Former Falcon Hennings selected for College Football Hall of Fame

Gazette ^ | May 17, 2006 | anon

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Former Falcon Hennings selected for College Football Hall of Fame

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1317476

May 17, 2006

AFA All-American picked for College Football Hall of Fame

By DAN WOLKEN THE GAZETTE

Chad Hennings, a two-time All-American at defensive tackle at Air Force, was chosen Tuesday for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Hennings won the Outland Trophy as college football’s top interior lineman and collected three Super Bowl rings in his nine years with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Hennings, who played at Air Force from 1984-87, will be enshrined at a ceremony in South Bend, Ind., next summer.

He’s the second Air Force player to go into the college Hall of Fame, joining Brock Strom, who played tackle for the Falcons from 1955-58. Buck Shaw, who coached at Air Force in 1956 and 1957, is also in the hall.

“This is a huge honor,” Hennings said by phone from New York, where he was attending the announcement. “This ranks right up with all the other honors I’ve been able to achieve and I was very excited when I heard. It means a lot to me and I know that it has significance for the Air Force Falcons.”

Hennings will join 12 other players and coaches Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden in the 2006 class, selected by the National Football Foundation.

Other selections include Heisman Trophy winners Mike Rozier of Nebraska and Florida State’s Charlie Ward. Florida’s Emmitt Smith and Virginia Tech’s Bruce Smith were picked in their first year of eligibility.

The rest of the class is Colorado’s Bobby Anderson, Miami’s Bennie Blades, Minnesota’s Carl Eller, Washington’s Steve Emtman, Baylor’s Thomas Everett, Tennessee’s Chip Kell, Purdue’s Mike Phipps and Stanford’s Jeff Siemon.

After a senior year in which he led the nation with 24 sacks and was voted unanimously to the All-American first team, Hennings went into the Air Force as an A-10 pilot and flew 45 missions in Iraq.

Following a four-year active duty commitment, Hennings went to the NFL and has been a vocal and visible spokesman for the Air Force Academy since.

“He’s sort of the poster boy for the academy I think,” coach Fisher DeBerry said. “He’s so deserving, not just because he’s a great football player both at college and at the pro level but more importantly he’s just a great person and you like to see great things happen to great people. It’s a proud day for Air Force football, so we’re all ecstatic and elated for the program and for Chad.”

DeBerry said there will be a halftime ceremony for Hennings at an Air Force home game this season.

Though Hennings lives in suburban Dallas where he operates a consulting business, he has stayed close to the Air Force program in his frequent visits and in his example.

Every year, DeBerry recounts the story of Hennings’ freshman year, when he was moving up the varsity depth chart at tight end.

After that season, however, Hennings was asked to move to defense.

“I guess I was athletic enough to make that transition and the coaches asked me if I’d do that for the team and I said whatever you need to get on the field and play,” Hennings said. “Sometimes it’s good you don’t get your prayers answered because there’s something better in store down the road and it worked out for the best for me and for the team. It was definitely the position that I needed to be at and I’m glad the coaches saw that.”

It turned into a Hall of Fame decision.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0258 or dan.wolken@gazette.com

OTHER INDUCTEES

Bobby Anderson, Colorado Bennie Blades, Miami Bobby Bowden, Florida State Carl Eller, Minnesota Steve Emtman, Washington Thomas Everett, Baylor Chip Kell, Tennessee Joe Paterno, Penn State Mike Phipps, Purdue Mike Rozier, Nebraska Jeff Siemon, Stanford Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech Emmitt Smith, Florida Charlie Ward, Florida State