Football to farming

Former NFL tight end and Boyle County High School graduate Jacob Tamme capped off career day at Junction City Elementary School Friday by delivering a keynote speech about his past and his present — football and farming.

Students spent the morning learning about different careers from local community members, then everyone piled into the gym for Tamme. He told students how the Rebels had won four state championships while he was on the team at Boyle County High School. Tamme went on to play for the Kentucky Wildcats, and then in the National Football League for the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons.
But Tamme retired after nine years in the NFL, and now he farms in Boyle County.
“When I leave here in a minute, I’m going to go haul some cattle,” he said. “… We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”
Tamme said the lesson to learn is that even if you want to be so good at a sport that you get to play it professionally, “you’re going to get done with sports one day.” Then, you’ll need to have other skills to continue doing well.

“The most important thing you can do is do your best you can in school,” he said.
Students asked Tamme numerous questions about football and farming. The final question was a softball: Which quarterback do you like better: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
“I hate Tom Brady … He beat us too many times,” said Tamme, who played with Peyton Manning on the Colts and the Broncos. “I’d pick Peyton Manning over Tom Brady any day.”