Georgia Tech's starting long snapper splits his time between football and pursuing his Ph.D.
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech is one of the nation's top academic universities. The school says 15% of its graduates earn a doctoral degree. Just a few of them include Georgia Tech football players.
henry freer Georgia Tech's starting long snapper. He has a Ph.D. He is a student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Usually, the most curious questions come from your teammates.
“A lot of times they don't fully understand what's going on or they ask, 'What is that?'” Freer joked. “Many people ask me how I have time for that.”
Freer is believed to be the only football player in Georgia Tech history to pursue a doctoral degree while playing football. When other students and teachers meet Henry and hear about his accomplishments, their reactions are surprise with some shock.
“'Can you help me with my homework or what are you doing all day?' Things like that,” says Freer, who tries to figure out how to balance her Ph.D. He joked about the request from his teammates. I play soccer with students.
“Sometimes on game day, on the way to the game, my lab mates and people in my class will text me about their projects and labs, and I turn off my phone and just turn off my phone. You have to say, ‘I’m going to talk.’ Tomorrow it’s you,” he added.
Freer played high school football at Woodward Academy, but focused solely on academics until his senior year in college.
“In May of my senior year, my coaches at the time called me and said, 'I know what you did in high school, but would you be interested in doing it at Georgia Tech?'” said Freer.
“That wasn't my intention,” he added. “I was going to be a student and do engineering. I thought, 'You should never turn down an opportunity that could be a great opportunity to do something really great,' and now I'm here.”
Freer admitted he is juggling a lot on and off the football field.
“Well, it's definitely a lot,” he said. “I’m really grateful to all the people, coaches, academics for making things easier for me and helping me achieve everything I wanted to do. It helped me manage and just stay efficient.'' Prioritize. ”
In the midst of his college career, Freer said he hopes his teammates can learn from him as well. Work on the job if you really want to do it. ”
The Tech team just completed its spring schedule and is looking forward to coach Brent Key's second fall at the helm of the Yellow Jackets.
