Eric Wade Heitmann (born February 24, 1980) is a former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the 7th round (239th overall) of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

College career

Heitmann graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

where he was voted first-team All-American following the 2001 season. He played guard for his entire tenure as a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, and he was a three time All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

selection. Heitmann became the first Stanford

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

voted All-American since

Bob Whitfield Bob Lectress Whitfield III (born October 18, 1971) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Early career Whitfield played high school football at Banning High School in Wilmington, California, where ...

in 1992.

Professional career

In 2002, Heitmann was the first rookie to start a game on the 49ers offensive line since 1987, when

Harris Barton Harris Scott Barton (born April 19, 1964) is a fund manager and a former All-Pro American football offensive tackle who played for the San Francisco 49ers. Early life Harris Scott Barton was born in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and is Jewish. Both ...

started at right tackle. He finished the 2002 season starting 12 games, including two playoff contests. He switched to

in the absence of regular center

Jeremy Newberry Jeremy David Newberry (born March 23, 1976) is a former center in the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was born in Antioch, California, and played college football ...

. After an injury-plagued 2003 season, he started all 16 games in 2004. Prior to the 2005 season, he worked to get stronger and more powerful under the tutelage of renowned strength coach Johnny Parker. His work paid off early in minicamps, and the 49ers signed him to a 4-year extension in June 2005. He started in all 16 games including 10 at right guard and six at center during the 2005 season. Heitmann was converted to full-time center for the 2006 season. However, on December 14, in a game against the Seattle Seahawks, Heitmann broke his right tibia with 6:13 left in the first quarter on a two-yard run by

Frank Gore Franklin Gore Sr. (born May 14, 1983) is an American former American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. A member of the San Francisco 49ers during most of his career, he ranks third ...

. Heitmann was down on the field for several minutes before being taken to the locker room on a cart. He consequently had surgery on his knee and finished the 2006 season on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after having started the first 14 games. For his dedication and commitment, Heitmann was given the

Bobb McKittrick Bobb McKittrick (December 29, 1935 – March 15, 2000) was an American football offensive line coach in the National Football League who coached in five Super Bowls. Playing career Born in Baker City, Oregon (then known as Baker), McKittrick atten ...

award, named after the late 49ers offensive line coach. In 2007, Heitmann had recovered from his injury and started all 16 games at center. In 2020, Eric began writing and producing music in the epic, cinematic, and ambient genres. His compositions are, by design, ultra melodic and follow a hybrid orchestral style similar to film composers, Hans Zimmer, James Horner. Eric was nominated for the 2021 Instrumental Song of the Year “Requiem,” and Instrumental Album of the Year “Ascent,” by One World Music, the leading internet radio station for modern classical and instrumental music. His collaboration "Dark Before Dawn" with Patrick Zelinski, was nominated for 2022 Classical Recording of the Year by the YYCMA Awards in Canada.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioNFL.com Player ProfileSI.com Player ProfilePersonal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heitmann, Eric 1980 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Players of American football from Katy, Texas San Francisco 49ers players Stanford Cardinal football players