Chad Hennings wasn’t just an Air Force Academy football player. He was Air Force football personified, with a list of honors that included winning the 1987 Outland Trophy and gaining consensus All-America honors as a defensive tackle.
He was in a class when the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the 11th round. (The draft ran longer and was held in midweek back in 1988.) Only after fulfilling his military obligation, much of it spent flying A-10s on humanitarian missions during the Gulf War, did Hennings report to Dallas in 1992 to begin a nine-year career that included three Super Bowl rings.
Denver Post staff writer Natalie Meisler caught up with Hennings in Albuquerque recently when he gave the keynote address at the New Mexico Bowl luncheon. ESPN liked his speech at last year’s Armed Forces Bowl so much, it invited him to be the Colorado State- Fresno State keynote speaker. He is very active on the motivational speaking circuit.
Q: What do you think of the soap opera going on with the Dallas Cowboys?
A: If it wasn’t a soap opera, it wouldn’t be Dallas.
Q: But you were the straight arrow from the Air Force Academy. Was it a soap opera then?
A: We had guys like Michael Irwin, and they had their characters before them like Hollywood Henderson. It’s a perpetual thing in Dallas. A book just came out — “Boys Will Be Boys” — that documented that era.
Q: What do you think of the ongoing debate in favor of a playoff system for college football?
A: I can see both sides. The bowl system allows more teams the opportunity to play in the postseason. In a playoff, you eliminate a lot of potential money going to schools and conferences, so I kind of like it the way it is. If there’s a playoff system that will improve it, I’m all for change. The bottom line is I don’t think there is a perfect system, because there will always be someone left out.
Q: What do you remember most about your college days?
A: The relationships I had with teammates.
Q: What are you doing these days?
A: I give talks on leadership and also have a commitment to a couple of businesses in Dallas. I do a lot for our troops. I try to create awareness involving research into post-traumatic stress. There’s a lot of crossover with the NFL when you see players with multiple concussions and those coming back from explosions (in war zones).
Q: What do you think of the job Troy Calhoun has done?
A: He’s done a phenomenal job. He was a class behind me at the academy. Everyone knew he had coaching in his blood.
Q: Do you stay in touch with (former AFA coach) Fisher DeBerry?
A: I sit on the Fisher DeBerry Foundation board (a charitable organization providing support for single moms and their children). We stay in as close communication as possible. He’s one of my all-time favorites.
Q: How much do you stay in touch with the academy?
A: My family are all fans (he has an 11-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son), and we go to a couple of games a year. We’ll go to the bowl game when Air Force plays in Fort Worth.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Hennings’ list of best moments
Five favorite memories of playing AFA football:
1. Camaraderie.
2. The lessons learned from discipline.
3. The heart of the game — never look at how things look on paper.
4. The fly-bys before the game. We heard them (from the locker room), but we didn’t get to see them.
5. The fans.
