Fansided

Best college football players of all time from every state

By Nate Williamson

Longhorns QB Vince Young during Texas' 51-10 win over the Rice Rice Owls in NCAA College Football at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Karl Wright/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Longhorns QB Vince Young during Texas' 51-10 win over the Rice Rice Owls in NCAA College Football at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Karl Wright/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images) /
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SEP 13 1987; U.S. – Air Force Academy – Athletics – Football; AFA1s Chad Hennings popped the ball away from TCU runner Tony Darthard The fumble was recovered by AFA noseguard John Steed.; (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
SEP 13 1987; U.S. – Air Force Academy – Athletics – Football; AFA1s Chad Hennings popped the ball away from TCU runner Tony Darthard The fumble was recovered by AFA noseguard John Steed.; (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /

Iowa – Chad Hennings

Iowa was one of the toughest decisions that didn’t have an obvious answer and had a lot of solid candidates from which to choose. There are many players in the history of the game that has come out of Iowa, moving on to have successful college careers with both great in-state programs, like Iowa and Iowa State and out of state.

Chad Hennings, a native of Van Horne, Iowa, decided to spend his collegiate career at Air Force in the early ’80s, switching to the defensive line after playing as a tight end at the start of his career. The switch stuck, as Hennings would go on to play a giant role in likely the greatest Air Force football team in history. The Falcons went 12-1 in the 1985 season, when Hennings was a sophomore, finishing with the No. 5 ranking in the country per the coach’s poll.

Hennings was an All-WAC performer as a junior in 1986, but his senior season was by far his most impressive. He recorded a whopping 24 sacks on the season on the way to being named a consensus All-American and winning the Outland Trophy.

Hennings NFL career took a side-track as he began serving a commitment with the Air Force in the Gulf War, serving two tours of duty in the Persian Gulf before returning to play with the Dallas Cowboys, who had drafted him in the 11th (apparently a long draft at the time) round of the 1988 NFL Draft.

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