Five Reasons Why Alex Henery Was A Great Draft Pick By the Philadelphia Eagles

by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 12:34 PM CDT in Huskers in the NFL

Accuracy

Henery finished his college career as the most accurate kicker in the history of NCAA football.

He was selected as a first-team All-American by the AP, Rivals.com, CBSSports.com, and SI.com last season.

He set Nebraska school records for career scoring (397 points), most consecutive made field goals (18, broken vs Missouri, 2010), most field goals in a season (24 in 2009), most field goals in a career (68), and the longest field goal in school history (57 yards versus Colorado in 2008).

Henery was perfect on PATs in 2010, and ended his college career with 116 straight made extra points.

Why the hell Alex Henery never won a Lou Groza Award is beyond anyone's ability to answer.

Versatility

Henery pulled double-duty as Nebraska's punter the past two seasons. It isn't his punting average that you should be excited about. It's his accuracy! Oh, where have you heard that before?

In 2009, Henery lead the Big 12 conference with 30 punts inside the 20, including eight (!) inside the three-yard line. Henery averaged 42.2 yards on his 147 career punts, including 57 downed inside the 20.

In the highlights below, you'll see a 77-yard punt that comes while Henery is on the run and punts the ball soccer style.

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Comments

Eagles fan here

Do you think it’s possible for Henery to be both an effective punter and effective kicker in the pros?

The bar at punter isn’t super high in Philly since Sav Rocca is eternally frustrating, but succeeding Akers will be tough to do. What do you Husker fans think?

DTMWTD

by alcatraz0109 on Apr 30, 2011 12:40 PM CDT reply actions

i updated

with some more stats regarding his punting.

57 punts inside the 20. That’s more than a third of his punts.

I think he has some weird understanding how the foot meets a ball. :)

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by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Alex has this knack of being able to have the ball bounce out-of-bounds. Not sure if this is luck or he just knows how to kick the ball properly to do this. He pinned a lot of balls inside the 5-yard line his junior year. I’m also an Eagles fan and I love that they got him. I loved Akers for the time he was there and hope Alex has the same type of success for the next decade in Philadelphia.

In the deed, the glory.
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by Aaron Musfeldt on Apr 30, 2011 3:43 PM CDT up reply actions

Jedi mind tricks

It is what it is and we are who we are. Deal with it.
Sober (again) since January 10th, 2011.
My only draft prediction: We will NOT take an OT in rounds 1-4
Not all those who wander are lost.

by nateforchiefs on May 1, 2011 5:17 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Henery

as punter and place kicker. Henery’s value to a team comes as a high value, accurate, put 3 points on the board place kicker. Having him do double duty as a punter in the NFL is extremely risky.

Putting him at risk of injury while punting would not be a good idea. If Alex turns out to be as deadly accurate in the NFL as he was at Nebraska and punts for the Eagles I could see the Cowboys, Skins or GIants sort of accidently on purpose causing an injury to Alex while punting.

Not a smart move for Alex to punt in the NFL IMHO.

by Andy P skers94 on May 2, 2011 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions

damn

is that youtube not showing up properly????

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by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 12:48 PM CDT reply actions

okay

should be good now.

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by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions

so what defensive player to look forward to next year draft?

My mojo so dope. BITCH!

Revis Island, NA continent, Jimmy Smith's EGO

by dday on Apr 30, 2011 1:02 PM CDT reply actions

I'd say

that cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and defensive tackle Jared Crick will both be first round picks….

Amukamara went high in the first round, and some would say that Dennard is better than him. Crick – he’s not Ndamukong Suh (who is?), but he’s still a very good defensive tackle.

Lavonte David is a great college linebacker (great instincts, speed), but his size may limit him in the NFL. We’ll see!

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by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions

man suh is a once in a lifetime dt, im gonna be watching these two

btw isnt Nebraska playing Fresno State this year?

My mojo so dope. BITCH!

Revis Island, NA continent, Jimmy Smith's EGO

by dday on Apr 30, 2011 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions

yeah

in lincoln.

David Carr’s brother Derek will be the starting QB. should be interesting.

Go Big Red Nebraska!
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by Jon Johnston on Apr 30, 2011 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions

yeah new era, my friend and high school teammate malique michienhiemer just got recruited by fresno

hopefully this game will be good

My mojo so dope. BITCH!

Revis Island, NA continent, Jimmy Smith's EGO

by dday on Apr 30, 2011 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Was Alex Henery the only kicker drafted?

Because that’s what it looks like to me. Not only was he the only one drafted, but he was drafted in the 4th round. Finally this guy isn’t going unnoticed.

by Billgrip on Apr 30, 2011 6:31 PM CDT reply actions

There was a punter from Miami taken, too.

He apparently can handle KOs but is not a full-time kicker.

@GochfaceKillah on Twitter

by Screwface on May 1, 2011 1:26 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

I write for Bleeding Green Nation (the Eagles SB Nation blog), and I think I’ve decided that Henery is my favorite pick. I don’t think I would have ever guessed I’d be saying that about a kicker.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/

by JimmyK on Apr 30, 2011 9:01 PM CDT reply actions

Just wait until he actually gets going for you guys.

I’m still trying to figure out what the Groza Award people were smoking, because Henery’s been the best PK in CFB the past three years. It’s not even close, IMO.

"Wer viel Bier trinkt, schläft gut. Wer gut schläft, sündigt nicht. Und wer nicht sündigt, kommt in den Himmel!" Martin Luther

by Go Big Rev on May 3, 2011 6:59 AM CDT up reply actions

Okie State had a much faster-paced offense.

So He got to kick a lto more than Alex did. From a numbers stand point, he had an argument. But regardless of what anyone else did, what he accomplished 2 years ago was frickin’ ridiculous. He should have gotten Heisman votes for that performance.

Go Suns, Packers, Jays, and Huskers!

Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl XLV Champions!!!!

by Omaha Sun on May 3, 2011 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Question: Of all the film I’ve seen of this guy since the Eagles made the pick, I haven’t seen any of his kickoffs. Jeremy Maclin tweeted that when Missou played Nebraska, he was trying to put it through the uprights on kickoffs, but that’s pretty much all I’ve got. Anyone want to shed some light on that aspect of his game?

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/

by JimmyK on Apr 30, 2011 9:04 PM CDT reply actions

I suspect Maclin's thinking of the wrong kicker.

Henery didn’t generally do kickoffs because another kicker on the team in the same class named Adi Kunalic had a ridiculously huge leg. Kunalic had touchbacks on 40% of his kickoffs in his four years at NE.

That said, Henery has plenty of leg and with the NFL moving the kickoff up the the 35 I doubt you’ll have any worries.

by SeanH on May 1, 2011 1:04 AM CDT up reply actions

alex henery was not responsible for kickoffs

knowing that – read the tweet again and you’ll understand what maclin meant :)

by monsatano on May 1, 2011 1:07 AM CDT up reply actions

I read it 5 times and I’m still not exactly sure what he’s saying.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/

by JimmyK on May 1, 2011 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions

Henery is amazing.

I was at the spring Red-White game and Henery was there and while I’ve known all along that he won’t be back I think that’s when it first really sunk in. That’s a pretty disheartening feeling.

I’m glad he’s going to get his though I just wish it was for someone other than the Eagles! Yuck.

by belt on May 1, 2011 7:13 AM CDT reply actions

Eagles fan and Huskers fan here.

While I really wish we’d jumped up and grabbed Prince, I got the second Husker on my wish list in Alex Henery. He just doesn’t miss, no matter what the situation or field position. I honestly think he’s an upgrade at punter or at kicker, wherever we decide to use him.

by laxer298 on May 1, 2011 2:05 PM CDT reply actions

Eagles will be happy

In 2009 you could argue Henery was our only Offensive player (VT 15 points, ISU 6 points, do I need to continue?) He will be missed as a Husker, he will be drafted by my FF team (might be my last pick…), and I will be looking forward to at least catching the Eagles on the NFL Red Zone channel.

by 34Horsemen on May 2, 2011 8:23 AM CDT reply actions