Grant Heard (born March 4, 1978) is an

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 wi ...

coach and former player who is currently wide receivers coach for UCF. He played college football at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

Playing career

Heard was a wide receiver for Ole Miss from 1996 to 2000, where he participated in four bowl games and finished his career as the all-time leader in career receptions and touchdowns. He is still among the top ten in career receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns. He signed with 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 2001, only appearing in the preseason. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002, but was assigned to NFL Europe.

Coaching career

Heard began his coaching career at

Jackson Preparatory School Jackson Preparatory School (Jackson Prep) is an independent, coeducational, day school enrolling 700 students in grades five through twelve. The school is located in Flowood, Mississippi Flowood is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United S ...

in 2002 as the team's quarterbacks, wide receivers, and special teams coach. He spent 2003 as the wide receivers coach at

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

, where Hargrave had a 8–1 record in his lone season there. He left to be a graduate assistant at

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

in 2004, and left to be a graduate assistant at his alma mater Ole Miss in 2005. He spent two seasons at Ole Miss before leaving to be the wide receivers coach at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

in 2007. He left to be the offensive coordinator at

Lambuth University Lambuth University was a private Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee. It was active from 1843 to 2011 and was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The university began as the Memphis Conference Fema ...

under

Hugh Freeze Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

in 2008. He spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the team before leaving to be the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

under newly hired offensive coordinator Freeze. After Freeze was named the head coach at Ole Miss in 2012, Heard followed him to Oxford to be the wide receivers coach for his alma mater. He spent five seasons at Ole Miss, leaving after the 2016 season. Heard was named the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach on Tom Allen's staff at

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in 2017. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2020. In March 2022, Heard was hired to be the new wide receivers coach at the University of Central Florida, starting in the 2022 season.

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bioOle Miss Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Grant 1978 births Living people People from Lake Jackson, Texas Players of American football from Brazoria County, Texas Ole Miss Rebels football players High school football coaches in Mississippi High school football coaches in Virginia NC State Wolfpack football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches Lambuth Eagles football coaches Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches