Drew Heitland

Drew Heitland is in his seventh year with the University of Iowa football program. He serves as assistant strength and conditioning coach after previously serving as manager of nutrition and performance analytics.

Heitland prepares daily analytic reports for student-athlete recovery, manages GPS technology and Fatigue Science performance tracking data, coach’s athletes on proper exercise technique, and assists with other areas of the strength and conditioning program.

Iowa has competed in bowl games each year Heitland has been on staff: Music City Bowl (three times), Citrus Bowl (twice) and the ReliaQuest.

The Hawkeyes have earned a total of 37 conference victories between 2020-25, matching its highest six-year conference win total in program history (2019-24). Furthermore, Iowa has had at least one consensus All-American five of the last six seasons, including multiple honorees the last three years, and six national individual positional award recipients (Rimington, twice; Jet, twice; Ray Guy and Butkus). Iowa’s offensive line also garnered recognition as the best in the country with the Joe Moore Award in 2025.

Iowa won 27 combined contests the last three seasons, including capturing the Big Ten West Division in 2023 and winning the 2025 ReliaQuest Bowl with a 34-27 triumph over No. 14 Vanderbilt. Iowa has been ranked in the final AP Top 25 six of the last eight seasons, including ranking No. 17 in 2025.

Iowa won eight contests in 2022, concluding the season with a 21-0 win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl and wins in five of its final six games.

The Hawkeyes won 10 games in 2021, winning the Big Ten West Division title and advancing to the conference championship game. Iowa concluded the season with an appearance in the Citrus Bowl and was ranked 23rd in the final national poll.

Following back-to-back narrow losses to open the 2020 season, Iowa won its final six games, all in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes were ranked 15th in the final CFP rankings and Coaches Poll and 16th by the AP.

Heitland returned to the Hawkeye program from the University of Missouri, where he was an assistant athletic performance coach in 2019. Heitland served as an intern with the Iowa strength and condition program from May-August 2018. Along with his previous internship with Iowa football, Heitland was a strength and conditioning intern at Coe College during the 2017-18 academic year.

Heitland holds CSCS certification, K-12 teaching authorization, and Coaching Authorization from the state of Iowa. He holds his Health Endorsement and is American Red Cross certified for CPR/AED/First Aid.

Heitland earned his bachelor’s degree from Coe College in 2018, majoring in physical education with a strength and conditioning emphasis. He earned his master’s degree in exercise science from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2020.

Heitland is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.