photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence offensive lineman Wyatt Hendricks, left, talks to receiver Jaxon Becker during the game against Shawnee Mission Northwest on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Overland Park.

After three years of serious injuries, Wyatt Hendricks wasn’t sure what his future in football would look like.

Hendricks, a senior lineman at Lawrence High School, fractured some vertebrae in his neck his freshman year. The next year, Hendricks broke his collarbone. His junior year, he broke his ankle. He didn’t expect to be committed to a Division I program going into his final year at Lawrence.

The time and pain were all negated when Hendricks committed to Drake, securing his spot on a Division I college football team.

“Everything that I went through in the past, I’m glad that I can just put all that behind me and say, ‘Let’s go,’ Hendricks said. “I’m ready to work for the next level, and I truly believe I can make a huge impact.”

“It’s a unique level of football, and it’s good football,” Hendricks said. “Just all of that was really hard to say no to.”

It was an arduous journey, filled with trips to the physical therapist during each recovery process. It was a physical and mental battle to fight through so many injuries and be so unsure of whether Hendricks would even have a shot to prove what he could do.

But the process taught Hendricks a lot, both about training and the mental side of sports. Hendricks learned how to keep his head down and work, despite the fears or uncertainty of it all.

“I really have worked my tail off throughout the whole recovery process every single time an injury happens,” Hendricks said. “If it was my lower body, I was always doing upper body stuff. Just getting in the gym, going to the field when you’re able to… that was what really put me back.”

Hendricks’ recruitment process got off to a slow start, in large part because of his inability to finish a season healthy. The schools that were interested were junior college or NAIA schools, teams that offered a lot but were ways away from being a Division I team.

A lot changed in the past year to allow Hendricks to get what he really wanted. First, Hendricks moved to the interior offensive line and stayed there. Having bounced around the trenches in his first few years of high school football, Hendricks found a place where his skills were best shown.

“Center is kind of that second quarterback of the offense,” Hendricks said. “Being able to control the offensive line up front, and then if I were to play guard, being a bruiser, really fighting all throughout the game plays to my strengths.

“(Recruitment) kind of started to pick up because I think they saw my potential plan as an interior lineman.”

Hendricks visited Drake, where his brother, Will, is a sophomore offensive lineman. The younger Hendricks brother loved the coaches, the team and the school.

“Playing with my brother is a dream of mine,” Hendricks said. “Being able to be up there with him, and live that college life with him and play football with him will be amazing.”

Drake is having a strong season in 2025 with a 6-3 record. After dropping two of their first three games, the Bulldogs have gone 5-1 in conference play. That record has lifted Drake to the top of the Pioneer Football League standings with two weeks left in the season.

Hendricks’ relationship with the coaches helped strengthen his resolve about Drake. Coach Joe Woodley is in his first year at Drake after spending 17 years at Grand View University, an NAIA school.

Woodley’s success there and the subsequent wins at Drake have made Hendricks excited for his future with the team. On his visit, the players at Drake all raved about the coaching staff.

To prepare for Division I football, Hendricks is — like most high school offensive linemen making the college jump — adding muscle and size to his frame. Along with that, Hendricks is working to become a better athlete with his technique.

“The weight and putting on the muscle is huge, but I think the footwork is also huge, and the flexibility is something that’s also very overlooked,” Hendricks said. “Linemen are surprisingly pretty flexible. Getting my body ready is absolutely going to be the ultimate goal.”

There’s a lot of work for Hendricks to do to prepare, and there will be even more work once he gets to Drake. But after everything he’s overcome to get to this point, Hendricks is excited for his future above all.

“It’s something that I’m going to look back on and say ‘I’m so glad I did this’ for the rest of my life,” Hendricks said. “I’m really fired up.”