Florida freshman tight end Heze Kent has spent his offseason carrying more than just expectations.
The 6-foot-6 Brunswick, Ga., native showed up on Florida’s official 2026 roster at 288 pounds, but he was listed at 313 pounds before spring training camp in March. Since then, he has trimmed 25 pounds, and the process behind that change was no casual summer workout.
Kent’s routine after recovering from an ankle injury from spring practices included a 20-pound weighted vest, two walks of roughly 45 minutes apiece and one set of stadium runs each day. It was a demanding grind, and Florida director of football performance Rusty Whitt said the work became a daily commitment.
"It was a tough day daily for Heze Kent. He had to do the team run, team lift, strap on a 20-pound weighted vest, and walk between 30 and 40, 45 minutes a day, and then in July he was doing that twice a day. He put in a lot of work," Whitt explained.
Whitt also laid out where Florida wants Kent to settle physically.
"And it wasn't me. It wasn't Jake.
At some point, that young man said, 'Hey, I really want to play tight end here.' And 33 pounds, right?
30 total. So he went from 315ish to 280-something, in the high 280s.
So his ideal weight in our mind right now is around 275. So we're going to get him that.
And just imagine taking a 40-pound weighted vest off, how much faster you're going to be? So he ran two weeks ago 19 miles an hour at 288.
So now he's a tight end."
Swamp247’s Graham Hall took on that same workout over the weekend, wearing a 20-pound vest while walking more than 2.5 miles across the UF campus as part of an exclusive interview with Kent. Swamp247 documented the effort before speaking with the freshman on Saturday.
Kent’s body transformation has put him in position to factor for Florida in 2026, even if the tight end room includes several players with more game experience. That hasn’t changed his mindset.
"To play as a freshman," Kent said of his goals. "When I play, I want to win.
I want to go Freshman All-American. I want the team to go to the College Football Playoff, win the conference, win a natty (national championship.
We've got a great team. We're explosive, defense is good, everybody's all in with the new staff.
We're definitely going to surprise some people."
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