<strong>I</strong>n the celebratory aftermath of the program’s first bowl win, then-University of Buffalo tight ends coach Alan Hensell wasn’t going to make the moment about him.
Hensell waited for the locker room to clear out before approaching his boss, Bulls head coach Lance Leipold, to tell him he was leaving to become the head football coach at Franklin College.
Three days later, on Dec. 23, the 37-year-old Hensell was introduced as the successor to Mike Leonard, who retired from coaching in November as the winningest coach in school history.
Nearly five months later, the former three-sport standout at New Prairie High School near South Bend continues to feel as though he’s living a dream.
“It’s surreal, and I’m just very proud to be able to represent the school I have so much passion for,” said Hensell, who spent the past five seasons with Buffalo, a Mid-American Conference team that went 18-9 over the past two seasons. “It was something I was always really interested in.
“I had such a great experience here, some of my best friends are here, so it was always in the back of my mind to come back.”
Hensell’s longing to scale the coaching ladder placed him in six different states over a period of 13 years. A 2005 Franklin College graduate, Hensell’s career has achieved full-circle status.
It’s an ascent his former coach and next-door neighbor, Bart Curtis, has enjoyed watching.
“I’ve known Al since he was in the eighth grade and have watched him mature,” said Curtis, currently the coach at Warsaw High School and a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. “With Al, what separates him from other players I’ve had that became coaches are his focus and competitiveness.
“When Al was 15, it was like talking to a 25-year-old. I was so excited when he got the Franklin College job. Being back in Indiana and having him associate with the high school coaches, it’s a match made in heaven.”
Hensell’s association with Leipold proved one, also.
In 2012, Hensell’s career hit a snag following one season as the offensive line coach at Gardner-Webb in North Carolina. Head coach Ron Dickerson Jr. had been released after a 3-8 season, and Hensell was looking for employment.
Leipold, in the midst of a historic run as head coach at Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater, met the young upstart the following summer.
“It was a situation where Alan passed through our summer camps. I had this position open up, so I offered it to him,” Leipold said. “I could tell Alan was a very well-versed guy and a good teacher. He’s loyal and hard-working.”
When Buffalo hired Leipold after the 2014 football season, the coach took four of his Wisconsin-Whitewater assistants with him, including Hensell.
Prior to Leipold’s arrival, Buffalo had gone 27-45 in the previous six years (2009-14) with only one winning season.
“That’s half of coaching. Right place, right time and knowing the right people,” Hensell said of Leipold. “Lance has had more of an impact on my career than anyone. Those seven years were really special, winning two national championships together at Wisconsin-Whitewater and then what we were able to do at Buffalo.
“At Buffalo, we essentially had to start from scratch, and we went through some really hard times. One of the things I’m proudest of is that over the last two years we won more total games than any other program in the MAC.”
It was after the players and other coaches celebrated, showered and made it to the team buses after the bowl win that Hensell notified Leipold he was leaving. Their years together created victories, memories, mutual respect and, yes, career opportunity.
“When coach Leonard stepped down, I sort of joked with Alan that he would be on that short list (of candidates),” Leipold said. “And he said, ‘I sure hope so because that’s where I would want to be.’”
Leipold doesn’t remember Hensell applying for any other jobs during their time together.
Hensell, whose college playing career was cut short following a severe knee injury, moved back to Franklin in January and immediately began recruiting. The urgency paid off, as he was able to do the majority of his recruiting before the COVID-19 pandemic limited interaction with current and future Grizzlies.
The 2020 squad will feature only six seniors, an extremely low number for a football program at any level.
“Recruiting was starting to settle down right before the start of this, so we had gotten about 90 percent of who we were targeting on campus,” Hensell said. “We have roughly 50 commits, and we’re still chasing between five to eight guys.”
Hensell is still in the process of putting together his coaching staff. He hopes to be finished in the next couple of weeks.
Evan Stambaugh, who started his Grizzlies career as a quarterback before being switched to safety, said adapting to a new coaching staff and its philosophies is a transition he and his Franklin teammates are taking one day at a time.
“It’s going to be a little different. There’s going to be a lot put on (seniors) as far as leadership,” Stambaugh said. “Change can be difficult, but you can tell coach Hensell wants the best for us. Football-wise, his résumé is really good and that excites you.
“As a person, it’s his passion for the game. He loves it as much as you do.”
Being a first-year head coach presents its own set of challenges; doing so at one’s alma mater potentially adds even more pressure. Leipold succeeded in a similar setting at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he won six Division III national championships and posted a jaw-dropping 109-6 record over eight seasons.
He’s confident that Hensell will do just fine here.
“I do know Alan is highly organized and that coach Leonard is still around and a good sounding board,” Leipold said. “But Alan has to be himself, too. You respect the past, and hopefully try to find a way to put your stamp on the program and take it to new heights.”
