Our nation is in a fight against coronavirus, and we're all doing our part by staying home. Not Alex Charlton. He's the guy running into the proverbial building. Not only that, he's putting his life on hold, hopping on a flight and then running into the burning building.
CBSSports's Dennis Dodd has the incredible story of Charlton, the 29-year-old Midwestern State (D-II - TX) graduate assistant who answered his nation's call by serving as a nurse in the worldwide epicenter of COVID-19.
As Dodd writes, Charlton started his coaching career as a student manager on Charlie Weis's Kansas staff. He earned his degree and joined the staff as an assistant director of player personnel, but was not retained in the change from Weis to David Beaty.
Out of a job to forces he could not control, Charlton went back to school to get a nursing degree at Missouri-Kansas City. Charlton worked in that field while coaching part time before returning to college football at Midwestern State last month -- only to see the world turn upside down and his second career come calling.
So Charlton signed a 2-month contract to help combat COVID-19 on the front lines.
"The nursing supervisor said, 'You know why we're hiring you right? COVID-19,'" Charlton told Dodd. 'I just want you to know this is the front line of the front line. I just want to make sure you can come out here and handle this.'"
My wife is an RN, and if Charlton is brining down anything close to the rates she's seen advertised, then the dark joke here is the brand-new GA will end the year as one of the highest-paid coaches on Bill Maskill's staff.