Jeff Hecklinski
Biographical details
Born (1974-02-18) February 18, 1974
Palatine, Illinois
Playing career
1994Illinois
1995–1997Western Illinois
1998Albany Firebirds
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998Benedictine (QB/WR)
1999–2000Fort Scott C.C. (OC)
2001–2002Central Missouri St. (OC)
2003Arizona (QB/PGC)
2004–2008Ball State (WR)
2009–2010San Diego State (AHC/RB)
2011–2014Michigan (WR)
2015CSU–Pueblo (QB/PGC)
2016Illinois (TE/ST)
2017–2018Indiana State (OC/QB/RC)
2019Kansas (TE)
2020–2022San Diego State (OC/QB)

Jeff Hecklinski (born February 18, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at San Diego State University from 2020–2022.

A highly-rated high school quarterback, Hecklinski enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1993, but transferred to Western Illinois University (WIU) in 1995. He became the second-leading passer in WIU history with nearly 6,000 career passing yards. After college, he played for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League in 1998.

He has been a college football coach since 1998. He has previously had stints as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for Arizona (2003), wide receivers coach at Ball State (2009–2010), assistant head coach and running backs coach at San Diego State, wide receivers coach at Michigan (2011–2014), quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at CSU–Pueblo (2015), tight ends and special teams coach at Illinois (2016), offensive coordinator at Indiana State (2017–2018), and tight ends coach at Kansas (2019).

Player

Hecklinski played high school football in Palatine, Illinois, and was rated as the top quarterback prospect in the Midwest.[1][2][3][4] SuperPrep magazine rated him as one of the top three prospects in the country.[5]

He enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1993.[6][7] After a redshirt season in 1993, Hecklinski lost a three-way battle for the starting quarterback position in 1994.[1][8] In 1995, he transferred to Western Illinois University (WIU).[1][9][10] He became the second quarterback in WIU history to pass for 5,000 yards and finished his career with nearly 6,000 passing yards.[1][11][12] He also played in the Arena Football League in 1998 for the Albany Firebirds.[13][14][15]

Coaching career

Hecklinski has been a college football coach since 1998, including a stint as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Arizona Wildcats.[13][15] In 2004, he joined Brady Hoke's coaching staff as the wide receivers coach at Ball State. When Hoke took the head coaching job at San Diego State in 2009, Hecklinski joined him as the Aztecs' assistant head coach, running backs coach, and recruiting coordinator.[13][16] When Hoke took the head coaching position at the University of Michigan in 2011, Hecklinski again followed and became Michigan's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.[13] In January 2012, he was the subject of press coverage after Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio cut off Hecklinski's presentation at the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Winners' Circle Clinic.[17][18][19][20]

San Diego State University hired Hecklinski as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020. He was fired midway through the 2022 season.[21]

Personal life

Hecklinski and his wife, Tiffany, have three children: a daughter, Riley, and two sons, Mikey and JR.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gary Reinmuth (October 30, 1997). "Once A Much-heralded Illini Recruit, Jeff Hecklinski Finds Success At WIU: Happiness More Than Big Burrito". Chicago Tribune.
  2. ↑ Taylor Bell (October 4, 1991). "Hecklinski, Dant move toward yardage marks". Chicago Sun-Times.
  3. ↑ David Southwell (September 16, 1991). "Hecklinski guiding Palatine". Chicago Sun-Times.
  4. ↑ Len Ziehm (October 9, 1997). "Illini can only wonder". Chicago Sun-Times.("The former Palatine signal-caller – the most heavily recruited quarterback in the Midwest as a high school senior – transferred to Western Illinois after his sophomore year. Last year, when Illinois was going 2–9, he took the Leathernecks to a 9–3 record and a berth in the NCAA ...")
  5. ↑ John Sonderegger (February 3, 1993). "Top Quarterback Heads List of Illini Prospects". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  6. ↑ Herb Gould (September 1, 1994). "Hecklinski Patiently Awaits His Turn". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ↑ John Sonderegger (August 23, 1993). "Illinois Receivers May End Up Catching 'Heck': Freshman QB Hecklinski Gaining Edge at QB". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  8. ↑ John Sonderegger (September 1, 1993). "Hecklinski Not Certain To Redshirt". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  9. ↑ Herb Gould (December 1, 1994). "Hecklinski Move No Mystery: QB Is Leaving Illini for Simple Reason: To Play". Chicago Sun-Times.
  10. ↑ "Palatine's Hecklinski Decides to Leave Illini". Chicago Sun-Times. November 30, 1994.
  11. ↑ David Southwell (August 28, 1995). "WIU: Counting on Hecklinski". Chicago Sun-Times.
  12. ↑ Bob Logan (September 7, 1996). "WIU's Hecklinski plays different role". Daily Herald.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Jeff Hecklinski Profile". University of Michigan.
  14. ↑ Fred Mitchell (April 24, 1998). "Cassell Has Faith He'll Not Only Play, But Start". Chicago Tribune.
  15. 1 2 "New Deal: Aide rejoins Mackovic with aide reunited". Tucson Citizen. February 10, 1993. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Hoke's Hires – Meet Jeff Hecklinski". Go Aztecs. March 5, 2009.
  17. ↑ George Sipple (January 20, 2012). "Michigan State's Dantonio cuts off Michigan assistant". USA Today.
  18. ↑ Mark Hinton (January 20, 2012). "Mark Dantonio owns the stage, at Michigan assistant's expense". Yahoo Sports.
  19. ↑ Kyle Meinke (January 20, 2012). "Michigan recruiting coordinator Jeff Hecklinski cut off by Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio during presentation". Mlive.com.
  20. ↑ Jayson Bussa (January 20, 2012). "Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio interrupts Michigan recruiting coordinator during speech to high school coaches". Kalamazoo Gazette.
  21. ↑ Kenney, Kirk (2022-10-02). "Jeff Hecklinski is out as Aztecs offensive coordinator". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
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