Passion and Patience Fuel a Fairytale Ending to Drake Heismeyer’s Mizzou Career

After seasons of patience and protection, a five-year Missouri veteran now finds himself in a starting role down the stretch of his final season.

Sep 30, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer (69) kneels just prior to the start against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Drake Heismeyer spent the last four years doing what many football players would rather not, serving his duty on the punt protection unit for the Missouri Tigers special teams squad.

He didn't start a single college football game until Nov. 16, 2024, against the South Carolina Gamecocks and only played his true position, center, sparingly throughout his five years. Heismeyer still served a vital role for Missouri, acting as the anchor on special teams. It wouldn't be any recruit's first choice to spend time on the field in that manner, as it was with Heismeyer. But he embraced it and now, couldn't be more proud to do so.

“It was important to me because that was, really, the only way I was seeing the field and that I was getting the most action,” Heismeyer said.

Heismeyer's role on special teams lands him on the protection unit on kick attempts and punts. The goal of the group of blockers is in the name. It's their job to make sure whichever kick gets off cleanly. Whether the field goal goes in or out and if the punt goes far or not tends to be the most important takeaway of those two scenarios, but whether it gets off the kicker's foot is arguably as important. This makes the role of the guardians of the kicker that much more vital.

“Things can go bad on punt that I think a lot of people like gloss over,” Heismeyer said. … “Games are won and lost on special teams. I don’t think people realize that.” 

There's a certain level of pride Heismeyer takes in his special teams work. As he alluded too, so much can go wrong on special teams. If you are the culprit of a special teams error, that error gets magnified. Protection-based miscues on punts and kicks are rare, which makes it worse when they happen. Simply put, Heismeyer didn't want to be under the magnifying glass after a special teams transgression.

“I’m the kind of guy [if] I'm going to be out there, I'm going to make sure everything's spick and span,” Heismeyer said. “I didn't want to be the reason we were getting messed up.”

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer (69) and tight end Tyler Stephens (80) in protection during a punt against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the first half at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

A St. Charles, Mo native, Heismeyer is a Missouri guy through and through. If you ask him, not many people bleed gold and black as much as hi. Everything about Heismeyer's personality, from the way he talks about the university to the energy and love he plays the game with, screams "Missouri Tiger". That's why he stuck around in Columbia all these years, especially when the chance to dash and transfer was right before him.

“I’m not in it for the money. I’m not doing it for the fame. I love the school,” Heismeyer said. “I want to get a degree from the University of Missouri, that means a lot to me.”

It's because of his love for the school and state itself that Heismeyer never made the choice to leave. The Tiger veteran grew up an hour and a half away from Columbia and was recruited as a guard, securing offers from Kansas State, Iowa State, Indiana and more at Francis Howell High School. If he entered the portal, there's no doubt Heismeyer would have fielded offers from multiple Division One programs. Now, with his five years at the University of Missouri, Heismeyer has a new appreciation for the staff and people who work with the football program.

“Everybody that works here is great. All athletics, everybody from the university is great and [I’ve] never, ever been treated wrong,” Heismeyer said. “So I would never have a reason to leave.”

Heismeyer isn't the only in-state player on Missouri's roster or a St. Louis native for that matter. He joined the team as a freshman the same year quarterback Brady Cook did and the two share that bond because of it. But Heismeyer's pride and faith in the school and his team stands out and it's easy to pick up on. He shares that same love with the team in its entirety, another reason why he never thought about leaving.

It's now rare to find a player that will stay at a school for more than two years, let alone five. Heismeyer fits into the latter and might just be the proudest to do so. In the end, transferring was never an option for the in-state lineman, even when he knew there was minimal opportunity to play outside protecting kickers.

“Drake is a Mizzou guy through and through. I don't think he probably had one inkling or thought of transferring because he loves Mizzou,” special teams coordinator Erik Link said. “He loves to be a part of this brotherhood. He loves to be at this university.”

Now, after staying all that time, Heismeyer is starting at center for the Tigers after the season-ending injury to the original starter, Connor Tollison. Most players in his situation, in the current landscape of college athletics, would have packed their bags and left for a new school. Heismeyer's patience has now paid off and he gets the opportunity to display his previous four years worth of hard-work and preparation.

“It means a lot to me and I never wanted to leave the state," Heismeyer said. "I've always been [a] big in-state guy, so it means a lot to wait around and finally get my shot to prove [to] everybody what I can do."

Now, just days before his final game at Faurot Field and second to last as a Missouri Tiger, Heismeyer has two starts and a quarter of football under his belt in the 2024 season. With Heismeyer snapping the ball to Cook, the Tigers have scored 64 points and have allowed only six sacks. He's seen Missouri football at low points, with three five-hundred or worse seasons, but still stuck it out. The priority for Heismeyer, through the good and the bad, was representing his school and state.

“I’ve been here since 2020. [I’ve] been through a lot the lows I’ve been through the highs. It just means a lot to me, especially being an in-state kid, to really be able to put on for the St. Louis area and the whole state itself.”

Nov 28, 2020; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer (69) carries the Missouri state flag as several players kneel in the end zone before the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Heismeyer seized the opportunity to play his natural position and was jolted into a high-pressure matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners, with the Tigers fighting to gain a victory. He played in exactly 26 offensive snaps and did not allow a single sack or pressure. To say he was ready for the challenge is an understatement.

“He's ready. He was ready for his opportunity. I think that showed … and he's going to continue to grow and develop and try to maximize his opportunity,” Link said.

Against South Carolina, Heismeyer faltered just a bit more. He allowed three pressures and a hit on his quarterback, but no sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Still finding his footing, he did enough to keep Cook safe to the point where it was not an issue. That being said, this was his first career start in a high-intensity environment, leaving errors bound to occur.

“I was really impressed and proud of how he played and performed. I thought for as good as that defensive front, was for him to keep us on the right IDs," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the Tigers' loss to South Carolina. "There's only a handful of plays that weren't executed the way we wanted to, but he held up really well."

Heismeyer wouldn't have the chance to be a starting center for the No. 21 team in the country if it weren't for his special teams journey. Sure, he has to be good enough to play in both spots, but it takes a certain type of person to wait as long as he did and continue to practice and work every day.

“I think it's a great testament to a guy who has stuck with it and continued to embrace his role and put the team first,” Link said. “Whatever that role is for a large amount of time, that was on special teams, but he's continued to play offensive line and work on his craft every single day. I think it's a testament to his character, his ability to stay ready and be ready when the moment comes.”

This group of seniors has a limited amount of time remaining to play with each other. Heismeyer's character has not only allowed him to wait for his chance to shine but also created bonds with his teammates. It's a rare occasion to see Heismeyer without a smile on his face, going hand-in-hand with his love for football and Missouri. That's reflected in the relationships he's created with the people in the Tiger locker room.

“The players on the team and our coaches, our locker room is so close,” Heismeyer said. “I can hang out with any position and anybody on the team at any point in time of the day, all of us are so close.”

Heismeyer was never, and still isn't, the perfect football player. He's shown small snap errors in a few instances and could improve as a pass blocker, but there is a night and day difference in the player he was now compared to when he stepped foot on Missouri's campus. Not only is he a better player technically, but the way he approached each game changed. Players grow physically and mentally over time and Heismeyer underwent those exact processes, but his coaches witnessing it over a four-year window presents as a full-circle moment as his career nears its end.

“Drake has really come a long way and just maturity and just focus on the game and he's had really good growth from a strength and conditioning standpoint, getting bigger and stronger along the way,” Link said. “But I think the mental side of the game and his approach with his preparation each week has grown and improved over the years.”

Heismeyer has two games remaining as a Missouri Tiger, both of which he will presumably start at the center position. There's a certain gratitude and passion Heismeyer holds while playing his sport, one that drives his work ethic. In Heismeyer's five-year career with Missouri, a valuable lesson can be extracted, one that's taught at an elementary level: To wait your turn in line, be patient and embrace your role.

He did all of those things and now, possesses the spot he dreamed of five years ago. This might be where freshman-year Drake pictured himself five years into his football career, but if it wasn't, he can attribute it to his time served as a guardian on special teams.

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