It was the 1989 NFL Draft and it wasn’t anything like the show it has now become. But it was historic in terms of greatness and although Notre Dame’s representative in it’s first round never made the Hall of Fame, he still had a pretty solid career. In fact, he just won a Super Bowl ring this past February.
Five picks, four eventual Hall of Famers.
And one all-time bust.
It was the 1989 NFL Draft and it wasn’t anything like the show it has now become. But it was historic in terms of greatness and although Notre Dame’s representative in it’s first round never made the Hall of Fame, he still had a pretty solid career. In fact, he just won a Super Bowl ring this past February.
Notre Dame won a national championship after beating West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 1989. A few short months later one of the most-historic NFL Drafts played out and saw Notre Dame star offensive tackle Andy Heck taken in the first round.
Heck was selected 15th overall by the Seattle Seahawks and saw four Hall of Fame players go ahead of them, each coming in the first five picks. Why does this matter? If you’re interested in traveling back in time and living a different life in terms of sports viewing, the 1989 NFL Draft will air Monday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. ESPN2 will only show the first round of the draft, not that I’m guessing you’re craving a ton more coverage of players getting selected 31 years ago.
After the draft, Heck was excited about his rise to the first round.
‘This is a dream come true for me,’ Heck said. ‘I guess my stock has really risen. It’s just unbelievable to be going to a solid team like the Seahawks.’
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz also was surprised ‘Andy’s stock has risen so high since the season ended. But you all got yourself an excellent pick.
‘He’s a class act in every respect,’ said Holtz. ‘He’s intelligent and has exceptional morale values, and he’s a very positive person. He’s also very durable and has tremendous work habits.’
Heck went from playing tight end in his first three years at Notre Dame to play offensive tackle on the title team in 1988.
Troy Aikman would go first overall to the Cowboys, Barry Sanders wound up in Detroit after being selected third, the Chiefs hit it out of the park with Derrick Thomas at four and Deion Sanders “fell” to the Falcons at five.
The guy who went second? Tony Mandrich, the Michigan State turned Green Bay Packers bust.
What’s worth noting in this draft though is that another Hall of Fame talent was taken 20th overall as the Broncos took Steve Atwater out of Arkansas.
Notre Dame would end up having five players selected in the 1989 draft with Frank Stams, Mark Green, Wes Pritchett and George Streeter all eventually getting their names called.
You can watch the 1989 draft in full tonight on ESPN as numerous Hall of Famers get their names called to start their NFL careers. As for Heck, things didn’t end too poorly as he played 12 seasons in the league between the Seahawks, Bears and Redskins. He also just won a Super Bowl as the offensive line coach of the Chiefs.
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