George Hegamin could have given Colorado’s players a standard preseason speech. Instead, he took them back to the moment his mother’s cancer changed his life. The Buffaloes’ offensive line coach explained how her pain fueled his journey to the NFL and coaching, nearly tearing up while delivering the lesson.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“My biggest accomplishment is when I went home for college and my mother told me she had cancer. And when she told me she had cancer, it changed everything in me. Because all I wanted her to do is survive,” said Hegamin in a speech to Colorado players, as reported by Well Off Media on August 29. All the coaching staff shared their personal journeys and professional experiences.
The offensive line coach emphasized that it was not the cancer that was deteriorating his mother’s health; rather, it was the “ fact that she was working two shifts at a psychiatric hospital and then moonlighting at McDonald’s when she had, when she had time to.”
One fine day, when Hegamin returned home from college, his mother told him that she needed to rest; otherwise, her health would worsen further. Hearing these words, Hegamin made up his mind to make sure he made it past the CFB world and into the NFL Draft.
“So I got two years left in college. I’m an ACC All-American. If I stay at least another year, I know I’m a first round draft pick. But the only thing that mattered to me wasn’t me in my sailboat mentality. It was me understanding that I had to do what I needed to do to make sure that old girl lived,” said Hegamin.
George Hegamin had a successful football career during his time at North Carolina State University. As a redshirt freshman in 1992, he won the starting right tackle job and earned Freshman All-American and second-team All-ACC honors.
By then, he had already established himself as a prominent name at the college, and in 1993, he split time at right tackle on an offensive line that gave up only 14 sacks, the third-lowest total in school history.
Had he waited another year, he might have become a first-round pick. However, following his mother’s cancer diagnosis, Hegamin left college early to enter the NFL Draft and help support her. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 1994 draft and, interestingly, at 6’7″, he was the tallest player selected that year.
He then spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles before his career finally came to an end with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who released him in September 2001.
George Hegamin’s speech was meant to encourage the young players at the University of Colorado to prepare themselves for what the future holds.
“You only got less than 100 days left in college football as a senior, as somebody that’s transferring out. So, your vision got to be way bigger than what it is right now if you think you’re going to be a part of this brotherhood,” said Hegamin.
Colorado’s 2025 season proved to be a disappointing one, as the Buffaloes finished with a 3–9 overall record and went just 1–8 in Big 12 conference play. This year, as they prepare to open their season against Georgia Tech on September 3 at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, the team will be looking for a much better performance.
Meanwhile, the coaches and staff are doing their best to motivate the players and prepare them for the challenge ahead.