Kole Joseph Heckendorf (born November 20, 1985) 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 with ...

coach and former wide receiver. After playing

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 ...

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as th ...

, he was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Heckendorf has also been a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Heckendorf is currently the offensive coordinator for St John's.

Early years

Heckendorf was born in Wausau, Wisconsin where he grew up. He played high school football for Mosinee High School in Mosinee, Wisconsin, as a wide receiver and a safety. As a junior, Heckendorf was named first-team All-State by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and second-team All-State by the ''Associated Press'' and the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' after he set state records with 116 receptions for 1,714 yards and 11 touchdowns. He led the nation as a junior with 116 catches. As a senior, he earned first-team All-State honors from both the '' Associated Press'' and the WFCA after making 63 catches for 1,257 yards and recording a state-record 19 touchdowns. He was also named All-Conference and All-District and was a second-team All-State selection by the ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

''. His high school career totals of 3,831 yards and 36 touchdowns are state records and his 235 catches rank second all-time. Heckendorf lettered in hockey all four years of high school, receiving honorable mention all-state honors once and all-conference honors three times. He was a member of an all-star traveling hockey team, Team Wisconsin.

College career

Heckendorf received a scholarship to play

at North Dakota State University, as a wide receiver, where he finished as the all-time leading receiver in school history and became the first receiver in the history of the program to lead the team in receptions for four seasons. Heckendorf redshirted in 2004. He had a career-high 52 receptions as a sophomore in 2006. He was named to the All-Northwest Region third-team by the ''Football Gazette'' and was voted to the All-GWFC second-team by the league's media after helping NDSU win the conference championship. As a junior, he earned All-Great West Football Conference first-team honors after ranking third in the league in both receptions and yards for the season. He was named a second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection in 2008. He finished the season ranked third in the conference in yards and fifth in receptions. He had a career day in the 2008 opener against

Austin Peay Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

, catching eight passes and notching new career highs of 179 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He made a career-high nine catches at

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

later in the season. He was a member of the ''ESPN The Magazine'' Academic All-America first-team as a senior. Heckendorf earned a B.S. in general education.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Heckendorf was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2009, but was released during the pre-season.

Detroit Lions

On October 12, 2009 Heckendorf was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. After his contract expired following the season, he was re-signed to a future contract on January 5, 2010. He was cut by the Lions on May 11, 2010 and signed to the Seattle Seahawks May 12, 2010.

Seattle Seahawks

Heckendorf was claimed off waivers by the

on May 12, 2010 and released in the preseason on August 30.*''Victoria Advocate''
Seattle cuts former North Dakota State receiver
/ref>

San Diego Chargers

Heckendorf was signed to the

practice squad on October 13, 2010.

References

External links

Saint John's (MN) profile

Green Bay Packers profile

North Dakota State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heckendorf, Kole 1985 births Living people American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Indianapolis Colts players North Dakota State Bison football players Saint John's Johnnies football coaches San Diego Chargers players Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Wausau, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin