The Kansas linebacker’s times topped the charts among all linebackers in Indianapolis in each of the combine’s three measurable agility drills. Heeney completed the three-cone drill in 6.68 seconds, the 20-yard shuttle in four seconds flat and the 60-yard shuttle in 11.06 seconds.
Heeney utilized that athleticism to rack up 335 total tackles, including 35.5 tackles for loss, in his four-year Kansas career. He was a first-team all-Big 12 selection in 2014, and a second-team all-Big 12 player in 2013 and 2012.
Yet even with his production and accolades, Heeney was not widely recognized as a great athlete until he proved it by running fast times—also including a 4.59-second 40-yard dash—in Under Armour and shorts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“He’s just a lot better pure athlete than people have ever given him credit for,” Kansas assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said in an interview with Bleacher Report. “I sang that song all season. Everyone was trying to say that he was a old-school, throwback Mike linebacker and I was like ‘No, he’s not.’ He’s a modern-day, fast, athletic linebacker, and everyone wanted to compare him to something that he wasn’t.”
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