Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 9 - Defensive end Matt Henningsen

Wisconsin's 2021 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.

Matt Henningsen, a redshirt senior, is the lone returnee with starting experience at defensive end for Wisconsin. The Menomonee Falls (WI) product had his season cut short in 2020 after he suffered a torn bicep in the second game of the season against Michigan, but he has appeared in 29 career games with 16 starts. First-year position coach Ross Kolodziej said Henningsen was back at 100 percent at the start of spring practices and called him a "genius academically and a freak show athletically."

"He's right at or maybe exceeding where we hoped he'd be at this time," Kolodziej told reporters in the spring.

In his last full season in 2019, Henningsen showcased solid production. At 6-foot-3 and 292 pounds, he tallied four sacks, five tackles for loss and even found the end zone twice with a pair of fumble recoveries.

As the veteran in the room, Henningsen has been someone others can come to as leader.

"I wish I had his brain on my shoulders, let's say that," junior Keeanu Benton said.

Playing alongside former teammates Garrett Rand and Isaiahh Loudermilk, Henningsen has been part of a rotation the previous two seasons. Kolodziej praised the work he did during the winter to get his body ready, but the experienced lineman will be tasked with bouncing back from a season-ending injury. Not only will Hennignsen need to return to the player he was prior, but he will be asked to elevate his play as a full-time starter.

As the unquestioned leader at defensive end, Henningsen will be asked to guide the young, inexperienced unit this fall. For a group that only totaled two sacks this past season - both by Loudermilk - Hennignsen, a former walk-on, will likely be asked to add a threat as an edge rusher.

Henningsen has already done a masterful job of embracing his role. Along with Benton, both Kolodziej and projected starter Isaiah Mullens spoke to the job he has done in bringing them along. Mullens noted that Henningsen helped him with the playbook and Kolodizej called him a "great resource."