FLEMING ISLAND - It is appropriate that during football season, the phrase "Next man up" may be heard on the sidelines as teams prepare for 2023 with expectations that players on the bubble will be ready to play when their name is called.

"The chef for the Kansas City Chiefs and I went to the same college; Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, NC, and that's how it all started," said Fleming Island High graduate Logan Motes, a football and track guy for the Golden Eagles with big brother Bryce and dad Scott both part of the football program years ago. "I got a good word of reference from someone she knew and things just kind of happened. Johnson and Wales are one of the top culinary schools in the country and that carries a lot of weight."

Motes, 23 and with a degree in culinary nutrition after initially entering college to study criminal justice, earned an internship through the reference with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs as part of the nutrition program for the massive football players.

"It was honestly luck, but I was ready to go as soon as they called," said Motes, who interviewed, got the internship and was recently hired full-time to be a nutritionist for the Chiefs program. "It was fast moving and, honestly, a little intimidating at first to be servicing meals for guys you see on TV."

Ironically, one of Motes' curriculum focuses was called Athletic Performance Cuisine. Also, ironically, Motes did start working in college at a mom-and-pop restaurant that fueled the bug for learning to cook.

"It was a course lab that taught how to make meals for people athletes who eat a lot of food and burn a lot of calories," said Motes. "I never knew the head chef, Erin Wishon, but she did go to Johnson and Wales. That was the connection, I think because she knew about the culinary program at the school which is highly reputable."

Motes did admit that it was dad Scott, a home remodeler by trade as well as an assistant coach for the Fleming Island High football team, who was doing work for the defensive line coach, Joe Cullen, for the Kansas City Chiefs, who owned a home in St. Johns County.

"They started talking, he said the Chiefs were looking for a chef guy, dad said my son does that and coach Cullen made the call to the head chef," said Motes. "I started my internship in January 2023 and graduated recently and was hired full-time after I graduated."

Motes arrived as the only intern and started as a preparation chef for the Chiefs preparing specialized diets for specific players.

"I have a list of players that have very specific and detailed diets; whether to lose weight, gain weight, or some are vegans and I prepare those meals," said Motes. "There is one more executive chef, Wishon, who handles day-to-day operations, me for specialty plans and our boss who also manages the diets for a couple of other teams."

On the job, Motes noted that the players are pretty normal eaters, but that the mass of food is the impressive part.

"The metabolisms of these guys are crazy and my job is to keep them hydrated and fueled up for practice, games, in conjunction with other aspects like sleep and recovery," said Motes. "The school prepared me well."

Motes observed that a guy like Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' quarterback, is a normal scrambled egg with cheese, bacon and ham guy.

"Basically, they eat normally except that they eat a lot," said Motes. "My job is easy, get as much good food into them as they like to eat. Quality and quantity, what these guys eat are nowhere near what I or my brother would eat as high school athletes."

Motes has learned enough in his short span to almost be a dietician to understand the needs of his high-octane athletes, but for now, he is the guy who prepares the meals.

"Being a chef is a 14-hour day on your feet, lifting stuff and moving all day," said Motes, noting he works during most games and gets to watch games on his phone. "Maybe in the future, I'll be on the dietician side of the preparations, but for now, it's a fast pace world and pretty intense. Maybe, one day, I'll be an athlete private chef, that would be cool."