Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/109499
where have you gone? "I took that as a challenge and worked on getting my weight down and stayed at tight end for one more year. But through graduation, we had lost so many linemen it was to the point where you had some young guys — some freshmen and sophomores — and nobody else. It was an opportunity for me to play. If I had a son who was 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds and couldn't run real well, I'd say you have no future at tight end." Heck, who was a first-team AllAmerica selection after the '88 season, was taken as the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft by Seattle. His career spanned 12 seasons (Seattle 1989-93, Chicago 1994-98 and Washington 1999-2000), and he started 164 total games in the league. Looking back on Notre Dame's magical run in 1988, Heck said he knew the Irish were bound for something special the first time Holtz addressed the team as Notre Dame's head coach in 1986. "He was such a powerful personality," Heck recalled. "He had a great plan. In our very first meeting, which lasted about three hours, he detailed how we were going to build a program, what our culture would be and how it all would relate to moving us to playing for a national championship. Right from the get-go there we bought into that. "What happened in those three years was adding some great players and additionally moving some players around, changing some positions and creating the right chemistry and mix of talent. When you add Tony Rice at quarterback and some super-talented runners, moving Frank Stams to defense, where he was an All-American and a force — just finding that right mix of players on the field is what took time." Current head coach Brian Kelly required more time to win over the entire roster, but followed a similar plan to a title berth in the same, well-documented three-year span as Holtz. Heck points to the improvement of the Irish offensive line under the leadership of first-year coach Harry Hiestand as a major contributing factor in 2012. "I'm a huge fan of Harry's," Heck said. "I'm so glad he's there at Notre Dame. That's one of the biggest improvements I've seen on that Irish team is that play of the offensive line. I love the look of those guys; I love the way they play as a unit. I'm sure he brings a toughness to that group much like a Joe Moore [the offensive line coach under Holtz]. It has been fun to watch. I consider him a friend. "I think you just have to get the talent, get the players. I always loved the effort and the fight of those guys. There was a period of time where the schools you would think of as traditionally having great offensive linemen, Notre Dame among them, and it was just like, 'Where have these guys gone?' A lot of them had probably gone to teams that were running the spread offenses and the flashier, sexier offenses. "That's why it has been particularly fun to watch this year's group, because that's a good-looking, NFL-type offensive line to me." ✦