"He's in great shape right now," Boese said. "There's obviously a little bit of callousing his body with shoulder pads, leaning on other people, and contact of it that we can't simulate. But I think he's very prepared to go in and have a great season."
They know each other well. Hendrickson has trained at Paycor Stadium during a couple of offseasons under Boese's staff. And the gag is that Hendrickson is in Boese's office so much, he's the fourth strength coach on a staff of three.
"He's like Ja'Marr when it comes to work ethic," Boese said. "You say, 'I want you to go hard now,' they go hard now. It makes it easier for me from a programming and planning standpoint. You know Trey. He's a no BS, no- nonsense guy. I think he's going to have a great year."
Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons emphasized the field-goal operation heading into the offseason and he never wavered trying to make it smoother. He had a tough call because three-year incumbent Cal Adomitis gave college free agent William Wagner everything he could handle in the preseason. After all, Evan McPherson made every kick no matter who was snapping.
In the end, though, it probably came down to what started it all. Wagner's accuracy snapping to holder Ryan Rehkow on PATs and field goals.
"It was tight. I think I pulled away a little bit at the end," Wagner said after practice. "I think my accuracy on short snaps and my accuracy on long snaps got better as I went. Blocking was really a factor. One of the things Darrin wanted to see was if I could block and I think I showed that I could."
Wagner notes he's the third player from Michigan's recruiting class of 2019 to make this roster, joining cornerbacks Dax Hill and DJ Turner II. And they all played with Bengals defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr., Michigan recruiting class of 2020.
Despite his lofty new spot, Wagner is sticking with his college transportation. A gray 2014 Toyota Tacoma. He starts talking about the pickup truck and it starts sounding a little bit like a long snapper.
"Not flashy. A worker. Consistent," Wagner said. "I think I've had to bring it into the shop five times the entire time I've had it. I'm going to run that thing into the ground."