This week the Flames encounter the best player they will face all year. Taylor Heinicke, the dual threat quarterback of the Old Dominion University Monarchs, has garnered national recognition over the past two years with a seemingly endless list of records and awards. When you watch this game, it is very possible that you will be seeing a future NFL quarterback attacking Liberty’s defense.
Heinicke burst onto the national scene last year (Photo from ncaa.com)
Heinicke burst onto the national scene last season by breaking the all time NCAA Division I single game passing record. In a 64-61 victory over New Hampshire, he was 55-of-79 for 730 yards and five touchdowns. His 791 yards of total offense that game is also a record. Proving that game was not a fluke, Heinicke went on to break the FCS single-season passing record and win the Walter Payton award, the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy.
Just for fun, I compared Heinicke’s 2012 stats with those of last year’s Heisman winner, Johnny Manziel. Heinicke had more passing yards, more all-purpose yards, and more touchdowns than Johnny Football.
With all the accolades piling up, it is surprising that Heinicke was not highly recruited coming out of high school. He was named the Old Spice Player of the Year, for the state of Georgia, yet he received only three offers, all from FCS level schools. After choosing Old Dominion, Heinicke was supposed to red-shirt his freshman year, but an injury to Thomas DeMarco during a game against UMass gave him a chance to show what he could do. That season, he threw 25 touchdowns and just one interception, leading his team into the playoffs.
Heinicke with the Walter Payton Award (photo from sportsnetwork.com)
This year, fresh off his history-making, Payton award-winning season, Heinicke is again an offensive juggernaut, completing over 74% of his passes for an average of 327.6 yards a game, with 12 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for four more scores. That kind of play is continuing to catch national attention. Ian Cohen, college football writer for Bill Simmons’ Grantland.com, has gone so far as to call Heinicke the best quarterback in Virginia, over Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas and University of Virginia’s David Watford.
Old Dominion is currently transitioning into the FBS, and looks to be playing a full schedule at college football’s highest level of competition next year, with Heinicke as the key to their potential success. The Liberty Flames have FBS aspirations of their own, but aren’t showing much against the better teams in the FCS. This Saturday in Norfolk, they get another chance to try and prove they belong among the best teams in the country. It all comes down to whether or not they can keep Taylor Heinicke out of the record books.
This week will be a tough measuring stick for the Flames but at least they get the chance to make a statement. Realistically, their FBS dreams will not become a reality until they start to defeat quality non-conference opponents. This game will have many television viewers and a win on the road at ODU against Taylor Heinicke would be a big step in the right direction.