When Ja’ree Tolbert arrived at Coastal Carolina University as a freshman in 2014, he was prepared for four or five years of the college life.
He was ready to experience Division I football, academics and the social life that revolves around a college campus.
Less than two weeks later, his priorities changed.
Tolbert had barely stepped foot on the campus when he learned his girlfriend in Miami was pregnant.
“I had [football] camp and everything on one plate but I also had a baby on the way,” Tolbert said.
So Tolbert has learned to balance the responsibilities of being a student-athlete with the responsibilities of being a father to his now 2 1/2 -year-old daughter, Jaelyn, and husband to his now wife, Marta.