(Des Moines) A high school football coach with ties to several Southwest Iowa communities is moving up to the college game. PJ Hedrington will join the staff at Drake University as a volunteer defensive line coach.
Hedrington agreed to a position with the Division I program this week. He’ll be able to continue his current full-time teaching position while also serving on the Drake staff. “I’m so blessed and privileged for the opportunity to coach at Drake. I’m extremely excited and it’s a fortunate situation.”
Hedrington was DM Roosevelt’s interim Head Coach last season after Eric Link left the program for a college coaching opportunity just days before the start of the season. When Drake had a coaching change Hedrington reached out to Bulldog Head Coach Todd Stepsis. “The door opened up at Drake. Coach Stepsis took the job and I just sent an e-mail out. It was kind of like throwing a baseball out into a wide open field. I didn’t know if he’d respond.”
Coach Stepsis responded to the e-mail and they discussed a role on the staff. The former head coach at Shenandoah is thankful for all of the learning opportunities he had in southwest Iowa. His career includes stops as an assistant at Atlantic, Adair-Casey, and Kuemper Catholic. “There’s so many individuals that impacted my coaching philosophy and my career. I could never thank them enough.”
https://soundcloud.com/meredithcomm/coach-pj-hedringtonmp3
