UNH walk-on running back Jim Earley has worked hard to get where he is in the Wildcats football program. Recently, the 20-year-old junior sat down to discuss his day-to-day life as a student of the game.
On the amount of weight he needed to add in order to prepare for college-level contact: “A whole lot. I think I graduated high school [at] about, I want to say 150 [pounds] and since then I think I’ve put on 30 pounds…It all comes down to understanding nutrition and how you need to take care of your body.”
On the necessary diet to maintain the weight: “What’s the day in the life of me in the dining hall? It’s like six meals a day, and just like two full plates, four cups of water. I eat before bed too.”
On how often he travels with the team to away games: “Traveling is based primarily upon, for me, how I do within the week. So if I don’t have a great week of practice, there’s a good chance I’m not going to be able to travel. If I do extraordinary and show the coaches that I’m ready to go, then they’ll give me a chance to travel. It’s really based week-by-week.”
On what he does when the team is on the road and the game isn’t televised: “Radio, definitely, and UNH does a great job of broadcasting the game while it’s going on.”
On the balance between class and practice: “I got classes in the morning usually starting at 8 [a.m.]. And then classes usually go from 8 to about 12:30 [p.m], sometimes a little later until 2, but then practice starts. We have practice from 2 to 6. The first half of practice is film and meetings. Then, usually starting around 3:30 or so, we hit the practice field until 6. And then, [I] come back to my room and just do homework for the rest of the night.”
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