On a morning in mid-April, Ben Heeney was standing on a large padded box inside the University of Kansas weight room, his hands tucked close to his chest in an athletic position.
Before the end of the weekend, Heeney, a former Kansas football standout, will likely hear his named called in the late rounds of the NFL Draft. But in this moment, back in the KU weight room, Heeney gathered himself for another round of box jumps during a morning workout with Andrea Hudy, KU’s lead strength and conditioning coordinator for the men’s basketball program.
Balancing on one foot, Heeney stepped down off a short box with his left foot, then exploded into the air off two feet, landing on a taller black box, maybe four feet off the ground.