Alex Henery, Philadelphia Eagles, 120th Pick, 4th Round, 2011 NFL Draft

Henery, Alex Nebraska 6014 178 5.00

Four-year starter. Voted a team captain. A dual threat, right footed soccer style placekicker and punter. Tall and slender build. Strong leg with immediate rise, end over end. Gets the ball up quickly. Quick rise of under 1.3 seconds on field goals and PATs. Good trajectory. Even when he kicks from 49-40 yards he gets the ball up. Performs in bad weather and under pressure. Appears to be a flat liner emotionally. Has composure and concentration. Only missed two kicks under 50 yards in his career. A three-step punter with consistent hang times of over 4.50 seconds. Works as a directional punter, placing the ball inside the 20-yard line. A starting placekicker and a backup punter on the next level. For complete report see Ourlads Guide to the NFL Draft.

Trivia from the Iconoclast.......

Thoughts I’d like to share with fellow Eagles fans, or others who have some interest in The National Football League.

The Eagles’ selection of Alex Henery, a placekicker, in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, presents an opportunity for some trivia.

Alex Henery was the first placekicker Philadelphia selected since 1984, 27 years ago, when they opted for Youngstown’s State’s Paul McFadden in the 12th round. Before that, who was the placekicker selected by Philadelphia before McFadden? What was the intervening time-frame?

The answers: Manny Matsakis (Capital) and the time interval was measured in hours. Matsakis was taken in the 8th round of that 1984 Draft. Puzzling? It was to me. It still is.

When I tried that on people who might know, only one got it correct. Most answered, “Tony Franklin (1979).” Would it be a surprise that, in 1981, Alan Duncan (Tennessee) was selected, two years AFTER Franklin?

The list of Eagles designated solely as kickers in the NFL Draft prior to Alex Henery are:
year round player school
1966 20 Circo, Gerald (Cal State-Chico)
1967 14 Kenney, Dick (Michigan State)
1970 14 Moseley, Mark (Stephen F. Austin)
1971 4 Feller, Happy (Texas)
1979 3 Franklin, Tony (Texas A&M)
1981 7 Duncan, Alan (Tennessee)
1984 8 Matsakis, Manny (Capital)
1984 12 McFadden, Paul (Youngstown St.)

Interestingly, Jerrel Wilson, chosen by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1963 NFL Draft (17th round) as “LB-K” was the first player to carry the kicker label as part of his draft position designation.

In the NFL Draft, the first player designated exclusively as a kicker was Dick VanRaaphorst (Ohio State) by the Cleveland Browns in 1964 (10th round). Pete Gogolak (Cornell) was taken in the 12th round of the AFL Draft that same year. Prior to that, kickers were position players with the added responsibility.

Fullbacks,NoseTackles & Specialist Notes 2011 NFL Draft

FB – Shaun Chapas (Georgia) OSR: 5/7. 23/BP, 35.5/VJ, 7.13/3 cone.
Stanley Havili (Southern Cal) OSR: DNP. Medical exclusion due to left
shoulder injury, no bench press or workout. Henry Hynoski (Pittsburgh)
Junior. OSR: 6/7. 6003, 257. 24/BP. Strained left hamstring on 1st 40 yard dash,
did not run again or do shuttles or 3 cone. Owen Marecic (Stanford) OSR: 7/7.
22/BP, 7.10/3 cone. Anthony Sherman (Connecticut) OSR: 2/7. 32/BP.

NT – Sione Fua (Stanford) OSR: 18/25. A-34”, H-10 ½”. 30/BP, 4.54/SS.
Chris Neild (West Virginia) OSR: 6/25. H-10 ¾”. 30/BP, 5.06/40, 4.46/SS.
Jerrell Powe (Mississippi) OSR: 24/25. A-33 ¼”. 27/BP. Ian Williams
(Notre Dame) OSR: 19/25. 31/BP.

Specialists – The following specialists took part in the Combine but were not given
an OSR rating: Danny Aiken (Virginia) long snapper, Dan Bailey (Oklahoma
State) placekicker, Matt Bosher (Miami) punter, Ryan Donahue (Iowa) punter,
Kai Forbath (UCLA) placekicker, Reid Forrest (Washington State) punter, Alex
Henery (Nebraska) placekicker, Chas Henry (Florida) punter, Josh Jasper (LSU)
placekicker, and Jake Rogers (Cincinnati) placekicker

Alex Henery and other Senior Bowl Kickers notes

Alex Henery and other Senior Bowl kicker notes....

K/P/LS: Kai Forbath (UCLA) – 5105, 191. Right-footed placekicker. Hang times
averaged 4.12 on kickoffs during practice. On 10 kickoffs he averaged 67 yards with
a 3.99 hang time. Made a 24-yard field goal and missed a 44-yard kick. Alex Henery>(Nebraska) – 6011, 178. Right-footed two-step punter. Henery was invited as a
punter, but was a placekicker and punter combination. Had one 60-yard kickoff and
averaged 42.8 yards on 6 punts with a long of 49 yards. He placed one inside the 20-
yard line. Christian Yount (UCLA) – 6000, 241. Long snapper with an average
deep snap during the week of .68 on 10 snaps. Short snaps on PATs and field goals was
.34. Josh Jasper (LSU) – 5100, 173. Right-footed placekicker. Quick rise on PATs
and field goals. Made a 23-yard field goal during game. On 10 practice kickoffs he
averaged between 3.66 and 4.31 hang times. The distance was 60-68 yards. ChasHenry (Florida) – 6033, 220. Right-footed two-step punter. Averaged 44.8 yards per
punt in the game on six punts. He placed two inside the 20-yard line. Had a long of 50
yards. Averaged 46 yards on 10 practice punts with hang times between 4.25 and 4.81.
Danny Aiken (Georgia Tech) – 6044, 246. Long snapper. Snaps were inconsistent
and a bit off the mark during the week. Many snaps went left, however the holder Chas
Henry got the ball down. Short snaps on PATs and field goals was .35. Long snaps on
punts averaged 6.7.