Duluth, Minn. - Minnesota Duluth Football Offensive Line Coach Garth Heikkinen has stepped down from his role with the team to pursue opportunities outside of football. 

"Being a player here, then getting the opportunity to spend the last four years as a full-time coach, UMD football has been a huge part of my life," said Heikkinen. "I'm extremely grateful for Coach Wiese and the other individuals on staff for giving me the opportunity to be a full-time coach. Whoever the next O-line coach is, they're going to walk into not only a great group of football players, but a great group of people. It's a place that was hard to leave, but at the end of the day, I had a great opportunity come up and I decided to go for it. It's a bittersweet place to leave but I think I left it better than I found it."

As a player for the Bulldogs from 2008-2012, Heikkinen started a program-best 54 consecutive games over his four seasons. As a senior, Heikkinen was awarded the the Gene Upshaw National Division II Lineman of the Year Award in 2012.  As a senior co-captain in 2012, Heikkinen was chosen to a then-Bulldog record six different All-American teams. He was chosen UMD's Outstanding Male Senior Athlete for 2012-13 and took part in the Minnesota Vikings' 2013 Rookie Training Camp. 

"Garth has meant a lot to our program and our department for a long time," said Head Coach Curt Wiese. "We appreciate everything he has done for us on the field, in the office, and in the community. The guys on our offensive line are all very appreciative of Garth leaving our offensive line in a better spot and continuing to improve them as people and as student-athletes." 

Heikkinen started as a graduate assistant coach form 2013-15, before he was hired as the Bulldogs' new offensive line coach in May 2019. During the 2019 season, UMD's offense posted an impressive 186.8 rush yards per game, while also noting an average of 34.18 points per game. In 2021, the offensive line helped the Bulldogs to an average of 176 rush yards and 32.58 points per game.