From
theAthletic
Brian Haines was sitting on his couch when the alert arrived on his phone. It brought news that barely registered with most in the
NFL and confounded the few in the league who understood it.
Haines, the special teams coach at Appalachian State, read that the
New England Patriots were signing Jourdan Heilig, a backup linebacker who played special teams for him with the Mountaineers.
Haines was pumped. It’s incredible to see players you coached become professionals. That part of it was super exciting.
But even Haines couldn’t shake the surprise that hit him — and anyone else familiar with the situation.
The Patriots were making perhaps the most obscure signing of an undrafted free agent in recent memory. (Heilig and New England’s other undrafted free agents are expected to officially sign with the team ahead of this weekend’s rookie minicamp.)
See, after completing his senior season at Appalachian State and with one year of eligibility remaining, Heilig had entered college football’s transfer portal Dec. 5. He was looking for a school where he’d get more playing time at linebacker, and he was willing to drop to the FCS level to find it. He had made only 13 tackles on defense in 51 college games.
Heilig didn’t do workouts during App State’s pro day, a chance for draft-eligible prospects to impress scouts, because, well, he wasn’t headed for the NFL. He didn’t hire an agent. His name doesn’t appear on the NFLPA’s database of players. There was no mention of him in Dane Brugler’s comprehensive draft guide, “
The Beast,” which offered nearly 1,900 prospect rankings. There’s still no video package of Heilig’s collegiate highlights on YouTube.
He never received a scholarship offer after entering the portal. So with his football career seemingly in doubt, he got a job at a local Zaxby’s fast-food restaurant to help pay the bills.
And now he’s in the NFL.
Even for a coach like Bill Belichick, who hasn’t shied from relatively unheard-of players with uncommon backgrounds, and even in a league with a transaction wire that includes more than 100 undrafted free agents this time each year, many of whom come from small schools or don’t have massive stat sheets, the Patriots’ addition of Heilig stands out as one of the more shocking signings in recent memory.
“I’m with you,” Haines said. “But if there’s anyone that’s going to do something pretty unique like that, it’s the Patriots. … So am I surprised? Yes. But am I surprised that it’s with the Patriots? No.”
So how did the Patriots find a player few others had heard about? To figure that out, it helps to know Heilig’s story.
He played football for Concord (N.C.) High, about a half-hour northeast of Charlotte. It’s a proud program, but one that had fallen on tough times when Heilig was there. The team went 1-10 in Heilig’s senior season. As such, recruiters weren’t knocking down the school’s doors.
Still, Heilig’s athleticism stood out. He was tall and fast. He was a three-star prospect, according to the recruiting service 247Sports.
But college coaches had a dilemma with Heilig. At 6-2, 215 pounds, he was just a bit too small to be a linebacker but a bit too stiff to be a safety. Heilig had earned the nickname “Ace” because he played every position growing up and could do just about anything. But to some, he was a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Heilig’s coach during his senior year of high school, Marty Paxton, had been college classmates with then-Appalachian State assistant coach (and now head coach) Shawn Clark. At the time, they ran a 3-4 defense and saw Heilig playing a weakside linebacker role that could take advantage of his size and athleticism. Heilig committed to App State over East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State and North Carolina A&T.
“His hips may not be quite flexible enough to play in the defensive backfield, but he’s not quite big enough to play as an inside linebacker,” Paxton said. “And yet he’s so athletic that you can’t leave him off the field.”
That’s why Heilig quickly found a spot on the special teams units at App State — even as a true freshman. At the time, it seemed like a way to get on the field while biding his time for a bigger role on defense.
But that never came. Heilig remained buried on the depth chart at linebacker.
When Haines, the Mountaineers’ special teams coach, looked over the roster, Heilig stood out. Haines figured if the defense wasn’t going to use Heilig, he would.
“There’s no reason that kid should be sitting on the bench during special teams,” Haines said of his thinking at the time. “I mean, he looks like Tarzan and he can run.”
He put Heilig on each of the four primary special teams units: kickoff, kickoff return, punt coverage and punt return.
Heilig especially stood out as a gunner on the punt team, where he was often lined up against smaller cornerbacks who couldn’t match his physicality. Coaches there still talk about a kickoff play against Arkansas State when Heilig beat a double-team, blasted a would-be blocker on the wedge, then tackled one of the top 15 returners in the country inside the 20-yard line.
Still, even as Heilig dedicated himself to special teams and thrived, his role on defense never materialized. He finished his collegiate career with more tackles on special teams (21) than defense (13). He played an astounding 873 special teams snaps but far fewer as a linebacker.
That meant, even as he completed his senior season, the scouts in attendance at App State games barely took notice of Heilig.
“He wasn’t getting any buzz,” Haines said. “There wasn’t any attention around him.”
So on Dec. 5, Heilig entered the transfer portal as a grad transfer. The plan, it seemed, was to find a school where he could play more. But as of this spring, he didn’t have any options to continue playing.
So Heilig got a job at Zaxby’s, a popular fried chicken chain. In fitting fashion, “Ace” did a bit of everything there. He didn’t know what his football future would hold — or if he even had one. So he needed something to make ends meet.
Shortly after the draft, Heilig got a call from the Patriots. Their special teams coach, Cameron Achord, had seen video of Heilig’s game and was intrigued. The Patriots are coming off their worst special teams performance in the Belichick era and are determined this offseason to find players, no matter how obscure, to set things right. So they offered Heilig a contract.
Heilig didn’t have an agent to lean on for advice. But a chance to be a pro sounded a heck of a lot better than whatever awaited in the transfer portal.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed for Heilig. While the Patriots have had more dedicated special teams players than most teams in recent years, he’ll have lots of competition to make the squad — with Matthew Slater, Brenden Schooler, Cody Davis and Chris Board far ahead of him on the special teams depth chart.
But the Patriots don’t just value specialists — they also give undrafted free agents a chance. An undrafted player has made the Pats’ initial 53-man roster for 19 straight years.
So to them, it doesn’t matter that Heilig wasn’t considered an NFL prospect by most other teams, that he didn’t have a pro day or that he didn’t produce much on defense at App State. New England is looking for players who can add to its special teams unit, no matter how obscure their story.
“Yeah, I guess it kind of shocked me a little bit,” Haines said. “But again, if anybody turns on his special teams film and watches him, the dude can do it. … I think it’s a great job by them doing their homework and finding a special guy like that.”
The Patriots signed a backup linebacker who made just 13 tackles on defense in college. Why? It's an intriguing story.
theathletic.com