Grant Heard looking forward to Outback Bowl against familiar Rebels
Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers’ coach Grant Heard will see some familiar uniforms when he and his team take the field in the Outback Bowl January 2nd.
The Hoosiers are slated to take on Ole Miss, Heard’s alma mater.
Heard wore a Rebels’ uniform from 1996-2000 and helped Ole Miss gain berths in four bowl games. When he finished his career, he was the Rebels’ all-time leader in career receptions and touchdown catches.
As an assistant at Ole Miss coaching wide receivers, he mentored Laquon Treadwell, Donte Moncrief and Mike Wallace, to name a few.
“I was fortunate enough to get to play football at Ole Miss and even more fortunate to have been able to go back and coach,” Heard said.
“My brother still lives there with his family, I met my wife there and have many friends still there, so there are a lot of great memories and I would not change it for the world. I am excited to get the chance to go out there and play another football game. It just so happens to be against Ole Miss.”
Indiana Co-OC and WR Coach Grant Heard
Heard’s Wide Receiver named All-American
Heard has a stable of receivers including a star-in-the-making at Indiana in Ty Fryfogle. On Monday, Ty earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, being named to the third team.
#IUFB's @Ty_Fry3 and @mcfadden_micah earn All-America honors from the @AP! pic.twitter.com/cWtmI7vcCK
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) December 28, 2020
The freshman, who was also named first-team All-Big Ten, leads the Hoosiers with 687 yards in receiving and he has scored a team-high seven touchdowns. He averages 20.21 yards per reception.
“I had to play him as a true freshman, which for him was not the best thing that happened, but because of injuries he had to play,” Heard said.
“Knowing where he comes from, knowing his work ethic, there was something in him that I really liked. I was going to take him at Ole Miss before I left, and because of our relationship he followed me up here to Indiana. The hard work that he has put in has worked out for him, but I always thought he had the potential to be a very special player.”
Coach Grant Heard on WR Ty Fryfogle
Heard has respect for Ole Miss defense
Regardless of some of the struggles the Ole Miss defense has faced this season, Heard still has a lot of respect for the unit he will see in Tampa.
“They are athletic and I have been in that league; to play in that league you have to have something about you,” Heard said.
“In a normal year, they would be 8-5 as they would have probably won their four non-conference games. I know they lost at least two games by only one possession, so they are a great team. I have been in that league, played in that league, coached in that league and wins are hard to come by. For them to be a play here or a play there short, shows they are a good team and have a good defense. I know the stats might not say that, but they cause a lot of disruption, they get after the passes and get after the quarterback pretty well.”
Coach Grant Heard on the Ole Miss defense
Kickoff in the Outback Bowl is set for 11:30 (CT), and the game will be broadcast by ABC.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
