The first half of Northwestern’s 37-20 win over Illinois on Saturday was, to borrow Jason Wright’s description, “a hot mess.”
So it was a good thing the Cats had the Cleanup Man — also known as safety Bryan Heinz — out in full force to do some damage control.
By halftime NU had fumbled three times, the two schools’ quarterbacks had combined to throw three interceptions and the Wildcats had lost 40 yards to penalites.
Heinz helped the Cats wade through the messy half, intercepting two passes to demonstrate the appropriateness of his nickname and leading the team in tackles.
Heinz, a redshirt freshman from Lone Tree, Colo., might be one of the Cats’ most pleasant surprises this season, and he’s the kind of player NU needs — bright, hard working and overlooked coming out of high school.
It’s baffling that Heinz slipped through the recruiting cracks — “I don’t have any idea how the recruiting gurus of the nation missed that one,” running back Jason Wright said — but the redshirt freshman wasn’t offered a scholarship before coming to NU in 2002.
“I got offers from a couple Division II schools, I-AA,” Heinz said. “It just wasn’t me. I knew where I wanted to go, and when they invited me to walk on here, it was a great opportunity for me and I took it.”
It may have been a great opportunity for Heinz, but NU got the real deal. Heinz impressed coaches with his athleticism and work ethic during the spring and earned a scholarship this year.
He’s also earned significant playing time this season, partly because of injuries to the rest of the secondary. He had a crucial interception in overtime of the Cats game against Indiana earlier this season, and he led NU with 15 tackles and a pair of picks against Illinois this Saturday.
“He’s played pretty good all year,” coach Randy Walker said of Heinz. “You think about it, he’s one of the unsung heroes. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t do anything flashy all the time but he’s a darn good football player.”
Which makes him at least a little like linebacker Tim McGarigle, who was part of the same recruiting class as Heinz. McGarigle didn’t have to walk on, but he was was also largely overlooked coming out of high school in Chicago. Now a starting linebacker, McGarigle is frequently called the best tackler on that team.
The gem of that class was defensive lineman Loren Howard, a prized recruit from Scottsdale, Ariz. Howard has certainly lived up to his billing — you couldn’t ask for more out of a true sophomore. But NU can’t bank on getting high profile high school players like Howard on a regular basis — it just isn’t realistic to think players like him will decide on NU every year.
Players like Heinz and McGarigle, however, are the perfect answer for the Cats.
Heinz has been a great contributor on the field — cornerback Marvin Ward said he thinks Heinz is “an All American caliber safety,” — but he has also made an impact off it. “He’s a player, and more than that, he’s one of the kids I like the most on the team,” Wright said. “He’s a stand-up guy and he’s about all the right things.”
Heinz would probably blush at that comment, as he tends to do when he is complimented. Or he would explain his exceptional play with an almost-embarrassed smile, like he did after Indiana and after Illinois.
“I felt like I was in the right spot, doing my job,” Heinz said with a modest shrug on Saturday. “As the game went on other people stepped up, too.”
Hopefully NU will continue to recruit players like Heinz, but for now it’s nice to know there will be somebody around to keep things tidy for the next three years.
Sports editor Andrea Cohen broke her record of seven hours to write this column. She can be reached at [email protected]
