ACC, Big Ten, and SEC teams pushing for four-star 2024 TE Colton Heinrich
An all phases tight end who is a legitimate threat in the passing attack is hard to come by in the high school ranks. Down in Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), college teams are recognizing what Colton Heinrich (6-4, 230) can bring to the field resulting in 35 scholarship offers. On the positive for inquiring college coaches, no official visits have been planned for Heinrich yet. On the negative, three tradition rich programs are making that push for the 2024 Cardinal Gibbons prospect along with a host of programs in the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC.
Asked which teams are in heavy contact, Heinrich replied, “Miami and Alabama are frontrunners, Ohio State also along with Georgia. I just got off the phone with coach (Todd) Hartley (TE). Ole Miss, coach (Lane) Kiffin texts me and so does coach (John David) Baker (TE). Auburn, coach Ben (Aigamaua – TE) is reaching out every day. Pitt is reaching out hard too.”
The travel schedule for Heinrich has been hectic but informative.
“My march was jam packed, and April will be just as crazy,” Heinrich stated. “In March I went to Alabama, Ole Miss, then the weekend after that I went to Miami. After that I went to LSU; LSU, I was there for a 7-on-7 tournament. Then I went to Georgia and Auburn the weekend after that, and then I went to Texas A&M. To end March, I went to Pitt and Ohio State. That’s when I got the Ohio State offer on April 1.”
The Buckeyes impressed while Heinrich was in Columbus.
“It was awesome,” Heinrich said. “I got to see the most competitive, most intense practice of all there. Ohio State’s practice was really good. Everything was a challenge and a competition. They did a bunch of one-on-one drills, tackling and special teams one-on-one drills. Everything was individualized one-on-one drills.
“Their facilities were amazing. Coach (Ryan) Day was really cool. It was great meeting him in person. Getting to sit down to spend time with coach Keenan (Bailey), he’s an alum of Cardinal Gibbons, was cool too. He is energetic, you can tell he has a love for the kids and football.”
The Panthers also made a big impression on Heinrich.
“I had a great time at Pitt,” Heinrich shared. “I had a conversation with head coach Pat Narduzzi for over an hour. He pushed back a coaches’ meeting to continue our conversation. Pitt, to my knowledge, is the only place that shares facilities with an NFL team. They have all the access to everything they need. Sharing facilities with the Steelers is one of a kind.
“Coach (Tim) Salem (TE), we watched film. He can get fired up. He said I have the body of a 24-year-old; that was funny. He goes into a mode and is all serious, and he will get in your face. He’s energetic and fun to be around.”
Over in Athens, the way head coach Kirby Smart helps motivate his players in practice stood out.
“Probably the second most competitive practice I saw behind Ohio State’s,” Heinrich stated. “Coach Kirby is funny. He’s not shy about anything. He’s on a megaphone during practice. Even if he is across the field, he will call a player out if they did something wrong. It was funny to see; it shows he cares. He makes inside jokes with the players that he knows will fire up the players. He even called out recruits for being on their phone in practice; that was really funny. That practice was fun to be at.”
The busy travel schedule continues in April.
“My spring break is packed,” Heinrich said. “On Thursday, I will be at Florida, then I will be at Tennessee, UNC, Duke, Miami, and Texas.”
Heinrich shared his interest in the Gators leading into the visit.
“I have conversations with coach (Russ) Callaway (TE), coach (Jabbar) Juluke (RB), and coach (Billy) Napier, all really good conversations,” Heinrich shared. “I am excited to learn more about how he coaches and how he talks about football. Florida is an in-state school; I have grown up knowing about them and Miami. Florida is big time ball, in the SEC, in-state, and the fanbase is huge down here.”
Given all that Heinrich can do on the field, and his proximity, the Hurricanes are in the battle to sign the four-star.
“What I learned from my first visit there, with coach (Cody) Woodiel (QCA) taking over, I really like him,” Heinrich said. “He knows what he’s talking about. He gets fired up, and he is detail orientated. They are trying to rebuild to where they were in their fame. I have a group chat with coach (Mario) Cristobal, coach (Stephen) Field (TE), and coach Woodiel. I am getting texts from them every day. They are pushing hard.”
The April visits will be influential contributing to Heinrich’s top schools list and eventual official visits.
“I don’t have any official visits set as of now,” Heinrich shared. “Once April is over, I will release a top 10 and then go down to five shortly after that, probably before June.”