s second ESPY Award on Wednesday night, as the “Bluegrass Miracle” was named the “Best Play” for 2002-03.
The 75-yard touchdown reception by Henderson from LSU quarterback Marcus Randall gave the Tigers a thrilling, 33-30, victory over Kentucky as Wildcat fans rushed the field unaware of the miraculous play.
With only two seconds to play and trailing by three points after a furious fourth-quarter comeback by Kentucky, Randall’s heave was tipped by two Wildcats before Henderson made a one-handed catch, dodged a defender near the 5-yard line and stumbled into the end zone.
“I wish my teammates could be here to accept this award with me,” Henderson said from the stage of the Kodak Theater, “and my quarterback Marcus Randall who threw the pass, and everyone who supported me through it all. Thank you.”
The 11th-annual ESPY Awards included 33 categories. The network hyped it’s “Best Play” category as the last to be decided by an online vote by fans that lasted throughout the day and up to minutes before it was announced. A total of 17 other category winners were also chosen online in months preceding the ESPY Awards show. The remaining 15 categories were selected by a panel of journalists and former athletes called the ESPY Academy.
The “Bluegrass Miracle” beat out four other contenders for the award, including a 360-degree dunk by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, a between-the-legs dunk by high school phenom LaBron James (St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio), a 485-foot home run by San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds in the ninth inning of the second game of the 2002 World Series and a 45-yard game-winning touchdown run by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in overtime.
The award was the second of its kind for LSU, as Warren Morris’ bottom-of-the-ninth home run to defeat Miami (Fla.) in the 1996 College World Series final game won “Showstopper of the Year” in 1997. The award was discontinued in 1999.