HOPPEN: Senior kicker Henery leaves lasting legacy at Nebraska

As Nebraska's 23 seniors took the field for the final time Friday afternoon, there was one player who got a noticeably louder cheer than any of the others.

It wasn't Roy Helu Jr., the guy who basically won NU the Big 12 North title by rushing for 307 yards against Missouri.

It wasn't Niles Paul, who emerged from the tunnel on crutches after breaking his foot in a midweek practice, possibly ending the most enigmatic Husker career in recent memory.

And it wasn't Prince Amukamara, Eric Hagg or DeJon Gomes, all future NFL Draft picks and critical members to a secondary that has bewildered opposing quarterbacks on a weekly basis.

It was a 175-pound former walk-on who had NU fans scrambling for their programs when he made his first appearance four years ago.

It was Alex Henery.

Yes, the kicker got the loudest standing ovation in a class filled with record-breakers, game-changers and future NFL players.

The same guy who only played football in high school because his soccer coach told him he would be good at it.

The same guy that looks less like a star football player and more like some of the journalists crowded around him Saturday night.

That guy is the most important senior in this class.

I'm not even going to go into the scoring record — that speaks for itself. At a school that has seen great kickers like Josh and Kris Brown, Henery is just one extra point away from his 389th career point, a new all-time best at Nebraska.

It's not just the number of field goals Henery has sent through the posts — it's the unbelievable percentage. In four years, the Omaha Burke High product has made a whopping 89 percent of his attempts and has missed just eight field goals.

Eight.

And these field goals aren't meaningless boots, especially over the last two seasons when points have been hard to come by at times. Henery has basically been automatic. He almost never misses despite the fact that any misfire could ruin a rare Cornhusker chance at adding points.

Over the past four years, Henery has made 34 of his attempted 37 field goals in games decided by 10 points or less.

That's almost 92 percent.

That's other-worldly.

And who can forget that 57-yard bomb he hit to beat Colorado two years ago? If he misses that, NU's not beating Clemson in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.  Instead, the Huskers are stuck in another meaningless late-December bowl game and gain no national attention or program momentum. Recruiting suffers and all the praise heaped on coach Bo Pelini for his masterful job of quickly restoring the program is, at best, delayed.

And then there was the punting job last year. After Dan Titchener graduated, there was a gaping hole at what proved to be a very important position. Henery volunteered simply because there was no one else and ended up being one of the offense's most effective weapons.

He routinely buried opponents deep in their own territory, and it almost became comical how often he gets the ball to stop rolling inside the 5. On a Husker team that frequently featured a struggling offense, Henery single-handedly won the field position battle in nearly every game.

And in an age where several kickers have celebrated to the point of injuring themselves, he did it all almost anonymously. Henery's celebration is simple: He high-fives the holder and jogs back to the sideline.

Despite his accomplishments, Henery refuses to pump himself up. Always friendly and obliging to the ever-demanding media, he puts on a smile and says things in the simplest of terms.

"It doesn't really feel any different," Henery said when asked about tying the all-time school scoring record Friday. "It's just kind of cool to be up there with some of those great guys."

We'll miss you Alex.

Dan Hoppen is a junior news-editorial major. Reach him at danhoppen@dailynebraskan.com.