Football
- Title:
- Assistant Coach (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line)
- Phone:
- 325-2534
- Position(s):
- Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Season at MSU: 9th
Twitter: @CoachHevesy
The results put up by John Hevesy’s group during his eight years as the Bulldogs’ run game coordinator and offensive line coach have been impressive. In 2014, Hevesy took over co-offensive coordinator duties in addition to overseeing the offensive line and what resulted was the most prolific offense in Mississippi State history.
Since the 2013 season, five of Hevesy’s protégés have reached the NFL. Justin Senior became the latest when the Seattle Seahawks selected the offensive tackle in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Senior, a native of Montreal, Quebec, was the lone Canadian picked in the 2017 draft.
Three of Hevesy’s former linemen were on NFL rosters during the 2016 season, including Gabe Jackson (Oakland Raiders), Dillon Day (Denver Broncos) and Blaine Clausell (Carolina Panthers). Jackson has developed into one of the top guards in the league and earned the NFL’s highest performance-based bonus for a veteran player in 2016. He played all but one offensive snap during his third NFL season.
MSU has produced two Kent Hull Trophy winners since 2013, an award that recognizes the top offensive lineman in the state of Mississippi. Senior won it in 2016, while Jackson was the inaugural recipient following the 2013 season. In addition, Hevesy’s guidance has produced a first-team All-SEC offensive lineman for MSU in four out of the last seven years.
The top seven single-season total offensive yard marks have all been set in Hevesy’s tenure on staff, including the third-best mark during the 2016 season (5,723 yards). Despite a rash of injuries on the offensive line, the Bulldogs proved to be one of the dominant rushing units in the Southeastern Conference. MSU racked up 2,997 rushing yards, representing the third-highest total in single-season school history. The Bulldogs allowed the second-fewest sacks in the conference (18). Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams became one of the top tandems in the nation, while Senior and blossoming junior tackle Martinas Rankin paved the way.
Rankin was recognized as the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week following the Bulldogs’ blowout of No. 4 Texas A&M on Nov. 5, in which the squad racked up 365 rushing yards. MSU did not allow a sack against an Aggie defensive line that featured the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. It was the most rushing yards allowed by a John Chavis defense since 2010. Rankin heads into the 2017 campaign as one of the top prospects for the 2018 NFL Draft.
MSU closed the regular season in dramatic fashion, setting a school record for rushing yards in an SEC game with 465 in a 55-20 Egg Bowl victory in Oxford. The Bulldogs averaged an astounding 9.72 yards per carry, which ranked third all-time in SEC history in conference games. It was the first time in MSU annals that the program produced a 200-yard rusher (Fitzgerald) and a 100-yard rusher (Williams) in the same game.
The 2015 campaign saw the Bulldogs reach a bowl for a sixth straight year and cap a nine-win season with a 51-28 blowout of NC State in the Belk Bowl. It marked the first time in school history that MSU produced back-to-back seasons of at least nine victories. The Bulldogs ranked third in the Southeastern Conference in total offense, putting up 460.5 yards per game, a mark that also ranked among the top 30 nationally.
The Bulldogs celebrated their first 10-win regular season in program history in 2014 while reaching the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1941. During the season, the Maroon and White reached No. 1 in the polls for the first time and were atop the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings. MSU’s offense shattered 15 single-season team records, including total offense (6,679), points (480), touchdowns (60) and first downs (334).
The Bulldogs also were among the nation’s top 25 teams in fewest tackles for loss allowed in 2014. MSU led the SEC in total offense for the first time since 1982, putting up a school-record 513.8 yards per game. That figure ranked eighth nationally. Auburn was the next closest with 485.0 yards per contest. The Bulldogs were also third in the league in rushing offense, tallying over 233 yards per game on the ground.
Senior Ben Beckwith recorded the fourth All-America honor in five years for an MSU offensive lineman after a tremendous 2014 campaign. Under Hevesy’s tutelage, Beckwith went from walk-on to first-team All-SEC in his final season, while also being the program’s first finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. Beckwith became the league’s only three-time SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in 2014. He showed his versatility by playing multiple positions on the line at times during the year.
In 2013, Gabe Jackson, a once three-star high school recruit, became a first-team All-American and a first-team All-SEC recipient. He was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
In his first two seasons, Hevesy tutored left tackle Derek Sherrod, an All-American selection and a first round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Sherrod spent four seasons in the NFL.
Hevesy has worked with head coach Dan Mullen for over a decade and came to MSU after four years as a member of the University of Florida coaching staff, where he spent time working with both the tight ends and the offensive line.
Hevesy coached in four BCS bowls prior to MSU, including Florida’s 2006 and 2008 BCS title game victories. Hevesy assisted with a Florida offensive line which allowed only 16.0 sacks in 14 games and paved the way for a rushing attack that averaged more than 231 yards per game.
In 2007, he tutored future NFL tight end Cornelius Ingram. Ingram’s seven touchdowns receiving matched Andre Caldwell’s team-leading total and his 14.9 years per reception were the most of any Gator who had double-digit catches. That season, the Gator offensive line surrendered just 13.0 sacks in 13 games, tying for the second-lowest total in the SEC and fifth nationally.
Despite entering the 2006 season with one player having started a game at his opening-day position, the UF offensive line allowed only 23 sacks on the year, and yielded one-or-less sacks seven times during the campaign. Hevesy showed a penchant for molding individual talents on the interior of the Gators’ line. Starting centers Mike Degory and Steve Rissler earned first-team All-SEC honors as seniors, and Drew Miller earned honorable mention All-SEC.
As the offensive line coach at Utah in 2004, Hevesy directed the front line for one of the most prolific offenses in the country, as the Utes ranked third nationally in scoring, total offense and passing efficiency. Behind the blocking of Hevesy’s group, Utah scored on 62-of-67 trips to the red zone en route to an undefeated season and a victory in a BCS bowl game.
Prior to his arrival in Salt Lake City, Hevesy coached the tackles and tight ends at Bowling Green from 2001-02. In his first year on campus, the line allowed 50 percent fewer sacks than the year before, while the 2002 unit blocked for skill players that amassed more than 5,000 yards of total offense.
During a three-year stint at Brown from 1998-2000, Hevesy coached an offensive line that blocked for 13 school records and saw three of its members earn multiple All-Ivy selections.
A three-year starter on the offensive line at the University of Maine from 1991-93, Hevesy is married to the former Kelli Rogers. The couple has three children -- Jack, Taylor and Madison.
Coaching Experience
2014-present: Mississippi State (Co-Offensive Coordinator/ Running Game/ Offensive Line)
2009-13: Mississippi State (Running Game Coordinator / Offensive Line)
2008: Florida (Tight Ends/ Assistant Offensive Line)
2005-07: Florida (Assistant Offensive Line)
2003-04: Utah (Offensive Line)
2001-02: Bowling Green (Offensive Tackles / Tight Ends)
1998-2000: Brown (Offensive Line)
1997: Syracuse (Graduate Assistant)
1996: Brown (Offensive Tackles / Tight Ends)
1994-95: Trinity (Offensive Line)
Bowl Games as a Coach
2016: St. Petersburg Bowl (MSU)
2015: Belk Bowl (MSU)
2014: Orange Bowl (MSU)
2013: Liberty Bowl (MSU)
2013: Gator Bowl (MSU)
2011: Music City Bowl (MSU)
2011: Gator Bowl (MSU)
2009: BCS National Championship Game (Florida)
2008: Capital One Bowl (Florida)
2007: BCS National Championship Game (Florida)
2006: Outback Bowl (Florida)
2005: Fiesta Bowl (Utah)
2003: Liberty Bowl (Utah)
1997: Fiesta Bowl (Syracuse)
Personal Information
Hometown: Madison, Conn.
Education: 1995 – Bachelor in Education from Maine
Wife: Kelli
Children: Jack, Taylor and Madison
Birthdate: May 2, 1971
