8 years later, Western Michigan’s Austin Hence is finally completing his college football career

CEDAR RAPIDS — He’s been around long enough to have had two college football careers, but Austin Hence just wants to complete one.

Finally.

The Western Michigan tight end is a senior. A super senior, to be more specific.

He’s 25 years old, in his eighth year of college football. Yes, eighth year.

“I’m way more resilient than I thought,” Hence told MLive. “Every day, I’m optimistic that my opportunity is going to come, and that this is all worth it.”

Here’s Hence’s incredible story.

An Ohio native, he first went to NCAA Division II Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania, where he red-shirted as a freshman in 2016. He played in six games the following year for the Lakers and all 11 in 2018, catching 25 passes, including two for touchdowns.

Injuries hit him for a second time at Mercyhurst the following season, as he was limited to four games, catching 11 passes, two for TDs. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Mercyhurst canceled its season in 2020.

After a talk with Mercyhust coaches and his father, Jamie, a decision was made to enter the transfer portal. Hence already had his undergraduate degree in hand, so this was going to be a grad transfer thing for one more season.

Jamie Hence is in Western Michigan’s athletics hall of fame as an All-America track and field performer and football player, so it was only natural that his son would follow him to Kalamazoo. Austin joined the Broncos as a walk-on.

Easy peasy? Not so much.

Austin Hence blew out his knee in fall practice and missed the 2021 season. He tore his labrum last fall, forcing him to miss all of 2022.

That injury occurred on the final play of the final practice prior to WMU’s season opener against Michigan.

“Those were the hardest three years of my life, just constantly battling myself in being out here having to watch practice every single day,” Austin told MLive. “And not knowing if I’m ever going to touch the field, and seeing my friends come and go to get opportunities at the next level.”

At this point, it’d seem to be time to just hang up the cleats and shoulder pads, but Hence didn’t want things to end like this. Ironically, his father had injured a knee that ended his senior season at Western Michigan prematurely in 1988.

Son didn’t want to go out like his father. So an appeal was filed by the school with the NCAA for an eighth year of eligibility, and it was granted.

“We didn't think he would be able to come back,” Jamie Hence told Western Michigan’s athletics website. “Then, in March, WMU said it would petition the NCAA to see if it would give Austin another year. (Wife) Felicia and I were sitting on pins and needles two years in a row. He has been through so much, and for him to get to this point is surreal.”

Sometimes fairy-tale endings really do happen.

In his long-awaited first game as a Division I football player, Hence caught a pass in Western Michigan’s season opener two weeks ago against Saint Francis (Pa.). It was for a 9-yard touchdown.

“I was grinning from ear to ear when he scored,” said Western Michigan Coach Lance Taylor. “It's been a long time coming. We knew he would have a great impact on our team, but you can't script these things. It couldn't have happened at any more of a perfect time, in front of his family and home crowd.”

Last week at Syracuse, Hence had a team-high eight receptions. He’ll again be a starter Saturday afternoon when his team plays Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.

He wears uniform ‘88,’ by the way, his father’s old number. So many eights here.

Eight catches, doubles eights for a jersey number. Eight years to complete his college football journey.

“I feel like I’ve put my life aside for this for so long, and I have to really end it the way I want it to end it,” Hence told MLive. “I want to make my own story and fight through, because if I know I can come out here and play, there’s a lot of things in life that I’ll be able to get through. That’s my biggest thing right now is to make sure I fight on this field, because what I do on this field will help me in life.”

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