Hoke's Hires - Meet Jeff Hecklinski

Hoke's Hires

Each week in the Hoke's Hires series, GoAztecs.com will be helping the Aztec faithful get to know the new football staff. Each week, GoAztecs.com will sit down with a new member of the Aztecs coaching staff for an exclusive interview.

GoAztecs.com welcomes Jeff Hecklinski to The Mesa as he will be San Diego State's new assistant head coach, running back's coach and recruiting coordinator. Hecklinski comes to SDSU from Ball State where he served as the receivers coach beginning in 2004. Prior to his stint with the Cardinals, he was the quarterbacks coach and the passing game coordinator at Arizona in 2003.

While at Ball State, Hecklinski developed two of the most prolific players in Cardinal history in wideout Dante Love and Dante Ridgeway. Love ranked second in the country in 2007 in all-purpose yards (206.92). Ridgeway was an All-American and was one of three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2004.

In all, Hecklinski has coached at Benedictine University, Fort Scott Community College, Central Missouri State, Arizona and Ball State. As a player he was a quarterback for Western Illinois where he threw for 5,980 yards; second in the schools career record book.

Hecklinski and his wife, Tiffany, have one daughter and two sons.

Hecklinski recently sat down with GoAztecs.com to discuss the future of Aztec football.

Hoke's Hires: Jeff Hecklinski

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On which of his three jobs (Running Backs Coach, Assistant Head Coach, Recruiting Coordinator) takes the most time:

"I think they all do. It just depends on which hat I'm wearing at that particular point in time. Obviously recruiting is the life blood of what we do, and so that will be first and foremost on my mind. You're trying to build those relationships with the high school coaches and with the community, which in turn helps you build the relationships with the players that you're recruiting. As we all know, we're better coaches and we're a better team when we have better players and that all starts with recruiting. So that will be the first thing that I deal with.

Then the second thing is coaching our kids. We put a lot of time and emphasis in coaching our kids hard and making sure they're disciplined, making sure they're paying attention to their details and what it takes to win. Neither one of those two will slide.

The assistant head coach title, I really appreciate Brady having that trust in me, that if anything was to ever happen or if he needed me to be able to do things that he wouldn't be able to do. But really, the first two things are coaching our kids and recruiting."

On how he feels about the first recruiting class the staff he has brought to SDSU:

"We don't make a habit of putting grades on our classes. The one thing you don't want to do is put any undue pressure on these kids that are coming in. It is hard enough to make the transition from high school to college, in terms of academics and then to also add athletics to that. Each kid is going to handle it differently. It's our job to make the transition as smooth as possible. So in order to not put that pressure, you try to avoid that.

It was short, trying to put a year's worth of work into three weeks. That kind of catches you sometimes and it did on a couple of kids. There were a couple instances where schools that had a year in recruiting so they built a relationship with some of the players which we couldn't get back in on. Also San Diego State, being a beautiful place, I think a lot of kids do want to come here. I think a lot of people and a lot of coaches in the area want to see San Diego State succeed. It's a matter of bridging those relationships and bridging that gap into getting those kids here so that a year from now, those relationships are so strong that a kid doesn't want to leave San Diego State to go somewhere else.

But overall, the one thing we wanted to do was to bring in as many versatile athletes as we could. Those types of players find their way on the field in terms of special teams, offensively or defensively; you never know where a player is going to pan out. The thing I hope that we can continue to do is to bring in two-way athletes. These are kids that can play both offense and defense, those are tough kids. A couple kids barely came off the field. Those are signs of toughness that we look for and a passion and love for the game that one needs to have when they come to this level."

On how Aztec coaches were received in the homes of recruits during the recruiting process:

"The staff that Brady has put together, with the amount of experience they have in recruiting and the work ethic that they have, we're going to cover a lot of ground. When we sit in a home, what you see with us is what you get. That's in terms of recruiting, on the field with the players and off the field with the alumni and the community. We tell it how it is. We don't lie. We don't have any hidden agendas. When we sit in a living room, our hope is that the family that we're sitting in there with can really feel the sincerity that we have in terms of raising their young men. In terms of raising them to a level that when they leave us, they're going to be successful. When you have that sincerity and when that family can feel that, that is when you have the bonds forged. That is when the mom's and dad's say, 'We really feel comfortable sending our son with you because we know that he is going to continue to be raised at a level at which we have raised him at.' I think it has been very positive but there is a lot of work to be done. In this game there is always work to be done. When you are not working then someone else is out-working you."

On how last year's record affects recruiting:

"In recruiting, you recruit opportunity. Whether you're winning or losing, it's an opportunity. What we're presenting is an opportunity. If we're recruiting the right kids, there's going to be a lot of opportunities for those kids, either with San Diego State or outside San Diego State. Whether you are winning or losing, you want them to focus on the opportunity. The opportunity to come here and get a great education, the opportunity to grow into a young man that is going to go out when he is done and be a great father and a great leader in the community, possibly continue to be a great athlete. There is also the opportunity to come here and succeed in putting (SDSU) on the map. If you're selling it that way, then they're getting the full picture of what San Diego State football is all about. When you are selling other things, that is when you lose focus on San Diego State and that is when you allow someone else to come in and sell a greater opportunity. Wins, loses, those come because of the young men we bring into the program and how we coach them and teach them while they are here."

On the facilities available to athletes at San Diego State:

"In a year's worth of work, if a potential Aztec doesn't know (about our facilities) by the time they get to signing date, then we haven't done our job. That's our job to make sure they do understand the facilities, the accessibility, the tutors, the professors, what's on campus, what campus life is like. It's a beautiful place and it has tremendous faculty. It's got tremendous facilities for the faculty to operate in and has tremendous technology. It's our job to make sure these kids understand what it is they're coming into, and the amount of resources and help they're going to have when they're here. A lot of that's done through us, a lot of that's done through the visits, when they come officially on campus. Our hope is that when we have kids unofficially on campus so many times that by the time they come on the official visit, they already know everything that's available to them.

Like I said, there's a lot of work to be done. There are a lot of neat things to sell about the city of San Diego and San Diego State University. There are a lot of things that we're exploring right now. A lot of things we want to add to what was being done before, in order to allow these kids and their parents to [understand] what [their] son is coming into. You have this wonderful city of San Diego. You have the wonderful resources that a city like this provides. You have a great University with support and people who want to see you succeed, and people who want to see us succeed. That's the unique thing: the energy that's here for us to succeed. We just have to continue to build those resources, and build those bridges and those bonds. Then hopefully, when it comes to Saturday on the field, everything's in place so all our kids have to do is go play football."

On the sort of character coming from his running back group:

"Toughness. We better run hard and we better be prepared to carry the ball 20-30 times in a game where we're going to punish you. If they're not willing to do that then they won't play. We'll find enough people who want to punish you. On top of that you better protect, you better be able to catch the ball. And in any point in time, when you come into contact, you better be ready to punish."

On his message to loyal Aztec fans:

"Out of all this, that's the toughest question! What you see is what you get. We're going to play hard; we're going to play tough. But along with that, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of mistakes that are in between the good things that happen. [It's a growing process] for all of us: for us as staff, for us as coaches, as individuals and for us with the players and for the players. But mistakes aren't going to be able to come if we plan on it, and if we're doing things the right way. What you see with us is what you're going to get. If there's anything that you see that you don't think that I'm doing right or if there's a kid out there who you think is being overlooked, contact us immediately. If there are any questions that we need to answer, give us a call, send an email, I'll be happy to respond."

On the passionate SDSU football fans:

"That's great. People are passionate about this sport, as opposed to an attitude where people don't care. It's that passion that will help continue the bill. We're all involved in this, from the coaches to the players to the community to the alumni; we're all involved in this. We all have a piece of it. Every little piece of that is different in terms of where you're at and who you are, but we all have a piece of it. At the end of the day, we're all going to know that we're working towards success, and we're working towards making this a great football program."