Heater played collegiate football for the Montana Tech Orediggers, where he set three NAIA records and 14 school records, and was named to the NAIA All-America team twice, as a junior and as a senior.
[5] The New York Times wrote a story about Heater on October 31, 1971, during his senior year, stating that some scouts rated him higher than Cornell running back Ed Marinaro, who later played for the Minnesota Vikings.
[7][2][3][9][10] He played in the Cardinals first two games of the 1972 season on September 17 and 24, against the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins, respectively.
[2] In late 1972 he received an invitation to tryout with the Dallas Cowboys in February 1973 but he was cut before training camp.
[2][12] Heater may have been partially responsible for defensive end Lyle Alzado being drafted by the NFL.