Britain Covey Publicly Shares Details On Traumatic ACL Injury

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – University of Utah standout wide-receiver, Britain Covey, is enjoying life as a newly married man. The current coronavirus pandemic can not stop Covey from smiling and laughing his way through being quarantined with his new partner in life.

On a recent conversation with Tom Hackett on the KSL Sports Instagram page, Covey spoke for the first time publicly on the recovery process from tearing his ACL during the 2018 Pac-12 Championship game. While also discussing what his future holds following the conclusion of his playing career.

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@tomcanthackett sits down with his good friend and former teammate @brit_covey2.

A post shared by KSL Sports (@kslsports) on May 18, 2020 at 4:33pm PDT

ACL Recovery

Covey spoke candidly on the subject, despite not having spoken publicly about the injury since it occurred during the Pac-12 Championship game in 2018. Unfortunately, despite multiple setbacks and optimism from Covey, he made the incredibly difficult decision to redshirt during the 2019 season as the pain and agony that his knee was causing him was far too great to overcome.

“This quarantine has been a hidden blessing for me because I guess I did not realize how bad my knee still was until recently. I remember last year trying to justify it by saying I was 80 percent and things like that,” Covey said. “I did not realize until now that I was probably like 50-60 percent. It was painful, there was so much swelling and the doctors told me that was a sign that there was still something wrong with it. All of this was happening right during fall camp.”

Covey is now entering his junior season, he has been told by NFL Scouts that he must prove his worth to them, once again. Prior to the injury, Covey was contemplating declaring for the NFL Draft following the conclusion of his junior year. Those planned drastically changed once the he ACL tear occurred.

“Redshirting was a horrible decision, I wrestled with it for weeks, but it was the best thing that I have ever done. It was best for the team as well. A 100 percent Samson (Nacua) is much better than a 50 percent Covey was my thinking.”

Just had surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus. I’ll be back before you know it! In the end, minor setbacks turn out to be major miracles! ✊🙏 pic.twitter.com/GNejDaDJjR

— Britain Covey (@brit_covey2) December 11, 2018

Fastest Covey Has Ever Been

“I do not have to warm my knee up anymore, I do not even think about it when I am working out. In fact, I timed my 40 and my shuttle and I am the fastest I have ever been. I ran a 4.41 on the stopwatch, so you have to add 0.1 seconds because it was not laser timed, so I would say I am about a 4.5 right now.”

Considering the magnitude of the injury and the setbacks that have occurred, Covey is back to where he once was. In fact, he claims to feel better than he did previously.

Coach Covey

During the long days of rehabbing, his mind pondered. He contemplated what his life would look like following his football career, however long that might end up being.

Immediately, he thought about the idea of coaching and staying within the same profession he is currently in.

Hackett questioned whether or not the time coaches spend at the facility or on the road recruiting was concerning to him.

“That is a conversation I have already had with my wife,” Covey said. “You hear about coaching and how brutal it is. I even talked to Coach (Morgan) Scalley about this, the difference between now and 15 years ago is you didn’t have these things (iPad etc.) that you could take home and watch film with. I think that there is a balance of finding the efficiency, you just have to be efficient with your time.”

Covey will be successful in whatever profession he decides to venture in. He is charismatic, entertaining, intelligent and clever. The young man is a pleasure to talk to, which will help him go far in life. If coaching is what he ultimately chooses to make his career out of, I am jealous of the prospects that he recruits and has a strong feeling that he will be one of the better recruiters in the country.

PAC-12 Player Spotlight:

Britain Covey (@Utah_Football WR)

5-8 170

– 2332 Career All Purpose Yards
– 1st Team All Pac-12 in 2018
– 2 Career Touchdown Passes
– Projected 1st Team All Pac-12 WR for 2020 by Jon Wilner

pic.twitter.com/fYwJrOu5L1

— WestCoastCFB.com (@WestCoastCFB) May 4, 2020

To watch the entire 30-minute conversation, visit our KSL Sports Instagram page.

Tom Hackett is a Utah and Real Salt Lake Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the It’s Utah’s World Podcast (Utah Football themed) and The Lion’s Den Podcast (Real Salt Lake themed). Follow him on Twitter: @TomCantHackett.