Keith Heckendorf

Last updated

Keith Heckendorf
Current position
Title Offensive coordinator
Team Arkansas State
Conference Sun Belt
Biographical details
Born (1981-04-23) April 23, 1981 (age 43)
Mosinee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Playing career
2000–2003 St. Cloud State
Position(s) Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2004Mosinee HS (WI) (assistant)
2005 Nebraska (OQC)
2006–2007Nebraska (GA)
2008–2010 Western Carolina (OC/QB)
2011–2013 North Carolina
(player development)
2014 Arkansas State (TE/RC)
2014–2015North Carolina (QB/RC)
2016–2018North Carolina (QB/PGC)
2019–2020Arkansas State (AHC/OC/QB)
2021–presentArkansas State (OC/QB)

Keith Heckendorf (born April 23, 1981) is an American football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State University. He was previously the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Contents

Playing career

Heckendorf played quarterback at St. Cloud State from 2000 to 2003. At St. Cloud, he set program records for career passing yards, career touchdowns, and career pass completions. He was also a three-time Harlon Hill Trophy finalist (the D-II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy), and an All-American. [1] He was also a National Football Foundation Scholar athlete in 2003, and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2017. [2]

Coaching career

After his playing career concluded, Heckendorf was an assistant at his high school alma mater Mosinee High School in Mosinee, Wisconsin before spending time at Nebraska as a quality control coach and graduate assistant. He also had a stint at Western Carolina from 2008 to 2010 as their offensive coordinator.

Heckendorf was hired in a player development position at North Carolina in 2011. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in 2014. [3] At UNC, he was the position coach for Mitchell Trubisky, who rose from a backup quarterback to the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft over the span of a year. [4]

Arkansas State

Heckendorf was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State in 2019. [5] He spent time as their tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for about a month before he was re-hired as the quarterbacks coach at North Carolina. [6] Heckendorf was named a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2019, an award given to the top assistant coach in college football. [7] On December 10, 2020, after head coach Blake Anderson left to take the same job at Utah State, Heckendorf was named interim head coach for the Red Wolves. [8]

After initially being replaced by Major Applewhite and A. J. Milwee, Heckendorf was retained as offensive coordinator by newly hired Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Davis (American football coach)</span> American football player and coach (born 1951)

Greg Davis is a former American college football coach. He served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team until announcing his retirement on January 6, 2017 . He served as offensive coordinator for the 2005 national champion Texas Longhorns, where he was awarded the Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach for the 2005 season.

Shane Montgomery is an American college football coach and former player. He is an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, positions he has held since 2024. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University at Buffalo. Montgomery served as the head football coach at Miami University from 2005 to 2008, compiling a record of 17–31.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Jones</span> American football coach (born 1968)

Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the University of Alabama from 2018 to 2020, the head coach at the University of Tennessee from 2013 to 2017, the University of Cincinnati from 2010 to 2012 and Central Michigan University from 2007 to 2009. A Michigan native, he played college football at Ferris State University as a running back and wide receiver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Bobo</span> American football player and coach (born 1974)

Robert Michael Bobo is an American college football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Georgia, his alma mater. He was the head coach at Colorado State from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas State Red Wolves football</span> Football team representing Arkansas State University

The Arkansas State Red Wolves football team represents Arkansas State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football competition. The team was founded in 1911 and has competed as a member of the Sun Belt Conference since 2001. Their home field is Centennial Bank Stadium and the head coach is Butch Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Harsin</span> American football player and coach (born 1976)

Bryan Dale Harsin is an American football coach who was most recently the head coach for the Auburn Tigers. Prior to coaching at Auburn, he coached the Boise State University Broncos from the 2014 season through the 2020 season where he posted a 69–19 overall record. He began his head coaching career at Arkansas State University for the 2013 season. Harsin was the co-offensive coordinator at the University of Texas for two seasons. Before leaving for Texas in 2011, Harsin was an assistant at Boise State for 10 seasons, the last five as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

David Duggan is an American football coach and former player who is currently the defensive coordinator at Kent State. Prior to Kent State he was the director of recruiting at Troy University. Duggan served as the head coach for the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe from 2006 to 2007, where he compiled a record of 10–9.

Rhett Lashlee is an American college football coach who is the head coach at Southern Methodist University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Miami from 2020 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Anderson (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1969)

Blake Robert Anderson is an American football coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach at Utah State University from 2021 to 2023. Anderson previously served as the head coach at Arkansas State University from 2014 to 2020, the offensive coordinator at the University of North Carolina from 2012 to 2013, and the offensive coordinator, run game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2009 to 2011.

Joe Craddock is an American college football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tulane University. Craddock played college football at Middle Tennessee State University and professionally in the Italian Football League (IFL).

Jim Svoboda is an American football coach and former player. He most recently served as the quarterbacks coach at Tulane University for the 2022 season, where the team went 12-2 and won the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (January). Svoboda served as the head football coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) from 1987 to 1993 and the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri from 2010 to 2021. While at Nebraska Wesleyan, Svoboda won three Great Plains Athletic Conference championships (1988–1990), and advanced to the NAIA playoffs three times between 1988 and 1991. After coaching at NWU, Svoboda was the offensive coordinator at Northwest Missouri State University for 10 seasons, three of which the team won the NCAA Division II Football Championship. While serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCLA, Svoboda was a 2005 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.

Kendal Briles is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator for Texas Christian University.

Walter A. Bell IV is an American football coach and former wide receiver. He was the head coach for the UMass Minutemen from 2019 until 2021. He played college football at Middle Tennessee for coach Andy McCollum from 2003 to 2006. He then served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Florida State Seminoles, Maryland Terrapins, Indiana Hoosiers, and Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Joseph Brady is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2021. He was a passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach for the LSU Tigers during the 2019 season, winning the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach in college football, and an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints from 2017 to 2018.

Rod Smith is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State University. Prior to that, he was an offensive analyst at the University of Virginia. Smith has also served as the interim head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Joey Lynch is an American football coach who is a senior offensive analyst for Texas A&M. He was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Vanderbilt University after previously holding the passing game coordinator role with the team. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator at Colorado State University. He played college football at Ball State University, where he was also a longtime assistant coach.

Ryan Gunderson is an American football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks coach at Oregon State University. He previously served as the quarterbacks coach at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at San Jose State University.

Alan Jacob Milwee is an American football coach who currently is the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Texas at Austin. He also has stints as an assistant coach at Akron, East Mississippi Community College, and North Alabama. He played college football at North Alabama, where he broke program records in completions and touchdown passes and was a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy finalist.

Garrett Travis Riley is an American football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator at Clemson University. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Texas Christian University.

Anthony Tucker is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is currently the Assistant head coach and running backs coach at Mississippi State.

References

  1. "Product of upbringing". The Dickinson Press. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. "8 will be inducted into SCSU Athletics Hall of Fame". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  3. "Keith Heckendorf leaves ASU to return to North Carolina". KAIT8. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. "Change doesn't come overnight". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  5. "A-State Football Adds Three to Assistant Coaching Staff". Arkansas State University Athletics. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  6. "Anderson gets his man 5 years later". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  7. "Arkansas State OC Keith Heckendorf nominated for Broyles Award". KAIT8. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  8. "Utah State to hire Arkansas State football coach Blake Anderson". ESPN. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  9. "A-State Football Names Heckendorf Offensive Coordinator". Arkansas State University - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. "Report: Keith Heckendorf to return to Red Wolves as offensive coordinator". KAIT8. Retrieved January 9, 2021.