ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Matt Henningsen doesn’t need football.
He completed his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin with a 4.0 grade-point average. He went on to pursue his master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. While pursuing his studies — and football – he worked a the Wisconsin Institute of Medical Research on improving MRI technology, analyzing brain scans. He is a whiz in multiple computer-programming languages. One scout even compared him to Will Hunting, the mathematical genius portrayed by Matt Damon in the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”
But the thing is … he loves football.
And even after his playing days are done — whenever that day comes — he doesn’t want to step away from the sport.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get away from the game of football,” he said. “I’m going to try to apply what I know to the game and try to improve the game in some way or help us understand the game in some way.”
That could involve MRIs, trying to improve how brain conditions are diagnosed. Or it could be unlocking the possibilities of analytics on the sport.
“I did a lot of work in data analytics in general,” he said. “That’s something that can always be applied to football. I hope I can do that one day. But hopefully I can have a long career before it comes to that.”
The most important step to that long career could come this summer. At 295 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame, he projects as a defensive end in the Broncos’ scheme — and if free-agent pickup D.J. Jones ends up working at nose tackle, that could dislodge Mike Purcell and create a chain reaction that leaves a spot on the roster open for Henningsen to grab.
He’ll have competition. Fourth-round pick Eyioma Uwazurike — who is 21 pounds heavier than Henningsen — should make the team, and his 316-pound frame allows him to project as a potential relief nose tackle. McTelvin Agim and DeShawn Williams have experience, and 295-pound Marquiss Spencer, who spent last year on the Broncos’ practice squad, has a year of experience on Henningsen.
But don’t sleep on Henningsen. He has a way of surprising everyone in his midst.
Four years ago, he became the first walk-on since at least 1990 to start the Badgers’ season opener as a freshman when he opened in the lineup against Western Kentucky. He finished 2021 with a career-best 5.5 tackles for loss after missing most of the 2020 campaign due to injury. And most recently, he had a monster Pro Day, with a 37.5-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot, 11-inch broad jump and a 4.29-second short-shuttle time.
“The measurables at the workout just kind of confirmed what we thought,” Broncos general manager George Paton said of both Henningsen and his Wisconsin teammate, seventh-round choice Faion Hicks. “These guys are our type of guys.”
That sort of athleticism surprised some onlookers. But given his history, it shouldn’t have stunned anyone. So, don’t be surprised if Henningsen is on the 53-man roster for Week 1.
He may not need football. But no one could want it more.
