Heggie not allowing his injury history hinder him

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Brett Heggie has had a tough road since his arrival to Gainesville.

He has banged up his wrist, suffered a concussion, torn an ACL, and now has turf toe on his foot. It has been a grind for the redshirt sophomore.

“It’s day-by-day,” Heggie said. “It’s kind of frustrating cause of the timing because I came back from the ACL and then I did that to my toe. It’s frustrating, but I’m taking it day-by-day and trying to focus on my fundamentals again.”

He has not seen the field for ten months. You would think his conditioning is behind and he will be in for a rude awakening on Saturday, but that does not seem to be the case.

“During the injury, they put us in the pit, which is a workout with coach Tanner,” Heggie said. “He does a really good job and it’s a routine-type thing where you keep doing it over and over.

“It’s a cycle and you don’t really stop," Heggie added. " I’ve lost 6-7 pounds in the pit in one day. So I feel great out here running again. I just want to get 100 percent healthy and focus on my fundamentals.”

Last season, before his injury, Heggie was becoming one of the best lineman on the team, earning SEC offensive lineman of the week against Vanderbilt. His combination of strength and technique were a lethal combination.

Unfortunately, Heggie suffered a torn ACL four weeks later and his season was over.

The return from such a devastating injury was tough. The rehab process was grueling, but Heggie was not worried much about how he would respond physically. He was combatting the mental effects of believing he was fully healed and ready to go 100 percent.

“Tthat 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.”

Heggies return to healthy status provides a big boost to the Gators offensive line, and his fellow hogs are excited to have him back.

“The return of Brett Heggie is astounding,” right guard Fred Johnson said. “That’s my dawg.

“Having him back is just bringing an energy to the group and a toughness to the group that everyone likes to see. He’sreally justa dawg. He attacked his rehab and came back full on strong and he’s headed in the right direction.”

Heggie has only participated in three practices so far after suffering his toe injury and although he is physically ready to go, his mental game still has some catching up to do.

“He is getting back with the routine of things,” co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy said. “He has been out all of spring and nearly all of camp so things are still faster in just everything he does because he is behind. But I think he is doing a great job getting back in the routine in what we are doing.”

Heggie has been through a lot in his time at Florida. His injury history is not something easy to combat.

A lot of guys would doubt themselves and second-guess their ability to play the game, but Heggie is not built that way. He grinds and focuses solely on becoming the best he can be.

“I’m ready,” Heggie said. “Just gotta take it week by week, take care of myself, really stay on treatment. That’s about all I can do at this point. But we have a really good training staff and we do rehab and treatment every day.”