Heard gets test score, will enroll at Nebraska

January 2, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Monday morning, Cardinal Mooney High assistant football coach Chris Amill logged on to the ACT website to check on the test results of one of his former players, Braylon Heard.

Heard, who had taken the test several times, needed to score an 18 to become eligible to play football at Nebraska.

He got an 18.

“I was jumping up and down,” Amill said. “I woke my wife and kids up.”

Then he woke Heard up.

“It was just a sigh of relief,” Heard said. “I felt great.”

Heard, a former first team All-Ohio running back, will immediately enroll at Nebraska and be ready for the start of classes on Jan. 10. He’ll also be there for spring practice.

It was a happy ending for Heard, who was one of the state’s top prospects last year after rushing for 1,973 yards and 24 TDs as a senior in 2009, leading the Cardinals to the Division III state championship.

But after graduating from Mooney last June, he failed to meet Nebraska’s academic requirements and was forced to sit out this fall.

Heard’s previous-best on the test had been a 17.25. If he had failed to score an 18 on this month’s test, he would have enrolled at a two-year junior college and not been eligible for Nebraska until 2013.

Heard spent this fall working out on his own while studying daily for the ACT. He split time between Sylvan Learning Center and personal tutors, Amill said. Heard took the test on Dec. 10 and had to wait 17 days to find out the results.

“They were going to give him Thanksgiving off and the day after Thanksgiving but he didn’t want to,” Amill said. “A lot of people helped out to make sure he did well.

“That’s one thing about Mooney. They look out for you.”

Heard will be the second Mooney graduate on the Cornhuskers’ roster next fall, joining 2008 graduate Tim Marlowe, who was a sophomore wide receiver this fall.

Nebraska also has three Mooney graduates on its coaching staff: head coach Bo Pelini, defensive coordinator Carl Pelini (Bo’s brother) and running backs coach Tim Beck.

The Cornhuskers went 10-4 this fall, falling to Washington in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday.

Nebraska will join the Big Ten next season.

Two other recent Mooney graduates who battled academic issues also regained their college eligibility after the fall semester, Amill said. Both are YSU players: sophomore linebacker Taylor Hill and freshman tackle Eric Franklin.

Hill, the Penguins’ leading tackler in 2009, missed the 2010 season, although he practiced with the team this fall.

Franklin did not suit up after graduating from Mooney in June.

“Those guys are back on track,” Amill said.