It's time for Alex Henery to be in the CFB Hall of Fame
If that seems out of left field, you haven't read this newsletter yet.
It’s possible you don’t remember how good Alex Henery was. You remember his 57-yard kick against Colorado in 2008, of course. Trailing 31-30 and facing fourth-and-25 from the CU 40, Nebraska has no choice but to try to make a kick no Husker has made before. This is not a leisurely September swing against San Jose State. No, it’s a rivalry game and it’s already after 5 p.m. on this day near the end of November. This is a prayer uttered into the cold, dark night.
Except it isn’t. You didn’t have to pray a lot on Henery’s kicks. I say it’s possible you don’t remember how good he was because I didn’t remember until I had occasion1 to dig through his Husker résumé. And now I’m on a mission.
There are two kickers in the College Football Hall of Fame. Kevin Butler was the first, inducted in 2001. A home-state hero, Butler kicked at Georgia from 1981 to 1984, making 77-of-98 field goals. He left the college game with the NCAA record for accuracy beyond 50 yards, making 52.4% of those attempts.
Jason Hanson is the second kicker in the Hall. He too stayed home for college, attending Washington State from 1988 to 1991, where he made 62-of-95 field goal attempts. Hanson departed Pullman as the NCAA’s career leader in makes beyond 40 and 50 yards.2
Butler and Hanson were both consensus first-team All-Americans—a requirement for consideration for the Hall of Fame—but neither won the Lou Groza Award as it didn’t exist until 1991.
Henery didn’t win that award either, which is a wrong we can only right by pushing for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As you’ll see, his résumé more than stacks up.
