For many of the player registering for the Florida Gators annual Friday Night Lights camp this is their first time in Gainesville; their first opportunity to see Ben Hill Griffin Stadium or the campus at The University of Florida. It’s a lot to take in but this wasn’t the first time for Mount Dora offensive lineman Brett Heggie (6-4, 304, Mount Dora, Fla, Mount Dora) and he was able to get a better appreciation for everything his second time around.
The uniqueness of campus is how everything is close together. Florida is definitely a walking campus and Heggie was able to see just how close classrooms and dorm rooms were to the football facilities — a plus in his book.
“This was my second tour; I love campus,” he said. “Everything kind of surrounds the stadium and everything is nice, it’s close, all within walking distance.”
The Florida coaching staff laid down the red carpet for Heggie, as the offensive lineman tries to narrow down his list of schools. One of the most important parts of the visit so far didn’t even have anything to do with football.
“We just drove by [the different colleges]. They told us where all the different academic buildings are and they showed me where the business school is,” he said. “That’s what I think I want to do. It was good to see where everything is.”
Heggie was on campus and participated in Friday Night Lights last year, so he has decided to just watch on Friday night. He won’t be simply a spectator, however, Heggie has a plan of what he wants to see in order to make this trip successful in his mind.
“I just want to see how Coach [Mike] Summers is with some of the guys,” said Heggie of his goal on Friday night. “Just coaching strategy. I got to see him, watch some of the stuff that he draws up, that part of it, but there are strategies on the field too. See him in action.”
Summers has been sure to let Heggie know that the Gators need offensive linemen. Florida is recruiting Heggie to play center, a position that has very little depth this season. The Gators did just sign Tyler Jordan and while Heggie has yet to speak with Jordan he did say he plans to bend Jordan’s ear about what the coaching staff is like and what life on campus is like.
As his recruiting process winds down, Heggie has been to UCF, Florida, South Carolina, West Virginia and planned on seeing Mississippi State before that trip fell through. He knows that he wants to make a decision before his senior season, but Gator fans may not have to wait that long to find out Heggie’s future plans.
“We’ll see what happens. In my mind I had it set on the end of the summer, you know, deciding. You never know, we’ll see.”
And how does Florida stack up with the other potential suitors?
“UF is a special place. I’m very comfortable here,” he said. “It’s a very respected education and football wise in the SEC. It’s a special place.”