An ode to ODU QB’s rise to fame
Editor’s note: As we wait for the sports world to return, we’re occasionally looking back at some of our favorite Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press stories. This story – er, poem – appeared in The Pilot in 2011 as Old Dominion quarterback Taylor Heinicke was on his way to stardom.
— Jami Frankenberry, sports editor
He came from the ’burbs of Atlanta, G.A.
With a name like a beer and mad skills to display
On green fields of football, fans clamor to see
The myth, man and legend of Taylor Heinicke
A QB, sought coaches at old ODU
They brought back a rook nearly too good to be true
Who runs and throws balls with prodigious aplomb
In the face of defenders, so casual and calm
Perhaps it’s from rearing they speak of with awe
How he whipped 15 men in one after-school brawl
They say he slew lions and tigers and bears
In those tall Georgia pines in that warm southern air
That he talks in six tongues, eats twelve eggs for lunch There’s no fix he can’t solve on a wing and a hunch
That he leaps o’er goal posts, eludes all trouble
Sleeps in an odd, hermetically sealed bubble
His saga was launched down at Collins Hill High
Where football is sovereign, no one dare to deny
Four thousand last season, his passing yards notched
Yet skeptical scouts narrowed their eyes as they watched In that strong SEC, Taylor wished to play
Among Gamecocks and Dawgs and striped Bengals you say? But they branded his stature not up to snuff
So he turned his gaze north and dismissed all that stuff A fortunate day at ODU you bet
When Heinicke endorsed his letter of intent
But who knew how lucky it really could be
To recruit this lean lad and for him to agree?
See, the CAA Taylor’s taken by storm
A true freshman comporting with senior-like form
Twelve TD passes, just one interception
Sensing the pass rush with astounding perception
UMass and Rhody, ’Nova, now JMU
Spellbound to the power of the kid’s ballyhoo
Through long bombs, short screens and the deft pocket dash He’s reduced valiant defensive game plans to ash
When DeMarco went down there ’rose the concern
That the ailment would cause Taylor’s redshirt to burn Coach Wilder weighed calls, said “The future is now.”
And set Heinicke loose to play ball, oh man and how!
How well has he done in this time he has owned?
“Best player on the field,” the Dukes’ beaten coach moaned He feared, he said, when no receivers were found
For the QB raced almost a full field of ground
So lend an ear and an eye to old Foreman Field
Where a freshman’s true talents are being revealed
This year, his Monarchs have flowered like roses
With a stretch left for Heinicke’s tale ’fore it closes