Nevada offensive lineman Nate Brown is doing his best to eat right, like many football players and other college athletes scattered around the country without access to training facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising senior has stumbled a few times in college sports version of Weight Watchers, with no in-person classes or spring practices.
Maybe I would get Taco Bell because I do like Taco Bell, Brown said. Or maybe Ill have ice cream later at night. The meals that are maybe not super-nutritious, Ive been trying to keep that to one a day.
Athletes have been displaced from facilities with well-stocked training tables and easy access to healthy snacks and protein shakes. Some are home with family members, while others are largely on their own in off-campus residences.
To help them, schools have provided care packages, grocery tips, recipes and even cooking demonstrations on social media. And nutritionists or dietitians at schools there are 96 with at least one on staff, according to the College and Professional Sports Dietitians Association, with roughly two-thirds in the Power Five conferences have consulted with athletes from afar.
The challenge is keeping athletes already engaged in makeshift workout regimens on track when it comes to adding strength or avoiding unwanted pounds, even as it remains unclear when they can return to campuses or whether theyll play this fall as the country tries to reopen.
For some of them, its really good that theyre home, because they do have someone thats still making home-cooked meals for them, said Rachel Lukowski, Iowa States director of sports nutrition for football. And some dont have that, so its a matter of, OK, heres how we can help you out here or What can we do?'
Nebraska has offered curbside-pickup meals for athletes near campus and Memphis sent 225 care packages containing items such as snacks and protective masks to its athletes in mid-April.
Lukowski said Iowa States care packages included protein powder along with bottles allowing athletes to mix their own shakes without a blender, as well as grocery lists with tips for shopping for healthy foods on a budget and what to stash in the pantry. The school also posted cooking tips and recipes such as chicken dishes, egg muffins and pancakes, among others.
Oregon State sports dietitian Toni Langhans has tried similar steps with the schools Quarantine Kitchen Series on Instagram. She wants athletes to feel comfortable in the kitchen by making dishes such as overnight oatmeal, stuffed peppers, black bean burgers or homemade hummus instead of ordering daily takeout meals.
Its such a big important skill to work on that really affects the athletes overall relationship with food, and what theyre going to eat when they come back also, Langhans said. So thats what were trying to push for in doing these demos and trying to give people recipes something thats easy to look at and say, OK yeah, I think I can do that. Sometimes quality food can take three minutes.
Things have gone smoothly so far for Duke defensive end Chris Rumph II. Hes trying to strengthen his 6-3 frame while living with his parents in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has picked up 6 pounds (233) thanks largely to his mothers cooking.
We havent even left the house, so all Im getting is home-cooked meals, protein and all that kind of stuff, said Rumph, son of an assistant coach with the NFLs Houston Texans. So theres no fast food. I havent had fast food in I think two months.
Washington State offensive lineman Liam Ryan is staying in a house near the Pullman campus with roommates. Theyve been grilling so much steak, chicken, pork chops and salmon that they recently ran out of propane and had to get more.
The 6-5, 300-pound Ryan has focused on eating vegetables, brown rice and snacks like beef jerky or nuts. Hes also been checking the scales to ensure hes staying near his playing weight.
I think you just have to stay persistent on what you do because if youre kind of just slacking and you miss a meal or you dont work out I mean, thats what they do at the next level, Ryan said. At the NFL, the offseasons kind of by yourself. So you get a little taste of it right now.
Still, its hard to fight every craving for athletes removed from the hour-filling campus routines of weight training, practices and study hall. Ryan had a strong one for Chips Ahoy cookies, so he picked up multiple packages, then threw several cookies in a bowl with milk as though eating cereal.
O-lineman stuff, right there, he quipped.
Back at Nevada, Brown understands that challenge. He views it all as a test of practicing self-control when choosing what to bring home from the grocery store or picking up takeout from restaurants.
And yes, he has succumbed to the junk-food temptation. But when he has, he makes sure the next meal is a better one.
At some point everybodys going to come back, Brown said. I think the athletes that were able to eat well and really take care of their nutrition are going to be some of the athletes in better shape and be able to perform better. Thats really what it comes down to.
AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
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