New start at ASU excites old coach
JONESBORO — His office hasn’t changed, nor has his commute to work.
Keith Heckendorf is operating ostensibly in the same role he’s held since 2019, but in his third offseason as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State University, the 39-year-old said he feels like he’s starting over again.
“I don’t feel like I’m walking back into my old job,” Heckendorf said.
“I feel like I’ve taken a new job, in a new program, at a new place. There’s just a lot of familiar faces and my family didn’t have to move.”
Heckendorf — who spent the previous two seasons working under head coach Blake Anderson — was retained by new ASU Coach Butch Jones on Jan. 9. He is one of two coaches from Anderson’s last staff still with the Red Wolves, joined by defensive line coach Brandon Joiner.
He returns for the 2021 season looking to build on an offense that finished second in the nation in passing yards per game (364.4) and third in touchdown passes (39) last fall.
Since his December arrival, Jones has transformed the program, and Heckendorf is embracing the change. He views his third season at ASU as not only a new start but an opportunity to evolve.
“I don’t see this as Year 3 at Arkansas State,” Heckendorf said. “At the end of the day, we’ve all got the same goal of developing our players and winning ballgames, but there’s a lot of different ways that gets done and to be part of a new coaching tree excites me.
“This is a chance to learn and grow, for me to get out of my comfort zone and to continue to expand my knowledge.”
Heckendorf’s retention was not straightforward.
On Dec. 28, ASU hired former Alabama assistant A.J. Milwee as Jones’ first offensive coordinator, and Heckendorf spent the holiday season searching for a new job.
Milwee’s stint with the Red Wolves lasted only 10 days before he was named the quarterbacks coach at Texas under former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. His departure opened the door for Heckendorf to remain in Jonesboro.
“In the world we live in, transition and change happens fast when it does,” Heck- endorf said.
Jones asked his new players about Heckendorf during the individual meetings he held with a number of Red Wolves in the short period between his Dec. 12 hiring and their winter break. Those players told Jones about the coach who set high expectations and had a knack of simplifying the game.
They also said Heckendorf was receptive to ideas regarding play calling and game plans.
“People know what they’re going to get out of Coach Heck,” senior quarterback Layne Hatcher said. “He’s a guy who will bust his butt for you and he’ll take care of you. He’ll always have your back if you’re willing to work hard for him.”
The players were away from campus when Milwee made his exit, but when Jones made his second run at an offensive coordinator in January, the bond between the players and Heckendorf was a reason to bring him back into the fold.
“Every player I asked about Coach Heckendorf kind of lit up when they spoke about him,” Jones said. “I could sense the trust and belief that our players also had in him. I thought it was important that we have that trust.”
Heckendorf’s relief about remaining at ASU was followed by a thrill at joining a new staff under an experienced head coach such as Jones, who brings SEC experience, four conference titles and wisdom gained from three seasons spent under Alabama Coach Nick Saban.
“I get to spend time with Coach Jones and the knowledge he brings to the table every single day,” he said. “And I get to work with 10 new coaches and learn a new approach to football. A different way of doing things. A different way of organizing things. A different way of communicating.”
Those differences will show in the offense Heckendorf is set to run in the fall, and he praised his players after the Red Wolves’ fifth spring practice March 18 for “adjusting and adapting” to the changes being thrown their way this spring.
ASU brings back Hatcher and five offensive starters from 2020, with holes left in the offense by the departures of second-team All-American wide receiver Jonathan Adams and leading rusher Jamal Jones.
Both Heckendorf and Jones have been mum on their plans for the ASU offense, but each has emphasized finding more ways to attack and keep opposing defenses off balance. Players this spring have spoken about the increased depth and versatility of the newly introduced schemes.
“The playbook has opened up way more,” junior wide receiver Jeff Foreman said. “There’s more schemes. More motions for us to get open. There’s a lot more learning and teaching.”
The Red Wolves’ offense has changed this offseason and so has Heckendorf’s job, even if he’s still parking in the same spot outside the north end zone facility.
“I want to keep looking at things differently and to continue to grow, evolve and adapt,” he said. “That gives you an edge, and it’s going to give our kids an edge when they step on the field on any given Saturday.”