Sam Hecht

● Carries solid mass on wide frame, especially in lower half (added more than 50 pounds in college) ● Solid athleticism and has little trouble unlocking body movements ● Controlled footwork in setup to get into a balanced position (run and pass) ● Enough lateral quickness to work a gap over on stretch or zone ● Able to widen his base and use functional strength to fight back against bull rushers ● Zero penalties in 2025 ● Intelligent player who quickly picks up on things ● Quiet, head-down, go-to-work mindset (what you would expect from a KSU center) ● Developed toughness playing through painful shin splints as a freshman (didn’t want to tell anyone because he was still a walk-on) ● Durable — started 25 straight games to finish his college career

● Mediocre length — will have trouble combatting long-armed nose tackles 310 Back to table of contents -- 314 of 629 -- ● Able to slide through lateral engagement but loses positioning at times ● Average body fluidity when reacting to slanting quickness ● Rushes to blocking angles, giving defenders opportunities to adjust ● Doesn’t play with drive power to easily uproot his target ● 99.1 percent of college snaps came at center; lacks ideal on-field experience at guard

A two-year starter at Kansas State, Hecht lined up at center (right-handed snapper) in former offensive coordinator Matt Wells’ balanced scheme. A high school tackle and undersized walk-on, he worked his way up the depth chart at guard before moving to center, a position he hadn’t played until recently. Hecht started every game the last two seasons — he allowed zero sacks and committed zero penalties as a senior. Hecht has a firm grasp of his strengths as a player and how to use his talent to get the job done. More strong than powerful, he is quick to engage and sustains well with tight, stubborn hands. He offers range and movement ability to be effective on the move, though his feet get a tad heavy when redirecting to answer defensive pressure. Soft spoken off the field, Hecht is a consistent finisher and hasn’t lost his walk-on work ethic. Overall, Hecht is a wide-bodied blocker with outstanding instincts and play strength to cover up his man. He is “good enough” in most areas of the position to push for starting reps and offers depth at guard, despite having little experience there.