St. Albert grad finds 'perfect fit' with UNI
When Northern Iowa linebacker Darin Heideman finishes playing football, he hopes to pursue a career in law enforcement.

And maybe even become an FBI agent.

But if the former Council Bluffs St. Albert standout ever decided to choose another profession, UNI defensive coordinator D.J. Vokolek knows he would be a success.

"Darin would make a great coach - he is a bright kid who is like another coach on the field," said Vokolek, the former defensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. "He makes all our line calls and really understands the game."

A three-year starter for the Panthers, Heideman recorded three tackles for losses among his eight total tackles Saturday in his team's 45-21 setback at Iowa.

The 6-foot, 227-pound senior, who has moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker in the team's 3-4 base defense, also has a nose for the football. He recorded 56 total stops as both a sophomore and junior.

"Darin's very tough, hard-nosed and physical," Vokolek said. "He doesn't back down from anybody. He has a motor, always hustles and does everything you ask of him. He's one of those special kids that is so coachable. He's self-motivated and just loves playing football."

Heideman enrolled at UNI after leading St. Albert to the state quarterfinals as a junior and the semifinals as a senior. He had offers to walk on at Iowa and Iowa State, but instead chose to accept the scholarship offer from the Panthers.

He also had scholarship offers from three Division II schools - UNO, South Dakota and Northwest Missouri State.

"UNI has been a perfect fit for me," said Heideman, who carries a 3.1 grade-point average. "I wouldn't have traded this decision for the world. It's been an awesome experience, from football to school to everything. I've made great friends here."

Just one month after Heideman signed his national letter of intent with the Panthers, UNI's head coach, Mike Dunbar, announced he was leaving to become an assistant at Northwestern.

Heideman's concerns were eased shortly after new coach Mark Farley took over.

"It was kind of hectic and crazy there for a while, and we didn't really know what would happen," Heideman said. "Coach Farley called all the recruits and invited us to come up there after he was hired. It's ended up being a great fit. He's a terrific coach."

Heideman and his teammates ran into a charged-up Iowa team last weekend that was coming off a 23-3 upset loss at Iowa State. But Heideman did find a way to silence the sellout crowd of 70,000 a few times by making the three tackles for losses.

"It was great playing in front of a crowd like that - the atmosphere was amazing," he said. "Playing a team like Iowa helps tremendously. They exposed some weaknesses, and we know what we need to fix. We need to learn and improve from this."

Northern Iowa, ranked 10th in Division I-AA, is off this week and takes a 2-1 record into Gateway Conference play next week against Western Illinois.

"We are optimistic about the conference season," Heideman said. "Our offense looks tremendous and if we can fix a couple holes on defense we can have a real good season."

BY CRAIG SESKER - WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER