April related a story from Henery's school-record 57-yard game-winning field goal against Colorado in 2008. April said Nebraska coach Bob Pellini asked Henery if he could make the kick, and Henery said: "Coach, I'll hit it."
April spent a day with Henery at Nebraska in March, and he came back sold on the kicker's mental toughness. Henery grew up in Omaha but only had scholarship offers from smaller schools. He walked on with the Cornhuskers.
"The year he went to Nebraska, Nebraska had just signed the top kicker in the country [Adi Kunalic, who ended up becoming a kickoff specialist]. [Henery] wanted to go to Nebraska . . . Probably every person in Omaha wants to go to the University of Nebraska, I would think," April said. "When I visited with him, I asked him, 'What were you thinking about when they signed the top kid in the country?' . . . He said, 'Well, I wanted to kick for Nebraska, and I was going there to beat him out.' He didn't say it all arrogant or anything . . . He's self-assured, and you have to be that way."
April said that while conventional draft strategy questions the value of drafting of kickers, another way to look at it is, if Henery has a successful career, he will score far more points and have a much bigger impact than just about anyone else the Eagles could have drafted in the fourth round.
"If he ends up being what we think he ends up being, he'll lead the team in points for 10, 15 years," April said. "That's a big weapon, now."
