In High School, Bryan Heinz led his own team and entire state in receiving yards, receptions, & was 3rd in the state in INT’s. Pretty impressive indeed. His athleticism also allowed him to letter in basketball 3 years. His vertical was not only the best on his football team but also on the basketball team, and dunking the ball was no big deal. As a side, Bryan’s vertical on the football team last year I believe was first but no less than second best on the entire team.
However, even though he excelled on the field and in the classroom, the two big
in-state schools [CU, CSU] didn’t offer scholarships. This didn’t stop Bryan from getting an opportunity to play college ball though. Bill Mallory, who was Rock’s former coach at Miami [oh] saw Bryan play several times [Mallory had grandchildren who attended Bryan’s High School] and noticed that Bryan was Division 1 material. So Mallory contacted Rock and Miami about Heinz.
Rock and Jerry Brown were impressed but heard of Bryan late in the recruiting process; nonetheless, they offered him a chance to walk-on as a safety. As for Bryan, he was raised to believe that the Big10 is where “Real Men” play so he chose NU over Miami [Parents were both from Michigan and fans of the Maize and blue].
Once Bryan arrived at NU, one source told Turk that “Heinz seemed to have a chip on his shoulder since he knew he was good enough to play Division 1 even though his in-state schools didn’t recognize that.” That ‘chip’ served him well when he earned a scholarship at the end of his freshman spring game. Bryan’s intense focus had him climb the depth chart faster than any other walk-on at NU that I know of.
The law says that walk-on’s aren’t suppose to make such climbs but Bryan made his own law ‘fit’ when he got the opportunity to start against Miami [oh], during his freshman year. He also won a few Turk awards that year as he picked off 5 INT’s and was 3rd in the Big10 for INT’s. The media guide even said, “…he could become one of the big10’s best safeties.”
2004 wasn’t as pleasant. The defensive backfield in entirety didn’t seem to be ‘in sync’. Injuries played a role and unfortunately Bryan wasn’t immune to them. Serious knee, foot, and shoulder injuries have met him along the way.
But 2005 is a new year and with it a new position for Bryan. He has been asked to switch to strong safety which seems to ‘fit’ his desire to be closer to the ball. The new position required some new learning but a source for this article said, “Bryan’s aptitude for learning is so quick that it has made the position switch seamless.” True enough, Bryan is an honor’s student and has maintained a GPA of around 3.25 and has been awarded Two All-Big10 academic honors.
Bryan's passions off the field include being very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes [does this kid ever sleep?]. And enjoys skiing and scuba diving, both of which he has shelved temporarily to avoid potential injury.
He also enjoys spending time with his housemates/roommates Tim McGarigle, Joel Howells, Slade Larshield, Campbell Black and Scott Brownley.
Indeed, the Bryan Heinz move to strong safety is a position switch that myself and other Cat fans can get really excited about. He has always been a hard hitter so he will definitely be able to do that a lot more this year being closer to the ball. I also think his experience at free safety will give the Cats a strong safety that can cover a lot better than previous strong safeties. And as one source noted, “Bryan gives us a strong safety that has hands soft enough to make any QB pay with errant throws.”