It’s not uncommon for athletes to put on a few pounds of “unwanted” weight during offseason periods. But this takes it to the next level.
LSU fifth-year senior wide receiver Travin Dural suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in a late-November matchup against Ole Miss in 2015, giving him plenty of downtime for inactivity before becoming healthy enough to participate in team drills once again this past spring. It was enough time to add a few pounds, you could say.
Twenty-seven of them. And he knows exactly what happened and why it happened. It was because of a bad (or good, depending on who you ask) fried chicken habit.
“Yeah, Popeyes was putting a lot of weight on me,” he told The Advertiser. “I went home one day, and my mom was like, ‘Man, you look stuffed.’ So, that’s when I knew it was time for change. I was almost 230 pounds in the spring, and I played at 203 last year.”
I don’t know about you, but my chest hurts just reading that quote.
From 2013-15, Dural collected 72 receptions for 1,436 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s expected to return to his important role as the “Z” receiver on the opposite side of Malachi Dupre for the 2016 season.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
