These days, former University of Hawaii football player JR Hensley’s life is Shock and awe.
Hensley is enjoying his don’t-pinch-me experience as the starting center for the Spokane Shock of the Indoor Football League.
“Being here is a privilege, for sure,” said Hensley, an Oklahoma native who is enamored with the Northwest city.
“I love it,” Hensley said. “I love Washington. It’s a beautiful area. It’s the closest thing I’ve felt to Hawaii being on the mainland.”
Hensley expressed thankfulness to play football again after his UH career ended with a quadriceps injury in 2019. With five games remaining in his senior season, Hensley, playing left guard, felt a sharp pain in his left quadriceps when he cut back on a play. “I had my knee brace on, so it sent the shock up to my leg in the one place that wasn’t braced, which was my quad,” Hensley said. “Three of the four quadriceps tendons tore off the bone. I had to have reconstructive surgery.”
He attended senior night festivities in a wheelchair. Hensley spent seven months rehabilitating the quadriceps and then five months of training. “I was like, ‘I’m ready to play ball again,’ ” Hensley recalled.
Two days after he signed with the Wichita Force of Champions Indoor Football, the head coach quit. Freed from that commitment, Hensley signed with the CIF’s Oklahoma franchise. But that team folded, and became the Dodge City Law. Hensley went to Gillette, Wyo., for the Law’s game against the Wyoming Mustangs.
“Literally 30 minutes after the game ended, I got a message from the Shock, the offensive line coach,” Hensley said, “and they were like, ‘We want you to come over here and sign a contract with us and stop playing in that (CIF) league right now.’ I was like, ‘All right, sounds good to me.’ It was a no-brainer. It’s a different level of competition, a higher level of competition in arena ball. We’ve got a lot of good guys here (in Spokane), NFL talent here, so the competition I’m facing is really good.”
In addition to a salary, the Shock provide meals and free housing. “We have all of our lifting, all of our physical therapy, cryotherapy, all kind of stuff to keep us healthy and safe,” Hensley said. The Shock’s home games are in the 10,771-seat Spokane Arena.
“Pro life is clearly different,” Hensley said. “One day you’re with a couple people who may get cut or traded or move on. It’s wild. What’s cool is you get to network and meet new people. It gets you excited and keeps you motivated.”
Hensley, who played tackle and guard at UH, also gets to play center. “You have to focus on different things,” Hensley said. “You start the play. You have to make sure the snaps are good. You have to make sure you’re protecting your ass off. That’s the most important thing to do. You kind of start the pocket. Being in that role really changes things up for me, but in a good way. It’s one more utility I can say I can do.”
Hensley has kept in contact with former UH teammates. He attended the New Mexico Bowl, where UH beat Houston in Frisco, Texas, in December. He also mourned the recent death of his close friend Robert Kekaula — the UH play-by-play announcer for football died on June 19.
Hensley recalled how Kekaula donated cases of Pedialyte to the football program. “I wasn’t used to the Manoa heat and stuff,” Hensley said, noting the drink proved to be helpful in alleviating heat-related cramps. “It really saved me all fall camp and into the season. It was night and day. It changed everything for me. Rob was always looking out.”
Hensley said Kekaula eased the transition for incoming players. “As a new guy coming in from the mainland, having somebody like that reach out to me was a big deal,” Hensley said. “I talked to him three weeks ago. It’s crazy. Life comes at you fast. He always had a smile on his face and supported UH football. He was a good man to everyone he met.”
