Ramsey: Hennings came from nowhere to excel at AFA

The greatest player in Air Force football history grew up surrounded by corn fields in Elberton, Iowa, pop. 209 (that’s on a good day).

He was a better high school wrestler than football player, and as he began his senior season, college recruiters did a great job of ignoring him.

Yet he had this stubborn vision for his sports future. He promised himself he would play, and excel, in Division I football. He stuck to this vision even when it was his alone. For a long time, he could find no one to share his belief.

But AFA coach Fisher DeBerry and his staff saw a player — a hint of a player, really — in Chad Hennings.

And, no doubt, Hennings rewarded DeBerry.

Hennings grew into Air Force’s finest-ever athlete, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive lineman/animal.

As a senior in 1987, Hennings collected 24 sacks while shredding double and triple teams. He was relentless. He was scary.

Brock Strom, who lives in the Springs, was Air Force’s first consensus All-American as an offensive lineman on the Falcons’ unbeaten 1958 team.

Strom laughs as he remembers his first look at Hennings. It was 1985, and Air Force was battling Notre Dame at Falcon Stadium.

The Fighting Irish had scouted Hennings, then a sophomore, and developed a sound plan. Notre Dame double-teamed Hennings on every play.

This only increased the fun, Strom said.

“Oh, he’d hit one blocker, then hit the other and he’d be standing in the hole with the two blockers on the ground beside him,” Strom said. “I’m not sure whether they ever blocked him.”

Hennings might have been as surprised as the blockers. Last week, as he finished his work day, he talked about the game prior to the Notre Dame dominance. When the Falcons traveled to New Mexico, Hennings still wondered if he belonged in the starting lineup.

He had labored without ceasing in the weight room. He had battled each day in practice.

But a part of him still struggled to believe he belonged.

He rampaged through the Lobos’ line for three sacks, and a happy thought invaded his mind.

This thought never departed.

“Man,” Hennings said to himself, “I can do this.”

Hennings, full of belief, would go on to become an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt pilot, flying 45 missions escorting supplies to Iraqi Kurds, and play nine seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, despite beginning his NFL career at the ancient age of 27. He now works as a motivational speaker and writer in Texas.

He still remembers a gangly farm boy from Iowa who wanted to play college football, a farm boy who wondered if he would ever get the chance.

“I consider myself kind of a blue-collar guy with a work ethic that has brought me a lot of blessings,” Hennings said.

No doubt, he did work, but there’s also no doubt he had a mountain of talent to work with.
AFA coach Troy Calhoun was Hennings’ teammate for three seasons, and he gained immense enjoyment from watching his friend destroy opposing offenses.

“He was a man playing with little kids,” Calhoun said. “And he was such a great competitor. He’s a pretty mellow guy when you visit with him, but — oh, geez — he’s got a fire inside him, and he’s not a guy who ever, ever had to do anything just for show.

“He beat you with power.”

All this from a player nobody wanted.

Air Force coaches enjoy talking about the odds stacked against them. They are forced to pursue victory, the coaches say, armed with athletes ignored or rejected by other schools.

Hennings is the ultimate living, breathing example of what these coaches are talking about.

He was hidden away in those vast Iowa cornfields, waiting for his chance.

And he made the most of that chance.

(Hennings gives credit for much of his AFA success to teammate John Steed. For details: http://daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com/ )