Football
Sep 12 (Fri)
6:30 p.m.
- Title:
- Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers
- Email:
- football@indiana.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-9618
• Grant Heard will enter his sixth season at Indiana and his third as co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2022. He served as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach from 2017-19.
• In 2020, Ty Fryfogle became the first IU wideout since 2007 to earn All-America honors (3rd team) and the first in program history to be named the Big Ten’s Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year.
• Nine times Hoosiers have earned all-conference honors during Heard’s time in Bloomington, highlighted by Fryfogle’s 2020 first-team recognition.
• Fryfogle, the first B1G pass-catcher with back-to-back 200-yard games, also was one of 11 Biletnikoff Award semifinalists in 2000.
• He finished his career sixth on the school’s career lists in receptions (158) and yardage (2,231), and tied for 10th in receiving touchdowns (10).
• Whop Philyor, a 2021 free-agent signing of the Minnesota Vikings, closed out his career as Indiana’s all-time leader in double-digit catch games (7), fourth in receptions (180), tied for fourth in 100-yard games (7), and ninth in yardage (2,067).
• A second-team all-league selection, Philyor became the seventh Hoosier to reach 1,000 yards (1,002) on 70 catches in 2019. His receptions ranked third in the Big Ten and sixth on IU’s single-season list, while his yardage was fourth and seventh, respectively.
• From 2017-19, the Hoosiers finished in the Top 3 in the conference in passing offense. They ranked second in 2019 (25th nationally), and third in 2018 and 2017 (T-35th nationally).
• En route to 2018 honorable-mention All-B1G, current Tennessee Titan Nick Westbrook led the team with 590 yards.
• Three wideouts earned 2017 all-league recognition, including first-teamer Simmie Cobbs Jr. Cobbs (72) and Luke Timian (68) finished second and third in the league and shared fourth and sixth on the Indiana single-season list in catches. Additionally, Cobbs was fourth in the Big Ten in yardage (841) and tied for sixth in receiving scores (8), which shared 10th on IU’s single-season charts.
• Completed his fifth campaign as the wide receivers coach at Ole Miss in 2016, and he has worked with Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen at Ole Miss (2012-14), Arkansas State (2011), and Lambuth (2008-09).
• Mentored 2015 Biletnikoff Award finalist Laquon Treadwell, the program’s first Biletnikoff finalist. Treadwell caught 82 passes (2nd in the SEC) for an SEC-leading 1,153 yards, and 11 touchdowns. Treadwell broke 15 school records in 2015 and was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by Minnesota, while fellow Heard standout Cody Core was selected in the sixth round by Cincinnati.
• Heard’s 2015 receiving corps was one of four in the nation with seven-or-more players who caught at least 20 balls. Ole Miss broke nearly every offensive school record, while it led the conference and ranked in the Top 10 nationally in scoring (40.8), total (517.8), and passing offense (334.7).
• In 2014, Ole Miss was the only SEC team with three receivers in the Top 12 in TD receptions. The previous year Treadwell (5.58) and current New England Patriots wideout Donte Moncrief (4.42) ranked inside the league’s Top 8 in catches per game. Moncrief was No. 6 in the SEC in yards per game (68.8).
• The 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year, Treadwell set freshman records in receptions (67), yardage (557), and scores (5). He topped all SEC freshman receivers in catches, yardage, and touchdowns.
• Moncrief declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year and finished his career in the Top 3 in program history in receptions, yardage, and TDs. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round (90th pick).
• Served as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State (2010-11). Quarterback Ryan Aplin, the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, established school single-season records for total offense and passing yardage per game, and he ranked No. 10 in the nation in total offense.
• His passing attack ranked 16th in the nation, and the Red Wolves finished 24th in total offense en route to a Sun Belt championship and a GoDaddy.com Bowl appearance.
• Prior to ASU, Heard spent 2008 and 2009 as Lambuth’s offensive coordinator. The 2008 Eagles accumulated 5,861 yards and became the No. 1 offense in NAIA. Lambuth finished third in the nation in scoring offense and fourth in passing efficiency.
• A wide receiver at Ole Miss (1996-2000), Heard helped the Rebels to four bowl games and graduated as the school’s all-time leader in career catches and scores. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2001.
• Signed with Pittsburgh in 2002 and was sent to play in NFL Europe. He appeared in pre-season games for San Francisco in 2001.
• Upon completion of his playing career, Heard started his coaching career as the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and special teams coach at Jackson Preparatory High School (Miss.) in 2002, before he moved on to Hargrave Military Academy (Va.), where he led the wide receivers and helped Hargrave to an 8-1 record the following campaign.
• Joined the collegiate ranks as an offensive graduate assistant at N.C. State in 2004, and he returned to Ole Miss as an offensive graduate assistant in 2005-06. He assisted in coaching the receivers and tight ends, and he tutored future NFL players Mike Wallace, Shay Hodge, Marshay Green, Mike Espy, and Taye Biddle.
• In 2007, Heard moved on to Western Michigan and coached wide receivers. He oversaw first-team All-MAC selection Jamarko Simmons, the 15th-ranked receiver in the nation, and the receiving corps gained over 3,000 yards and scored 23 touchdowns.
• Grant is married to the former Renata Nowacki, who was a four-year letterwinner on the Ole Miss volleyball team (1997-2000), and the couple has one son, Jayden (12), and one daughter, Avery (8). His brother, Ronnie, was also a standout at Ole Miss and in the NFL.
