UF's Brett Heggie and Ventrell Miller awarded weekly SEC awards
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Not one but two Florida Gators have earned SEC weekly honors after Dan Mullen's program kicked off the season with a 51-35 victory against Ole Miss this past Saturday.
On Monday, linebacker Ventrell Miller was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, while Brett Heggie was awarded the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week award.
Heggie, a redshirt senior from Mount Dora, played a pivotal role in a Gators offensive attack that racked up a school record 642 yards of total offense, including 196 yards on the ground. He suited up at center and graded out as the top offensive lineman in John Hevesy's group.
This isn't the first time Heggie has been named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. He earned the honor following a 2017 matchup against Vanderbilt and 2019 victory against Tennessee as well.
"I thought he played well," Mullen said Monday of Heggie. "I give Brett a lot of credit. He was well deserving and had a great game, having to go in and jump in at center. He was a guy who was going to play either center or guard and had to do both — he was forced to play center — and did a great job of it. Obviously, very deserving of that.
"There weren’t a lot of mistakes up front. As the game went on, I think we made some good adjustments to what they were doing to run the ball even more efficiently than we did early in the game, and a lot of that goes on the center. But overall, I thought the offensive line played well, and he is the center of that line and the focal and the apex of that line. I’m glad he was able to get the recognition for that.”
As for Miller, a redshirt junior hailing from Polk County, he led the Gators' defense with 15 tackles, including 13 solo stops, two tackles for loss and a sack.
Miller's 15 tackles led the SEC in week one, but he also was one of only two SEC players to post double-digit solo tackles.
"I think he had a great deal of tackles," Mullen said of Miller. "He plays so hard. He’s a great leader for the defense. I think last year was really his first time starting. This year I think he understand that he’s expected to be the leader of the defense. He does that every single day. I think it’s a great learning experience for all of our players out there.
"You watch how he prepares, how hard he practices, how he prepares to be in the right position, his attention to detail and everything he does at practice. And then you see that translate over to the games. He's not just a vocal leader that's going to talk up and get guys going, but he’s also going to back it up with his actions. You know what? You watch how he performs every day on the field, it translates to seeing a guy be able to go out and have a huge game like he did on Saturday.”
Up next for the third-ranked Gators (1-0) is a home matchup against South Carolina (0-1) on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for noon on ESPN.
Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.