Team captain Averie Habas might be back on the field as soon as Saturday vs. Texas State. In a very big surprise, Habas was on the practice field on Wednesday, practicing with the linebackers, looking just like his normal self.
“It was awesome to have him back out today. We are monitoring him, with Todd and all of the medical people to see if he can come back and play. Things are going well with him,” Southern Miss head coach Will Hall.
Habas was practicing with Hayes Maples and Swayze Boseman in the linebacker room and, while not tackling anyone, looked very clean out there. There was no noticeable slowness or lack of effort. This is a guy who just wanted to play football, and now he will get his chance.
“The opportunity to come out here and play is special to me. The emotions are definitely high,” Habas said.
How we got here
On August 16, Hall announced that Southern Miss had lost Habas for the entire football season. Hall described the injury as a “non-football medical issue.” Hall also said that they hoped to secure a red shirt for Habas for him to play again next season, which would be his senior year.
This news came to light at the start of fall camp when Habas was not on the field for day one of practice. Habas never saw the field all throughout fall camp, and after Hall had announced his being out, Habas remained with the team as on-field trainer.
That evening, Habas disclosed his condition via X. Habas explained that he had started having issues with his heart earlier in the summer. He explained that he had a procedure on his heart and would be out for the entire 2023 season. Habas said that he would remain on the field as a trainer in a similar way to Boseman and Maples last season.
“As a captain I will continue to lead, inspire, and encourage my teammates, but just in a different role,” Habas said.
All the Golden Eagle faithful thanked and wished him blessings on his recovery. No one thought that today would be a possibility…except Habas.
“I would like to thank Todd our trainer. When this situation came about back in May, he dropped everything for me and my family and helped with everything. He got me into the cardiologist immediately, I’ll be forever indebted to him,” Habas said.
Habas detailed a certain prayer time at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus led to Habas’s return.
“Obviously, I have a deep relationship with Christ which that’s what’s grounded me in this situation. I have kind of honed in on the FCA here,” Habas said. “Just last week, I told them about the situation and what was going on in a little devotional that we had. They put their hands on me and prayed for me and I believe that the power of prayer changed this whole situation. I went into the doctor on Monday after that, and he said he had to go see in my old monitor if there was anything even going on because he didn’t see anything in the whole time I had it on. To me that was nothing to do with me, but the Lord, and I believe that with all my heart,”
Habas also added that he had his monitor on for 46 days…which is his number.
What’s next?
The main question is when Habas will be on the field for Southern Miss next. Habas seemed to believe that he might play on Saturday but assuredly play next week versus Old Dominion.
Hall praised him for being back and was excited about having his leadership back on the field.
“He’s an inspiration to all of us. He is our team leader. We have some good leadership, but he is the bell cow, so getting him back would be huge for the leadership of our program.” Hall said.
Habas vows not to let the fans down.
“I’m just going to promise one thing to these fans that I will give my full effort in everything for these next eight games to bring it back. I know the fans aren’t all that happy, but I just pray and hope that they will stick with us because we are getting some guys back,” Habas said.
Southern Miss (1-3) plays Texas State (3-1) at 6 PM on Saturday night.
