Johnny Hekker tweeted the following news on April 28: “Your boy is going to be a St. Louis Ram! Free agency deal.”
The former Bothell High player, at 6-foot-5, 221 pounds these days, was a standout four-year starting punter at Oregon State University. During his senior season, he punted 50 times for a 44.0 yard average.
Now 22, Hekker is set for the next level in his football career. On June 14, he headed to St. Louis to join the National Football League squad.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” said mother Joy.
“I’m one of their employees. I’m ready to work when they need me. I’m on call,” Johnny said last week after finishing a workout at OSU in Corvallis. He apologized for returning the Reporter’s call about an hour after it was placed, but extensive training prevails in his world.
“Most teams don’t keep two punters around. I’m going to do my best and work hard,” said Hekker, noting that either he or Tom Malone could earn the punting spot. “It’s an open competition between him and me. It’s survival of the fittest.”
As for being fit, Hekker said he works out for about 3 1/2 hours a day on his craft, which includes punting and upper-body and legs work. Along with his OSU workouts, he traveled to Pratville High in Alabama in the winter to train with his friend Mike McCabe of One On One Kicking.
At OSU, his long list of highlights included: setting the single-game school record with a 52.5-yard average (6-315) at Utah in 2011, thus earning College Football Performance Award Punter of the Week; booting the second-longest punt in OSU history of 74 yards versus USC in 2010; earning the Sun Bowl Special Teams MVP after averaging 45 yards on 10 punts in 2008; earning two Pac-10 All-Academic selections.
Hekker, who recently shaved his long hair and donated it to the charity Locks of Love for children suffering from long-term medical hair loss, said that walking on as a punter at OSU was a major decision in his life.
Bothell High football coach Tom Bainter said that Hekker was a believer in that dream and whole-heartedly put in the maximum effort to make it a reality. Hekker could have accepted a Division IAA scholarship to play quarterback at Southern Utah, but he felt that punting at OSU was his calling, Bainter recalled of the tough decision during the player’s senior year.
And now it’s NFL time for the former Bothell Cougar.
“The day Johnny signed with the Rams, he called me on the phone while our staff was on a coaches’ retreat. I put him on speaker phone and it was really cool to hear the excitement and joy in his voice, which matched our feelings exactly,” Bainter said. “As only Johnny can, he deflected the glory and thanked us for helping him to get to this point in his life. I can’t even begin to explain how proud we are of him, both as an athlete, but also the young man he has become.”
During his senior year at Bothell High, Hekker was a 4A Kingco first-team quarterback selection, throwing 55 touchdowns and totaling about 2,000 yards in 14 games. In basketball, he averaged 12.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game en route to Kingco second-team honors. He also qualified for state in the triple jump.
Bothell High athletic director Yonni Mills said she was impressed with Hekker’s football and basketball abilities when he donned a Cougar uniform.
“Boy, that kid could jump through the ceiling, he’s a fabulous athlete. Johnny is such a great guy and so much fun and we’re excited for him,” she said. “I think we’re going to have to start wearing some Ram gear for Johnny, where everybody gets dressed up because Johnny has a big game.”
Hekker said it was Bainter and his four older brothers — Joel, Judah, Tim and Zach — who pushed him to be successful on the gridiron and in life.
“Coach Bainter always said to try and be 1-0, be the best at what you’re doing right now,” he said, whether it’s punting, answering a reporter’s questions or reading a book in science class. “And I competed with my brothers a lot. That gave me a step up on the competition when I was with kids my own age.”
As a youngster, Hekker joked that he dreamt of playing pro football, basketball and soccer all at the same time. He soon narrowed his sports down to football and basketball, and whichever sport was in season, he was completely focused on his and the team’s performances.
On being selected to play with the Rams, Hekker said: “It’s an amazing miracle — I couldn’t be more blessed.”
