Surgery, rehab, baptism: Inside Nick Henrich's road back to Nebraska football

Nick Henrich considered the possibility that it was all over.
The linebacker had already been banged up, missing a pair of games in September. His body had taken the toll of a lifetime on the football field, injuries and surgeries piling on top of each other.
So when he tore his ACL at Purdue in the seventh game of the 2022 season, he thought there was a chance he had played his last snap, that bad luck had landed the final knockout punch to his football career.
He hadn’t, and it wasn’t. After surgery came an extensive rehab process. The journey allowed him to get back up to speed and begin training camp Monday with no restrictions other than a knee brace, but it was more than that. The injury, operation and long road back helped the team captain evolve physically, mentally and spiritually, leading to the day he was finally able to take the practice field again.
“It was definitely a long process, longer than any injury I’ve had before, but my coaches and teammates were so supportive,” Henrich said. “And we have such a great medical staff here that they made the process real easy.
“I got just so blessed that I have these guys around me to really pick me up. They’re incredible people.”
The rehab was hard. There were early mornings, trips to the team facility before the sun was up. Henrich spoke with teammates and other players who had torn ACLs and were familiar with the process he was undertaking. In March, his friend and fellow linebacker Luke Reimer baptized him.
It all eased Henrich’s mind. Much of what he had to do in those nine months involved trust, whether it was the trainers or the mere idea that his knee would get back to where it was before the injury. Deeply committing to his faith made it easier. It was another form of trust.
It’s led him back to where he was before: on the field for Nebraska as one of the most respected voices on the defense.
“If you asked the team who leads and who they trust and all that, they’re all gonna say Nick,” coach Matt Rhule said. “It’s a lonely road when you tear your ACL. You kind of wonder, am I ever gonna be able to play again? And then when you do come back and play, you’re always wondering, is it gonna go again? There’s a lot of faith involved.”
Still recovering during the spring, Henrich tried to absorb as much of defensive coordinator Tony White’s scheme as he could without being able to play. When he was able to step onto the field, he found the new system to be similar to being healthy again. It was freeing.
Henrich, and the rest of the defense, can play with more flexibility under White. The core philosophy is about running to the ball and playing fast, but it’s less rigid than the way the Huskers played last season. Coverages and fronts are varied, and Henrich isn’t confined to a specific spot on the field.
“I would say just the freedom that it gives you and not being so focused on ‘I have to be here. I have to be here,’” he said, “and just understanding the philosophy of, ‘No, you can do this.’”
Nebraska won’t kick off against Minnesota to begin its 2023 campaign for a month, and hope always springs eternal in the preseason. But a healthy and fully firing linebacker duo of Henrich and Reimer — who also dealt with injuries and missed two games last year — would give the Huskers a source of stability as they distance themselves from a season that lacked it.
For Henrich, Aug. 31 will be his first game action in more than 10 months. Emotionally, it will be the culmination of even more.
“I hope he has a great year,” Rhule said, “but to me, he’s already won.”