Weber State CB Eddie Heckard Turns Down NFL To Sign With BYU Football

PROVO, Utah – Weber State cornerback Eddie Heckard will continue playing college football for Jay Hill. This season it will be as a member of the BYU football program.

Sources confirmed to KSL Sports that Heckard is enrolled in Provo.

1 more 💰@BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/OLvAlNBt5G

— 5ive (@EddieHeckard5) January 20, 2023

Eddie Heckard was an AP All-American cornerback in 2022

The 5-foot-10 cornerback from Las Vegas was a Second-Team AP All-American in 2022 for the Wildcats.

Shortly after BYU hired Jay Hill as the new defensive coordinator, Heckard announced that he was foregoing his senior year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Instead of going through the draft process, Heckard teams up with Hill again to play at BYU.

During his five-year career at Weber State, Heckard earned All-Big Sky honors four times, including three first-team honors. He’s one of nine players in Weber State history to earn first-team All-Big Sky honors three times.

Throughout his time with the Wildcats, Heckard started 36 games at cornerback. He arrives at BYU as an instant plug-and-play cornerback that lost Gabe Jeudy-Lally to Tennessee, plus Kaleb Hayes and D’Angelo Mandell to graduation.

One year of eligibility remaining

He will have one year of eligibility to compete in BYU’s cornerback room. The 2023 season will be BYU’s first as a member of the Big 12 Conference.

Heckard was one of the few Weber State players that were voted into the KSL Sports Zone’s “60 in 60” entering the 2022 season. The list ranked the best college football players in Utah entering the 2022 season. Media members and the KSL Sports team voted on it. Heckard checked in at No. 58.

#58 in our 60in60 Eddie Heckard is STRONG! He’s a do it all! pic.twitter.com/Q6XDMAxZoN

— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) June 13, 2022

“Eddie Heckard is one of the best slot defenders in the country, has been a multiple first-conference guy for us,” Jay Hill said to Hans & Scotty G. last summer. “We expect him to play an All-American caliber this year and is another one if things go well this year should have opportunity to play in the NFL.”

Heckard is the 12th transfer addition for BYU in the 2023 transfer portal cycle.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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