Ben Heenan (born February 5, 1990) is a Canadian born former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

who played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in 2015. He also played with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Heenan played college football for the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, and was ranked as the second best player in the CFL's Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings for players eligible in the 2012 CFL Draft, and first by players in

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

, at the end of the 2011 CIS season.

Professional career

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Heenan was selected first overall in the 2012 CFL Draft by the

. Heenan spent three years as a member of the Roughriders, including in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

when he won his first

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

championship as a member of the

101st Grey Cup The 101st Grey Cup was a Canadian football game played between the East Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League to decide the Grey Cup champions of the 2013 ...

-winning team. As a pending

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, he was released on February 2, 2015, so that he could pursue

opportunities.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 3, 2015, Heenan signed a 3-year, $1.575 million contract with the

. He joined Henoc Muamba as the second player signed by the Colts to have been selected first overall in the CFL Draft. Heenan was released in August after tearing his meniscus. On November 3, the Colts signed Heenan to their practice squad. Heenan announced his retirement from football on April 7, 2016.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heenan, Ben 1990 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Canadian football offensive linemen Indianapolis Colts players Saskatchewan Huskies football players Canadian football people from Regina, Saskatchewan Players of American football from Saskatchewan First overall CFL draft picks