http://instagram.com/p/2Z8mzbOphl/
For the first time in his life, Hutchinson, Kansas native Ben Heeney is in California.
The Bay Area is the former Kansas linebacker’s new home now, thanks to the Oakland Raiders, who took him in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
Heeney thought heading into this past Saturday he might end up down in Tampa Bay or with one of the other handful of organizations with which he had the most pre-draft contact. But he landed on the opposite coast, in part, because he grabbed the attention of Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio.
Some say real recognize real. Well, linebackers recognize linebackers, too.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Del Rio — the former Vikings, Cowboys, Chiefs and Saints linebacker — received a text from an old teammate. [As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur,][1] Oakland’s coach said the message read something like: you have to check out Ben Heeney.
> “So it kind of piqued my attention and
> (I) started watching him in the
> drills; of course he had that crazy
> hairdo going at the Combine,” Del Rio
> said. “We get back and start watching
> the tape, and the guy is all over the
> place. He flies around, makes plays,
> very productive, has a great mindset
> in terms of special teams and
> linebacker play. We’re excited to add
> him.”
Clearly, the Raiders coach sees potential in the KU standout.
“He plays with his hair on fire,” Del Rio said.
Heeney arrived out west Thursday, and a Raiders video production crew greeted him and his KU teammate, seventh-round pick Dexter McDonald, at the airport.
> “I just tweeted out that I landed in
> Oakland, and the fans are crazy,”
> Heeney says in [the video posted on
> the Raiders’ website][2]. “They
> continue to just show me love.”
A Closer Look at LB Ben Heeney @henbeeney: http://t.co/xwPo9xBZQT pic.twitter.com/4KQ1nFv2ol
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) May 8, 2015
Oakland’s rookie mini-camp begins today for Heeney, McDonald and the rest of the Raiders’ draft picks and undrafted hopefuls.
[1]: http://blog.sfgate.com/raiders/2015/05/06/del-rio-says-second-round-pick-had-senioritis/
[2]: http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/A-Closer-Look-at-Linebacker-Ben-Heeney/7dd0f69d-093b-48c6-9312-8fa83a342a6c
