Ben Heeney (born May 13, 1992) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Early years

Heeney attended Hutchinson High School in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 cen ...

. Helping to lead the Salthawks to three state titles. He played safety and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. As a senior, he ran for a school record 2,083 yards and 39

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. He also had 143 tackles and four

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. Heeney committed to the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

to play

College career

Heeney played at Kansas from 2011 to 2014. As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, he played in all 12 games and had eight tackles. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in 2012, Heeney started all 12 games, recording 112 tackles and a sack. As a junior in 2013, he played and started in 10 games, missing two due to injury. He finished the season with 88 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions. As a senior in 2014, Heeney again started all 12 games, finishing with 127 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Heeney was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the fifth round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

with the 140th overall pick. He was placed on injured reserve on October 4, 2016. On July 25, 2017, the Raiders placed Heeney on the

Non-Football Injury List Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

New Orleans Saints

On September 22, 2017, Heeney was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 27, 2017. He was waived on October 3, 2017.

Houston Texans

On October 4, 2017, the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

claimed Heeney off waivers. The team placed him on injured reserve on November 29, 2017. On March 26, 2018, Heeney re-signed with the Texans. On August 29, 2018, he was waived with an injury designation by the Texans after having ankle surgery. After going unclaimed on waivers, was placed on the Texans injured reserve. He was released on September 8, 2018.

New York Guardians

Heeney was selected by the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

in round one of phase three of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Career statistics

Career statistics accurate as of the end of the 2017 regular season.

Personal life

Heeney is married to Taylor Alderson, and they have a son and a daughter.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioKansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heeney, Ben 1992 births Living people American football linebackers Houston Texans players Kansas Jayhawks football players New Orleans Saints players New York Guardians players Oakland Raiders players Sportspeople from Overland Park, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas Sportspeople from Hutchinson, Kansas