Former KU quarterback hired to be personal coach for Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson
For quarterback Jake Heaps, Kansas was just one of three schools for which he played in a five-year span.
After two seasons with Brigham Young, Heaps transferred to KU in 2013 in what was coach Charlie Weis’ last full season in Lawrence. The Jayhawks finished 3-9 and 1-8 in the Big 12, and Heaps appeared in 11 games, throwing eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Heaps transferred to the Miami Hurricanes where he played sparingly in 2014. Heaps signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2015 but was released before the start of the season. In 2016, he joined the Seahawks and was on the practice squad for a short period.
During that time in Seattle, Heaps developed a bond with quarterback Russell Wilson.
After the Seahawks let him go, Heaps worked in radio at KIRO (710 AM) in Seattle, but he’s back in football — as Wilson’s personal coach. Wilson was traded to the Broncos earlier this year, and he asked Heaps to join him in Denver.
“I’m genuinely, truly excited to pursue this next part of my life and of my career. I’m excited to, obviously, continue to go with my passions,” Heaps said on KIRO. “One was radio, but one also was coaching. I’m really excited to see where that will take us.”
Heaps told USA Today how he and Wilson bonded during their time with the Seahawks.
““He saw how hard I worked. I tried to beat him to the facility every day and we grew a bond through that,” Heaps told Parker Gabriel. “I got a random phone call from (Wilson) asking to fly out and come train him at UCLA and said sure. We’ve been together ever since. It’s been really cool to have that friendship and to have that trust that he has in me and have honest conversations and to evaluate his game and do whatever I can to help him be better. Whether that’s making things that he’s struggled with better or just maintaining what he’s doing.”
Wilson’s move to Denver means learning a new playbook with the Broncos and first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett. That’s why he asked Heaps to join him in Denver.
Heaps is hoping he can make the transition easier on Wilson.
“There’s a lot of mental aspects of what you’ve got to work on and make sure (Wilson’s) sharp on the new plays and new aspects of the playbook, testing him and quizzing him and all those things,” Heaps said. “There’s familiarity there, but it’s been really cool to watch everybody work together to mesh this thing and make everyone comfortable from the coaching staff to Russell to the guys on the team. It’s been really awesome and, honestly, I’m blown away from where they are at this point in the offseason with the install and where everybody’s at.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 9:02 AM.
