Call him Dr. Hughes: Former Alcorn and NFL player a resident at UMMC

Former Alcorn State University standout football player Nate Hughes is in the first year of his medical residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Hughes playing career ended about eight years ago, and he has shifted his focus to medicine instead of the football field. He is training to be an anesthesiologist at the Jackson hospital, which is a big risk these days because of the growing threat of the COVID-19 virus.

Hughes is aware of the risks medical professionals take by being in the front lines during the pandemic.

“It’s definitely tough,” he told USA Today. “It’s one of those things where you do everything you can to prevent yourself from getting it, and you do everything you can to keep from spreading it, but it appears so late that you don’t really know if you’ve been infected or if you’ve infected someone else.”

Hughes was a four-year starter at Alcorn in 2008 and has a total of 161 catches, 2,415 yards, and 19 touchdowns. He was also an All-American track star for the Braves.

After going undrafted in 2008, Hughes was picked up by the Cleveland Browns. Before his football career ended in 2012, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions.