If this is your first time reading Niklas Henning’s name, you’d better get used to it. It won’t be the last time you see it in print over the coming days and weeks.
Queen’s University’s hyper-athletic offensive tackle enters the CFL Combine this weekend in Edmonton with a quiet buzz around what he could accomplish. Fans may not yet be familiar with his game, but scouts have him pegged as the prospect most likely to blow up the annual underwear Olympics.
“My goal is to be the best-testing offensive lineman in each category,” Henning told 3DownNation earlier this offseason. “I think it’s a very realistic possibility. I know I’m gonna run fast, I’ll jump high, I’ll jump far. I’m excited myself to see where I end up.”
“I think I’ll have the 40 on lock. My goal would be sub-4.9. I’m expecting low 4.9s.”
While 4.9 seconds on the stopwatch might not seem like much compared to some of the blazing fast times recorded by receivers and defensive backs, it is a lofty goal for a player who stands at nearly six-foot-six and 290 pounds. It has been a decade since the last offensive lineman, York’s Jamal Campbell, cracked the five-second barrier at the CFL Combine and dipping below 4.9 would be virtually unprecedented. It is a feat that only 18 players have managed at the NFL Combine, among them all-time greats like Trent Williams.
Of course, Henning will still have to back up his predictions with actual results, but the sense is that his confidence isn’t misplaced. The Milton, Ont., native doesn’t move like your typical offensive lineman, perhaps because he hasn’t been one for long.
It was only two years ago that Henning was auditioning for CFL teams at the East-West Bowl as a tight end, and a damn good one at that. The then-255-pounder was named a second-team All-Canadian for his performance during the 2023 season, catching seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
However, scouts felt his size, length, and blocking ability would be better suited to wearing an ineligible number, and they weren’t shy about saying so. After discussions with the Gaels’ coaching staff, who had long joked that this might be a possibility, he embraced a move to right tackle.
In order to make the transition feasible, Henning had to put on more than 30 pounds over the course of one summer — a near Herculean feat on a student’s budget. Rather than eat those calories, he chose to drink them, whipping up a bizarre nightly concoction that soon had him playing in a different weight class.
“My secret was every night I’d make a smoothie, and it was really whatever I could get my hands on,” he explained. “More often than not, you’d have ice cream, milk, protein powder, olive oil, peanut butter, Nutella, maybe a big scoop of butter if I felt like it. Really, anything kind of fattening that I could get my hands on.”
Apparently, if you throw enough ingredients in a blender, anything labelled “extra virgin” merely fades into the background.
“It was delicious. It’s silky smooth,” Henning raved. “Oh man, it’s good. You’ve got to try it.”
Despite the supposedly tasty shortcut, putting on and maintaining weight continues to be the most challenging part of Henning’s new position. At times, he’s gotten up to 310 pounds — a fair landmark for where CFL teams will expect him to be at the next level — but the grind of the season has also seen him drop as low as 280 pounds. That is sure to be a point of emphasis for any organization looking to bring him in.
The other demands of offensive tackle came slightly easier. While his fundamentals left a lot to be desired in 2024, the results were promising for the exact reasons why he is now a coveted pro prospect.
“I was very raw, not at all refined technique-wise, but I always had good feet. I was quick and athletic and could stay in front of guys. While it wasn’t necessarily pretty, I was always able to get the job done,” Henning said.
“That following offseason and then this past season, I’ve made some pretty big leaps forward in that regard. Physically, athletically, I think I’m close to where I want to be, maybe an eight or nine out of 10. The big thing for me is definitely the technical leaps I can still make, and especially the nuances of the position. I mean, I still feel like I hadn’t quite fully gotten the nuances of H-back yet when I made the transition.”
Henning credits his athleticism and ability to adapt between positions to his multi-sport background. Born outside of Munich before moving to Canada at the age of two, he spent much of his childhood focused on the other form of football most popular in his native Germany. While he did star on the gridiron in high school, his original intention was never to continue in university. Instead, he enrolled at Queen’s in the hopes of landing a tryout with the basketball team thanks to his height.
Only when that didn’t materialize did he send an email to head coach Steve Snyder asking if he could walk on with the Gaels football team. He was initially rejected, but that changed when a couple of players dropped out shortly before training camp opened up. A last-minute offer was extended, and the rest is history.
With a second-team All-Canadian selection in 2025, Henning has the unique distinction of receiving national recognition at two different positions. His athletic traits have CFL scouts believing that he has the upside to be a true ratio-breaking offensive tackle at the next level with a little development. Though he didn’t crack the Scouting Bureau’s top 20 rankings in either of the first two iterations, some are already projecting him to be the first U Sports player selected in this year’s draft.
“I think I may have a case for it, but I can’t say it’s me for certain,” Henning said of the possibility. “One of my teammates is also in the draft this year, Justin Pace, and he’s another guy with tons of upside. I think he’s someone that should also be in the conversation, but I’d love it if I could throw my name in there too.”
Henning isn’t boastful by nature. The geology student is a relatively quiet guy who enjoys the solitary pursuits of fishing and brewing his own mead. One day, when football is long over, he dreams of moving to the Yukon and pursuing his passion for environmentalism.
When he predicts his testing scores or projects his CFL future, it isn’t an overconfident facade. All the evidence points to it being a reality.
“I’m gonna say there’s no ceiling (to what I can accomplish), just to toot my own horn a little bit. I definitely have a lot of upside,” he said. “I’m playing at a very high level where I am, but I still think there’s plenty of room for me to improve. I’m an eager learner, and I’ve just been on a constant development trajectory since I got to Queen’s.”
That trajectory will continue somewhere else beginning on Tuesday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, when the 2026 CFL Draft commences.
