MACON — Nate Hughes makes his money on Sundays with legs that run routes, hands that fight off defensive backs and catch passes and a body that absorbs punishment from men much bigger than him.
Rugged. Fleet of foot. Brazen.
This is one side of Hughes, a Macon native and former multi-sport standout at Starkville High School now playing for the NFL”s Jacksonville Jaguars.
There is another side to Hughes, an aspect he has embraced during the NFL lockout. Caring. Nurturing. Friendly.
Earlier this month, the receiver who spent the past three years attempting to advance his professional football career, temporarily traded in his shoulder pads, helmet and cleats for purple scrubs, sneakers and a medicine tray.
Patients took the place of players, while the routes he ran were from room to room at Noxubee General Hospital.
“I”m just waiting,” said Hughes earlier this month. He is likely the only registered nurse on an NFL roster. “Whenever they say go play, whenever I get the word it”s time to play, I”m going to play.”
Until then, he”s going to work. His success in life will not be judged by receptions and touchdown celebrations.
Beverly Clark, the director of nursing at Noxubee General Hospital, said Hughes shunned any extra treatment. He just wanted to be treated as a regular nurse.
“You could tell that he instantly cared for people,” Clark said. “He did a wonderful job while he was here.
He”s definitely not a dumb jock.”
Also in July, Hughes earned his master”s degree in nursing from Alcorn State.
“He”s always had it together,” said Gene Lansky, Hughes” agent. “He comes from an educated family, a very good family. It doesn”t surprise me he”s taking his (lockout) time to do something that will make sure his future is solidified.”
”Unique young man”
Whenever the NFL”s lockout ends and allows Hughes to return to professional football, his financial future remains secure, in part because he has maintained a simple lifestyle. His spending was modest throughout his years as an all-conference performer at Alcorn State University and remains so as a pro player. He joked last month that the most money he has spent as a professional covered expenses for his second annual football camp at Noxubee County High School.
Nate”s parents, Nathaniel and Gwen, taught him years ago, you don”t have to show off your success with flashy cars and shiny jewelry. It”s OK to enjoy life and to celebrate success, but find the right balance, they said.
For years, he has balanced the contrasting worlds of athletics and academics.
At Alcorn State, he earned the nickname “medicine man.” He spent his last two seasons commuting nearly two hours from the main campus in Lorman to the nursing school in Natchez.
“I think there was one day, I think he messed up on a play,” said former teammate Brandon Brown, who is an assistant football coach and head weightlifting coach at Columbus High. “Coach (Johnny Thomas) said, ”You messed up on that play, but I guarantee you won”t mess up on that medicine.”
“He”s always been a very unique young man. It”s very rare you see someone who has their head on as straight as Nate.”
That makes Hughes, 26, an exception.
A 2009 Sports Illustrated report stated, by the time NFL players have been retired for two years, more than three-fourths of them have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
When the paychecks stopped in March, many NFL players faced desperate situations, trying to find a temporary source of revenue. Players, unlike owners, have less than two decades to earn a lifetime of professional football paychecks before their bodies break down. If budgeted correctly, these paychecks, often in the millions for veterans, can last a lifetime.
Tracking success
The work stoppage has also allowed Hughes to indulge in track, one of his other passions.
He had spent previous NFL offseasons competing in the sport he excelled in at Starkville High and Alcorn State as a way to stay in shape.
This extended period of time — the lockout started in March — allowed him to train harder.
“Before the lockout, I would run 60s, 100s and 200s,” said Hughes, who this summer, split time between Macon and Jacksonville, where he trained with Jacksonville teammates.
“Every now and then, I”d dabble with the 400 (meters) for endurance work and some speed work. But because this summer, we have the lockout and I don”t know how long it”s going to last, I felt like I could run these hurdles.”
In April, Hughes ran a season-best 51.26 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles at the Florida Relays. He also completed in several other meets.
“He”s trying to get that (time) down,” Lansky said, joking. “If he keeps getting it down, he may have to start running again.”
Gwen, a former distance runner, always thought Nate would pick track over football.
“He was running when I was carrying him,” she joked.
Home in Jacksonville
Last August, Hughes, a former undrafted rookie, tore the labrum in his right shoulder in training camp, forcing him to spend the regular season on injured reserve.
The work stoppage has given his body additional time to recover without the threat of losing his roster spot during mini camps. The time away from his team also has given him an advantage over rookies and inexperienced players, his biggest competition for a roster spot.
“Anybody that was on a practice squad or injured reserve with a team last year has a head start over any of these rookies that missed out on really valuable time (rookie mini camps), getting familiar with the systems and things of that nature,” Lansky said. “Guys like Nate who might be fighting for a job are already going to be ahead of anybody coming in.”
Hughes is ahead of his peers in another way, too. He has learned the lessons his mother and father taught him and has put himself in position to earn a living in a situation that has left many NFL players without work. His work as a registered nurse may only be temporary, but it reflects several credos — preparedness and versatility to name just two — that make Hughes special.
“Nothing is guaranteed and now, they have to look into doing other things while they”re not playing,” Nathaniel Hughes said. “It gives them a chance to realize it”s going to end. You”re not going to play forever.”
When Nate”s career ends — whether it is next year or in the next decade — Hughes plans to work as a nursing anesthetist, like his father, who also was a wide receiver at Alcorn State (1975-”79). In the meantime, he is following the daily negotiations between NFL players and owners, their attempt to return to the field in time for the 2011 season.
“We kind of left it open, depending on what happens with football,” Clark said. “He knows he”s welcome back anytime.”
That”s why his mother is just as proud to introduce her son as a registered nurse as she is as a professional football player.
“I”ve always told him, regardless of what he did, he had to have something to fall back on,” she said. “There”s so many football players that when they leave the NFL, they don”t have anything to fall back on. I told him he needed to have something.”
Football or not, Hughes will always have a job.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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