Bedard: If Dont'a Hightower plays as good as he looks this season ... look out

FOXBOROUGH — We're not talking about anything dramatic here. We're not even talking about a difference in weight.

"Believe it or not, I'm the same weight," he told BostonSportsJournal.com with a sly smile.

But if you've been out to Patriots practice this summer, the difference may be subtle but it's unmistakable: Dont'a Hightower looks good. Like really good.

And if that's any indication of how Hightower might play this season, then the Patriots will be thrilled. From how he's performed in training camp, Hightower appears to be on the verge of being the Dont'a of old — you know, the type of guy who can and does take over the biggest games and make the most impactful play at the crucial time (Super Bowl wins over the Seahawks and Falcons, among others).

"He’s made a lot of big plays for us, and he has done a lot of different things,” Bill Belichick said in 2017. “He’s got good leadership on and off the field. He’s a very smart player, has been in a lot of big games, a lot of big situations. ... He’s a key player for us.”

Even last season, Hightower saved his best for the biggest moment: two sacks, four total pressures, a pass defense and one tone-setting slam of Rams tight end Tyler Higbee.

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Hightower could make a significant living just being "Big Game High" — and he has, considering he's signed through 2020 and will count $11 million against the cap each of the next two seasons.

But Hightower knows he can be better for the team on an every-down, every-game basis, and that's what this slight but significant body transformation has been about.

"Just trying to stay healthy, just trying to stay on the field," Hightower said. "Whatever I can do to combat that."

It's certainly understandable. Hightower hasn't eclipsed 1,000 snaps played since the 2014 season. Even though he came close last season (946), Hightower did not get off to a great start. The low point came in the Week 2 loss to the Jaguars where he physically couldn't make a few crucial tackles. He admitted to BSJ following that game that he was struggling, especially with his right knee.

"I know I’m better than that," he said. "And I’ve just got to go out and continue to play better.

"It’s just something I’m going to have to deal with,” Hightower said of his right knee. “That’s really it. It will come and go, but I’m trying to deal with it and keep doing what I’ve been doing. It will go up and it will go down. Hopefully, we’ll continue to stay on top of it."



Hightower has had issues with his knee on and off since tearing the ACL and MCL in 2009 at Alabama. Hightower, who was placed on injured reserve in '17 with a pectoral tear, missed two games each in '14, '15, '16 and '17 due to his right knee, and he missed Week 8 last season for the same reason as well.

Even when he was on the field, it was apparent Hightower was having trouble moving in space. According to ProFootballFocus.com, Hightower went from allowing 70 percent completions in coverage his first four seasons (2012-15) to 83 percent the last three ('16-18).

So the writing should have been on the wall that Hightower was going to have to change something if he wanted to stay on the field more. Cue the (slight) body transformation.

"Maybe a little bit. At first, definitely, that was part of the key," Hightower said. "But each year I’m learning more and gaining more knowledge on what I want to do, things I should be doing, things I should have been doing to take care better care of myself."

Hightower declined to say if he was on the TB12 program that has worked so well for others on the team. He said his new approach is varied and involves a lot of different elements, not just his nutrition.

"I do a little bit of everything. I don’t have one rule or one philosophy," Hightower said. "I know what my body needs and what it doesn’t need, how it reacts or doesn’t react. Just more maintenance and taking care of my body. More float tank and small stuff like that, how I eat and take care of my body. Flexibility ... Just doing what I can to stay on the field."

It's a subtle difference, but it's noticeable, especially when you remember how Hightower showed up overweight as a rookie and irked his coaches, according to league sources (Alabama players were infamous for cutting weight for the combine but then put it back on and then some after).

Hightower used to cut the picture of a smaller defensive end, with more mass and more power. Now he's more defined. The waist is a little smaller, his upper body is more tapered. He looks more agile — you never see the limp he had most of last season — but just as powerful.

Hightower said he actually hasn't lost any weight — it's just in better places. And you easily believe him. The telling question is whether he can still be that dominating player in a slightly different body.

"I’m not going to put labels on that," he said. "But I feel good and I’m going to stick with the path I’m on."

Hopefully, that leads to a more effective Hightower in every game — not just the big ones.

A healthy High means more High, and that's good for everybody.