By Kayla Hall

A University of Georgia student who spent his summer training NFL athletes said that there is a higher sense of professionalism at that level.

Luke Lammert, 21, spent the latter half of his summer in Tennessee training the Tennessee Titans during an intensive five-week program. As an athletic trainer, Lammert assisted in the treatment of severe injuries and rehabilitation of many players.

Lammert does not prefer training college football players or professional athletes, but noticed differences between the two levels.

On the professional level, Lammert said, the job “can be devastating sometimes and trainers are expected to consider the business side of the sport more seriously than they would when training collegiate athletes.”

“If a guy gets injured in college, they may sit out for a while and not really lose anything,” Lammert said, “but if a guy gets injured and you decide to keep them out for a while, they could lose their job or ruin their career.”

Lammert also said he enjoyed the “higher sense of professionalism found on the professional level.”

The current university senior admittedly had no clear path when he enrolled as a freshman. After changing his major six times one week during his freshman year, Lammert turned to his father, a former athletic trainer, for guidance.

After Lammert talked to his mentor and researched the College of Education at UGA, he applied to the athletic training program. Hundreds of students apply, and Lammert was one of 30 students accepted into the program.

Lammert gained his first professional experience with athletic training when he assisted the UGA football team in the fall of 2016. As his first experience with athletic training, he said he found that the bosses were very helpful, but didn’t know anything, and felt like he was being thrown into the deep end.

His hard work caught the attention of Ron Courson, head of Sports Medicine at UGA. Halfway through the season, Courson approached Lammert and a few colleagues about applying for an NFL internship.

Lammert said that he and a few peers “gave Courson our resumes, he looked them over and then suggested a few teams to send them to.” Courson believed Lammert would be a good fit for the Tennessee Titans, and within the span of a few months, Lammert interviewed with members of the team’s staff.

The following day, Lammert was offered an athletic training job for the summer.

Now back in Athens to complete his final year at UGA, Lammert prepares for his future after he steps through the arch. As he prepares for the future, Lammert loves athletic training and wants to remain in that industry, but eventually plans to become a physician assistant.