BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — When the Wisconsin football team opened preseason training camp last month, Matt Henningsen was an unknown commodity even to some of his teammates.
A redshirt freshman walk-on from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Henningsen was little more than a name on a lengthy list of candidates vying for a role on a rebuilding, injury-depleted defensive line.
Yes, he had made some notable strides in the weight room since his arrival on campus in the fall of 2017 and looked good in agility testing, yet some eyebrows were raised when Henningsen began to receive first-team repetitions at defensive end.
When UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard identified Henningsen as a potential starter early in camp, a unique story began to unfold.
Start with this: Henningsen is wicked smart.
He amassed 51 Advanced Placement course credits in high school, which allowed him to be directly admitted to the UW College of Engineering to focus on computer and electrical studies.
A high honor roll student all four years at Menomonee Falls, he promptly made good on a vow to his parents by recording a perfect 4.0 grade-point average during his first two college semesters.
Now consider this: Henningsen has some freaky athleticism.
A two-way first-team all-state lineman as a prep senior — a former track athlete and basketball captain — he has added 14 pounds of quality muscle to his 6-foot-3 frame since arriving on campus, putting him at 282.
Despite the new bulk, the 19-year-old put up agility readings that would look good at recent NFL scouting combines. He lowered his time in the 10-yard dash to 1.68 seconds, pushed his standing broad jump to 9 feet, 9 inches and recorded a vertical jump of 35 1/2 inches.
That unique combination of intelligence and physical gifts help explain why Henningsen emerged from the shadows to sit atop the depth chart at defensive end when preseason camp ended.
Now wrap your head around this: Henningsen made program history when he debuted for the Badgers in their 34-3 non-conference win over Western Kentucky at Camp Randall Stadium on Friday.
He became the first non-scholarship freshman to start a season opener on offense or defense for the Badgers since their renowned walk-on program took root in 1990.
He played 38 snaps while working the left and right side — second-most on the defensive line to senior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, who had 43 — and was credited with four tackles.
Henningsen had an absolute ball.
"It went excellent," he said with a huge smile. "It was a lot of fun playing football again. It's been a while since I've been on the field competing."
Henningsen was one of nine UW players to make their first career starts in the opener — including four redshirt freshmen — but was the only one without a scholarship.
Henningsen had offers from multiple Mid-American Conference and Football Championship Subdivision schools — he had his choice of Ivy League schools as well — but he was enamored with the world-class engineering program at UW and wanted to go where his parents, Peter and Helen, and older brothers, Pete, Joe and Adam, went to college.
"For him, getting an education and a degree in engineering was so important," Peter Henningsen said of his youngest son.
Wisconsin has had redshirt freshman walk-ons start games before, but not the season opener. Recent examples include quarterback Joel Stave in 2012 (third game), wide receiver Jared Abbrederis in 2010 (third game) and defensive end Ethan Hemer in '10 (sixth game).
The whole debut experience was a whirlwind for Henningsen in part because the nationally televised kickoff was at 8 p.m. and also because he didn't travel and didn't bunk with teammates at the hotel prior to home games last season.
The process started late Thursday afternoon when UW players, coaches and support personnel checked in to the team hotel on campus. A full-squad meeting and dinner followed. Warning: No cell phones allowed.
From there Henningsen and true freshman nose tackle Williams adjourned to their room to watch Northwestern outlast Purdue in their Big Ten West Division battle before falling asleep.
Henningsen said he got up thirsty at one point, but wound up getting about nine good hours of sleep before waking up at 9 a.m. and heading to breakfast.
A casual walk-thru at Camp Randall followed at 12:20 p.m. While the offensive linemen played their traditional game of skill — trying to throw a football into a distant trash can — others played catch in T-shirts and shorts.
Henningsen played catch briefly before taking a seat by himself in the front row of Section R. He pulled out a review sheet of his assignments and pored over them one more time.
"Getting it fresh in my mind," he said.
The entourage returned to the hotel at 1 p.m. for lunch and a long afternoon of idleness.
Henningsen and Williams watched the Game Show Network before trying to relax and, if possible, nap. At various junctures they'd quiz one another about the game plan.
"Randomly we asked each other questions like, 'What do you do on this? What do you do on that?' Just trying to make sure our minds are ready and focused," Williams said.
"It was a long day," Henningsen said, "trying to make sure I was as ready as I could be.
"I'm going to have my jitters. It's my first game. But once you're playing, you're just playing football and I've done that a million times. You've just got to focus on playing on the field and play football."
After a team meeting at 5:15 p.m., UW players and coaches, dressed in suits and ties, climbed aboard two buses and headed for Camp Randall for an emotional treat.
Long lines of red jersey-wearing Wisconsin fans were packed three deep along the sidewalk by the landmark Arch. Henningsen spotted his family — his parents, brothers Pete and Adam and girlfriend Kelly attended the game — and dispensed handshakes and hugs before following teammates through a side door to a narrow stairwell in the McClain Center that led downstairs to the locker room.
"That was kind of crazy, just getting off the bus and seeing how long the crowds of people stretched," Henningsen said. "It's just pretty cool being a part of something bigger than me."
Henningsen entered the UW locker room, turned right and made his way to a distant stall situated between sophomore tailback Garrett Groshek and sophomore outside linebacker Noah Burks.
After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, Henningsen retraced his steps to the locker room entryway and walked across the carpeted hallway to the athletic training area to have his ankles taped.
Roughly five minutes later, Henningsen returned to the locker room where the digital clock said it was 6:01 p.m.
The massive room was remarkably quiet — its air conditioner cranked to ultra-cool — and it stayed that way for the next hour, the soundtrack dominated by flushing toilets, the padding of flip-flops, the whir of someone on a stationary bike and second-hand music from dozens of headphones.
Henningsen spent a good chunk of the next 45 minutes sitting alone at his locker. He sipped a bottle of water, taped his hands and wrists and did some light stretching.
Tick. Tock.
It was 6:49 when Henningsen put his game pants and shoes on.
It was 6:55 when Henningsen, in full uniform, grabbed a seat next to redshirt freshman defensive end Kayden Lyles and shared a quiet thought.
It was 6:59 when Henningsen hoped on a nearby stationary bike and took a 90-second spin.
Tick. Tock.
It was 7:06 when Henningsen, fully dressed with helmet on his head, gathered with his fellow linemen at the locker room door. They followed the outer corridor, passed through motion-sensitive sliding glass doors to the tunnel that led to the field. Everyone sprinted the last 10 yards as the pregame crowd cheered loudly.
The offensive and defensive linemen took part in a quick one-on-one blocking drill — Henningsen squared off with senior center Micah Kapoi — before the group headed back to the locker room.
It was 7:20 when the linemen returned to the field, the crowd bigger and louder when they reached the surface. After a team stretching session, Henningsen went one-on-one with senior left guard Michael Deiter and junior left tackle Jon Dietzen.
When the starting lineups were flashed on the large video board in the north end zone, Henningsen was the first one introduced for the Badgers. His caricature was all business.
It was 7:46 and everyone was back in the locker room. On one side of the room offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph presented his motivational case. On the other side Leonhard spoke his piece.
"You want energy?" he asked rhetorically. "Then make it. Be fast, physical and confident."
Everyone then gathered at the main locker room door where head coach Paul Chryst stood.
"You be the hammer," he told them.
On the way to the field, neon lights flickering in the tunnel, everyone reached up to touch a red horseshoe mounted on a cross beam for good luck.
Then the fun began.
The UW bench is arranged so that the defense is at the south end. When the unit was on the field, Henningsen was either part of it or standing on the sideline next to UW defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield. When the Wisconsin offense was in action, Henningsen sat in the same spot on the bench listening to Breckterfield and comparing notes with teammates.
"Believe your eyes," Breckterfield told him after one second-quarter series.
The Badgers built a 24-0 lead at halftime, giving way to an emotionally measured locker room break. Fluids, fruit and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were arranged on tables.
"Hydrate," UW strength and conditioning coach Ross Kolodziej reminded.
Rudolph and Leonhard stood in front of white boards and again gathered their units for overviews. When the players circled Chryst before returning to the field, his message was simple.
"We can be better," he said.
The Hilltoppers opened the second half with their only scoring drive, but it could have been worse because they had first-and-goal at the Wisconsin 9.
"Nice job holding up," Breckterfield told his charges.
Being on the field for his first "Jump Around" was memorable for Henningsen.
"I was jumping a little bit," he said with a grin. "I was having fun out there. It was a lot of fun watching it from the field. It's an experience you can't replace."
When the game was over, Henningsen happily made his way to the McClain Indoor Facility to catch up with his family.
Henningsen told his parents earlier this year that he had a shot at playing time, but they acknowledged that things have moved faster than they thought.
"We knew they thought highly of him just from the way they talked about him in recruiting and in the spring," Peter Henningsen said of the UW coaches. "But you think it might take him a little bit of time to acclimate and get better. It is surprising to that degree."
Then again, their son has always been focused in part because his older brothers all played high school football, all have their degrees and all celebrate his progress.
"Matt always has had high expectations for himself," Helen said. "We always just encourage him.
"One thing about Matt: When he sets a goal for himself, he achieves it."
