Recently, many members of the NFL took part in “My Cause My Cleats”, where players wore customized cleats that show support and raise awareness for their favorite organizations.
New York Jets offensive tackle George Fant was one of those players in Week 13. Fant’s organization is called Year Up, “a tuition-free job training program that helps young adults between the ages of 18-29 across the nation receive professional and career training.”
Fant sat down with Jets Wire to discuss his connection with Year Up and what it means to him and the potential of the organization.
Year Up is a nonprofit who focuses on young adults and youth and helping them get job training. It is free job training and helping them get placements in internships at really good companies. And it was just one of those, one of those deals where, for myself, I just felt that it was a good connection for myself and my foundation because that’s what we like to do. We like to help our youth in our community and help them be able to grow and build their lives. And I thought that that was just a great opportunity to team up with a nonprofit who has the same kind of outlook on life that we have and kind of the same values as well. So that was kind of the main reasons why we wanted to partner up with Year Up.
It’s a great organization. I think they’re goals and with the things that they’re doing in the community and helping people build their lives and helping them find direction in their lives. And for myself, I think that the things that can be happening next with us is just more partnerships and more things that we’re doing and being more active and stuff with Year Up. So it’s a good opportunity for myself to partner with another good nonprofit.
Fant said he loves the things they’re doing and how they help people and build more partnerships. Some of those partnerships and internships include Bank of America, Uber, Sony and Buzzfeed.
I’m just happy to partner with them and do anything with them. We’re definitely going to do some more stuff with them here in their future. We love to see what they’re doing with the youth in our community and the young youth in our community. So definitely looking forward to doing more partnerships with Year Up.
Fant also shared his thoughts on the Jets defense and getting to face that defense every day in practice.
You got Sauce and D.J. man, they’re playing lights out right now. Our defense in general is just I think one of the top defenses in NFL right now. They’re putting their work in every single day. I knew that this year, this summer, we practiced against them every day in training camp thatwe had one of the best defensive lines and obviously one of the best defenses in the NFL. And then, you throw Quinnen Williams in there who I think should be in the running for defensive player of the year as well. That dude’s a beast man. Like, he’s unblockable. So those dudes are just holding it down. And I know for us in offense, we’re just trying to make sure we do our part for the defense and be able to hold it down for them. So yeah, that’s definitely one of the best defenses in the NFL right now. They’re ready to go knock these games out and win these next ones.
Fant also shared some insight on the differences between playing left and right tackle following his shifting during training camp due to the injury to Mekhi Becton and the signing of Duane Brown.
Yeah, it’s obviously it is not easy to do that, man. It’s one of those situations where I would just kind of say that it the toughest part of it is just your body. Your strengths your dominant hand. The way that you have to be able to set at certain angles or get to certain point to make contact. It’s a whole lot of different things that go with making that switch from left to right. I’m blessed to be able to do it because I’ve been in different situations where I’ve had to do it. So just being able to be happy to be able to do both positions and to be able to do whatever the team needs me to do, to go out there and get a win. So, it is not easy, but I’m willing to do it.
The Jets have done more winning this season than in their last two seasons combined and head coach Robert Saleh has been one of the biggest reasons for that, including the culture he has brought to the Jets.
Yeah, I would just say that he brought a culture of winning, a winning mindset to New York, to New Jersey here with us. It was just a situation where he came in and he’s implementing his culture here and obviously the first year it took us a little bit, but this year I think he had a lot of got, you added a lot of young guys who came in and they brought right in. And then you mixed that with some vets who’ve been in good situations before. We know a leader when we found one man, and when you see one and Coach Saleh’s a leader. So. I think for us, I think we just expect every game to go in and win. So, that’s probably one of the bigger things that he brought here.
One of those young guys that have been brought in is undrafted free agent Zonovan Knight, who has started taking over as the lead back in the running back room for the Jets and Fant loves what the Jets have in Bam.
I think Bam’s a perfect person that we just kind of talked about, you know, somebody who was ready for their opportunity. I got to see Bam and watch him while I was rehabbing for those eight weeks that I was out. I got to watch him. Obviously just work every single day, man, take the extra time and go out there and put some extra work in and get ready for his opportunity whenever it came. And now he has opportunity. He’s playing at a really high level. That’s what this league’s about, man, being able to be ready. It’s a one play away league man. So that guy’s just working and, and we’re kind of getting to see what happens when you put that work in. And he’s getting every opportunity and he’s taking every single one of them. So happy to see him go out there and get them opportunities and, and take advantage of them.
As Fant and the Jets prep for their stretch run, if you want to learn more about Fant’s partnership, please visit YearUp.org for more information.