Healthy Heggie working back into Florida Gators rotation

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Brett Heggie hasn’t had the greatest luck in the health department since he arrived at Florida.

He came in as a freshman still nursing a broken wrist suffered in his high school season. That hindered his development and ultimately led to a redshirt.

He worked his way into a starting role in 2017, but was forced to miss some time due to a concussion suffered against LSU. Then, as cruel fate would have it, he went down with a season-ending ACL tear in the Missouri game.

He could not participate in the spring, but committed himself to his rehab through the summer to make sure he’d be ready for the start of fall.

“That ACL was kind of a mental deal with me,” Heggie said. “I had a lot of support from my friends and family and teammates and coaching staff, everybody, and really worked hard in rehab and was able to get back in six months, six-and-a-half months, so then I got into my summer training and really got back into the season.”

Of course, things can never be that easy for Heggie. Just as he started to get back into the groove of things in fall camp, a case of turf toe sidelined him.

He finally returned to practice on Thursday after missing a majority of camp.

While he wasn’t able to practice for several weeks, he still thinks he is in game shape, thanks to quality time spent in the pit. He said he would lose up to six or seven pounds in a single day in the pit because it is a constant, strenuous workout.

For the Gators’ sake, they should hope that is the case, because a healthy Heggie could be a game changer on the offensive line. He is listed as a second-string guard on the depth chart going into this week’s game, but he will compete for time at both guard and center.

Barring any more unfortunate injuries or setbacks, he should easily work into a starting spot somewhere on the line. And he said he doesn’t have a preference of which of those positions he eventually lands in, because he is completely comfortable playing both.

“I think I’d be ready,” he said. “I really just gotta focus on my fundamentals and start creating good habits again with my play. And you stay out of the game for 10 months, or whatever it was for me, you know, things get a little rusty, but I’m trying to get better every day.”

Heggie’s teammates are excited to see him back out competing on the field as well.

“Having him back is just bringing an energy to the group and a toughness to the group that everyone likes to see,” said offensive lineman Fred Johnson. “He’s really just a dog. He attacked his rehab and came back full-on strong.”

He has fought through more adversity with his health in two years than some players deal with in an entire career. With an outstanding training team behind him to help him stay healthy, Heggie may finally become the player he and many others have been waiting for him to be for a very long time.