When jamming out to your favorite country artist it can be hard to imagine them anywhere else but up on that big stage. However, several successful country singers got their start somewhere other than the big stage. And I mean outside of the music category in general. Here are 3 country singers that started off as athletes that you might not know about.
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1. Sam Hunt - Football
Before he was selling out stadiums, Sam Hunt was on the field — the football field that is. Before he discovered that music was his calling he had a real passion for football. In fact, he even attempted having a professional sports career before beginning his singing journey. His football career started off strong when he was in high school. Saving Country Music shared that he "was a starting quarterback for Cedartown High School in Georgia." Additionally, "He was named the 2002 Co-Offensive Player of the Year in his region, and received consideration for the Wendy's High School Heisman."
However in his college years things started to go downhill. He received "an invite to Middle Tennessee State University" where he didn't play the first year and played poorly the second year. Then he transferred to UAB where he played seven games in 2006. Although he got more playing time the following year his results didn't improve. However, he was still determined to make a name for himself. He tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, he "didn't receive even a practice squad consideration from the pro team." It was then that he turned towards music.
2. Jason Aldean -Baseball
Next on the list of country singers that started off as athletes is Jason Aldean. Although he never stopped pursuing music, baseball was another passion of his that rivaled his love for music. The country star grew up playing Little League and it turns out he wasn't half bad. He played so well on his high school team that he earned a baseball scholarship.
So what made the star choose singing over sports? Simple, while he was a great player he was a terrible student. Or rather he hated school. So rather than continuing on to play college ball, he opted to go on the big stage instead. However that passion of his never died down. To this day the star still loves the game.
3. Colt Ford - Golf
I bet you didn't know that Jason Farris Brown was a professional golfer for eight years. Global Golf Post shares that "Ford was an AJGA All-American and played collegiately. Then he traveled the mini-tour circuit." He started with the sport when he was a child and then continued to play throughout college. Although he never made it on the PGA tour he did do other tours. Saving Country Music also shares that he "worked as an instructor and coach for a short time before eventually failing out and deciding to pursue" music. From there, the American country rap musician, songwriter, was born.
So there you have it, three country singers who started off as athletes. Did any of them surprise you?
