Monarchs' QB Heinicke aims to be bigger, stronger in 2012

In reality, Taylor Heinicke wasn’t ready to play this past season.

Hard to believe, seeing how he threw for 25 touchdowns, was only intercepted once, and led Old Dominion into the second round of the NCAA’s FCS playoffs.

But the short of this argument is Heinicke needed this past season to get bigger and stronger in the weight room. He needed somewhere between 15 to 20 pounds of good extra weight (not the kind of weight many of us packed on during the holidays) to play really, really well at this level.

He needed to be thicker so he could absorb the hits – and maybe break the tackles – he faced while playing in nine games during his true freshman season.

Talking with Heinicke as he flipped back and forth from bowl game to bowl game Monday afternoon, it was easy to tell he had a plan in mind, now that ODU’s season has been over for a month.

“I want to start next season weighing 200 pounds,” Heinicke said. “Maybe that will help me break a tackle here or there. Maybe that arm tackle doesn’t bring me down. “I’ve put on six or seven pounds already since the end of the season and I’m at 188 now.”

Can ODU fans imagine a bigger, stronger, faster Taylor Heinicke?

Then again, could they imagine what he could do for the Monarchs when asked to replace the much-adored, but injured Thomas DeMarco at quarterback?

“In a nutshell, Taylor transformed our team,” Wilder said. “He did it with his efficiency and it in turn made our offense as a whole more efficient. What he did was protect the football.”

He also threw it very well. In nine games, Heinicke completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 2,385 yards and had a 160.21 passing efficiency.

He was proof positive that it pays to have depth at a position.

So, where’s the depth come from now that Heinicke will start a season as ODU’s No. 1 quarterback?

The Monarchs must hope that backup rising senior Nate Ong can recover from a sore shoulder and that Tyler Clark can continue improving. Ong’s sore wing will not require surgery. But rest is a must.

As for Clark, the lefthander from Grassfield High in Chesapeake showed steady improvement throughout the fall and with his 6-foot-3 and 205-pound frame has the physical tools to produce. He was not ready to play at the Colonial Athletic Association level in the fall, but by this spring that could change.

Beyond that, the fall preseason workouts should see two quarterbacking newcomers to add to ODU’s depth at the position when Colin McElroy (6-1, 190, Alpharetta, Ga.) and dual-threat QB David Washington (6-3, 195, Raleigh, N.C.) are expected in camp.

In the backfield, the Monarchs look to be set, with rising junior Colby Goodwyn and rising sophomores Angus Harper and Tyree Lee coming back. The health of Mario Crawford (broken neck) is still an issue being sorted out, but if Crawford were to return for what would be his junior year, the Monarchs would have multiple options for a collection of versatile running backs.

It appears, however, that the Monarchs could go a recruiting class without signing a running back. That, however, doesn’t seem a bother to Wilder, who really likes what walk-on Malik Jackson showed him in fall camp before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury.

Lee appears to be the X factor. The Virginia player of the year in 2010, Lee broke his foot in a high school all-star game almost a year ago. This season, he injured a knee which required surgery.

Wilder thinks a fit Tyree Lee could be a difference maker.

“We’ve seen a glimpse of what he can do,” Wilder said, “and no more than a glimpse.”