A broken ankle suffered midway through his senior football season at Mission Hills High School set quarterback Gunnar Hensley on a different career path.
“Colleges were starting to talk to me, showing interest, then it went silent once I broke my ankle,” said Hensley, a 3-star player in high school. “Suddenly, there were no options.”
So he went to what he called a “mega recruiting camp” at North Dakota State, where a number of small colleges were looking for players.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Hensley caught the eye of the coaches at Augustana University, a small, private college in Sioux Falls, S.D.
He quickly committed to the NCAA Division II school, and now, in his junior season, is a team captain.
Augustana is 3-0 and ranked No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association poll heading into Saturday’s game at Bemidji State. Hensley has thrown for 906 yards and seven touchdowns without being intercepted.
“I love it here,” said Hensley, who said quarterback guru Jose Mohler of Left Coast Athletix helped get him into the mega camp. “The winters are a little tough (with temperatures frequently dipping below freezing with 50 mph winds), but the football is at a much higher level than I thought it would be. We’re in the top Division II conference in the country and we’re back-to-back conference champions.”
Hensley redshirted as a freshman in 2022 and played in one game last season before becoming the starter as a sophomore in 2024. Hensley threw for 2,515 yards and 18 touchdowns on a team that went to the playoffs and finished 8-4, losing a heartbreaking 20-19 decision to Minnesota State.
He was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division Preseason Player of the Year ahead of this season.
Hensley will graduate in the spring with a degree in business management and plans to play next season at Augustana as a graduate student. After that, he’d like to make a connection with an NFL team.
The NFL dream isn’t far-fetched. Over the years, Augustana has sent eight players to the NFL, including running back Les Josephson of the Rams from 1964-74; defensive back Kevin Kaesviharn of the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001-09; offensive lineman Corbin Lacina of the Buffalo Bills from 1994-2003; linebacker Karl Mecklenburg of the Denver Broncos from 1983-94; and linebacker Bryan Schwartz of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995-99.
“The NFL is pretty much every player’s dream,” said Hensley, who cited his strengths as accuracy, leadership and football IQ.
“It has worked out very well here. I’d love to finish strong and get a shot at going to camp with an NFL team.”
More football
Marcus Ratcliffe (Cathedral Catholic) is the leading tackler at Texas A&M. Through three games, the junior safety has 17 tackles, three tackles for losses and three pass breakups. Ratcliffe started his college career at San Diego State.
• Zach Burton (Granite Hills), a junior defensive lineman at NCAA Division II Angelo State, has nine tackles through three games. He had 36 tackles and a pair of sacks last season. Angelo State is the defending Lone Star Conference champion.
• Kicker Tyler Robles (La Costa Canyon) has made 4 of 5 field goal attempts with a long of 50 yards and is perfect on 12 PATs for Texas State. A redshirt sophomore, Robles started his career at USC.
• Tight end Kameron Beachem (Oceanside) has a pair of catches for 25 yards for Fresno State.
• Erick Delgado (Granite Hills) is starting on the offensive line as a sophomore for Gannon University, a Division II school.
Service academy updates
Defensive back Chris Williams (Francis Parker), punter James Wagenseller (Poway) and offensive lineman Jonah Zimmerman (Oceanside) are playing all playing for Army. In two games, Wagenseller has punted seven times for the Black Knights, averaging 41.43 yards per kick. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Zimmerman is starting. Williams has seen action in both games for the Black Knights.
• Linebacker Jaden Mangini (La Jolla Country Day) is on Navy’s roster, but is not on the Midshipmen’s two-deep.
• Quarterback Gervy Alota (Francis Parker) is a senior at the Merchant Marine Academy. In two games this season, he has rushed 10 times, but hasn’t thrown a pass. He has 224 career pass attempts for 2,101 yards.
• Receiver Brook Desta (Serra, now Canyon Hills) is a senior at the Coast Guard Academy. He’s the team’s leading receiver through two games with 10 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown. He had 190 catches for 2,633 yards and 26 TDs coming into this season. Gage Gehrke (Eastlake) is a starter on the offensive line.
In the pros
Three baseball players with local ties have been assigned to the Arizona Fall League, a landing spot for some of the top prospects in the minor leagues.
Shortstop Jim Jarvis (Clairemont/Alabama) will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. He was traded in July to the Atlanta Braves from the Detroit Tigers. He finished this season hitting .265 at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Right-hander Derek Diamond (Ramona/Ole Miss) and left-hander Jo Jo Ingrassia (Valhalla/Cal State Fullerton) will play for the Salt River Rafters. Diamond was 3-3 with an 11.64 ERA at three levels in the Pittsburgh organization. He spent time on the 60-day injured list with a left shoulder soreness and finished the season at Double-A Altoona. Ingrassia was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA, but pitched in only four games for the Red Sox at high-A Greenville. He spent time on the 60-day injured list with swelling in his shoulder.
Women’s tennis
Katie Codd (Canyon Crest Academy) had a nice opening weekend for Duke, teaming with Shavit Kimchi to win her match Sunday against Old Dominion in the Kitty Harrison Invitational at Chapel Hill, N.C. Duke struggled in singles play, going 1-12 on the weekend. The lone singles win belonged to Codd.
John Maffei’s Alumni Report appears periodically during the college season. Readers are encouraged to send information on local athletes to john.maffei@sduniontribune.com.