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Fitchburg’s Will Earley was the star of the Mass Fury’s season opening 24-8 win over the Eastern MA Seminoles, rushing for three touchdowns. The name might sound familiar, as Earley is arguably the greatest running back in Central Massachusetts history.

A rare freshman starter for Ray Cosenza at Fitchburg High School, Earley dominated the gridiron from 2001-2003. In his final Thanksgiving game as a junior, he facialized Leominster for 254 yards and four touchdowns.

But Earley did not play his senior year after a run in with the law. Had he done so he would more than likely be the state’s all time leading rusher – by a lot. In 2007 while playing running back for Fitchburg State, Will’s apartment was raided in Leominster, and he was arrested on drug charges and never played for them again.

Two years later Will was tearing it up for Worcester State, when he once again was arrested on Interstate 190 on drug charges. Facing potentially three years in prison, it seemed like Will Earley would become another statistic. Another talented athlete who threw it all away.

But today Will Earley is not only tearing it up on the gridiron for Mass Fury, he’s a successful small business owner and a college graduate. The Will Early story is a story of redemption – a story we wanted to know more about. So we sat down with the Fury’s star player and asked him some questions.

1) You’ve had some troubles in the law with the past, what was that like, and how has it changed you as a person?

My troubles were all apart of growing up. I had to go to Worcester county house of corrections for 4 months after 18 months of fighting the case. That was definitely a turning point for me. I knew I didn’t belong in there with those type of people so I got my stuff together and grabbed another degree.

I am firm believer that everything happens for a reason so the mistakes I made were all apart of the learning process. It forced me to change my outlook on life. I became much more positive about everything which really helped get the change started. I stopped trying to find short cuts or fast ways to get things done and began to understand the concept of hard work. Hard work is how I got to where I am now.

2) What do you do for work nowadays?

Currently, I am the owner and operator of Train with Will Fitness Facility. I began my training business in spring 2014 after graduating with my second Bachelor’s Degree from Fitchburg State University in Sports and Exercise Science that same year. I began running my business out of a friends gym and using parks to run outdoor group classes. Now I have a 24/7 facility at 511 Lancaster St, Leominster, MA. We offer 24/7 basic memberships as well as personal and group training.

Norman Jaillet Photography

3) Fitchburg has it’s fair share of violence and drug abuse – what would you say to young kids who might be tempted by this type of lifestyle?

I would tell them kids that living the street life will only deter them from reaching the goals they have for themselves. I’m not saying you won’t reach them, anything can be accomplished if you put your mind to it but i can bet anything that trying to accomplish goals while living the street life will only make your reload to success more difficult. In lots of cases people lose out on opportunities to accomplish goals completely because of being involved in the street life and getting tied up with the law. One thing these kids are not fully understanding of is once you have certain crimes on your record, you are unable to do certain things like pass the background screen for your dream job.

4) How has football and Coach Cosenza shaped you as a person? What sort of things did it teach you?

Football has made me who I am. Without football I really don’t know where my life would be right now. Not only football but other sports such as basketball and an occasional track meet kept me away from having more negative exposure to my surroundings while growing up. I can say now that I didn’t completely acknowledge the lessons I was being taught on the field at the time because it may sound like a crock of you know what to say I listened because things would’ve worked out a bit differently. Now I can see that I was being taught how to be responsible, hard working, trusting and how to be a better man overall. My high-school coaching staff under Head Coach Ray Cosenza supported me greatly throughout my career and I’ll forever be grateful for that.

Norman Jaillet Photography

5) Why did you decided to play for the Mass Fury, and what type of shape were you in compared to when you were in college?

I decided to play for the Fury last season when a few of my friends who were on the team reached out to me after they lost in the championship. They were all convinced I could be the missing piece and what do you know we win the championship the year I joined lol. Obviously, I can’t the credit for that but sounds good lol. I was actually in better shape than I was in college, don’t tell my coaches! I began to take training really serious before I transferred to Worcester State in 2008 and since my knowledge of sports training has been steadily progressing since then I keep getting better. This year I am close to being in the best shape I’ve been in ever thanks to being in the gym nearly every day for work.

6) How often do you guys practice, and what did it feel like to run for three touchdowns in the season opening win?

We practice twice a week in the preseason and usually have a team workout on Saturdays in the offseason that lead into the preseason. During the season we usually practice once a week. Running for three touchdowns on our opening day was exciting, especially to do it at home in front of our fans. I been scoring touchdowns since I was 9 and I still get the same feeling every time I score one.

Norman Jaillet Photography

Look, we’ve busted balls about the city of Fitchburg before. But there might not be a more tight knit community in Worcester County. Tell a Fitchburg graduate that his kid will play football for Leominster some day and you’ll see what I’m talking about when you witness their reaction.

It’s a small city with more than it’s fair share of gang and especially drug problems. And getting out of that cycle of poverty and criminal behavior isn’t exactly easy. The hippies and other lifelong losers will whine and tell you that it’s everyone else’s fault but their own.

But not Will Earley. A lot of doors were closed to Will, but instead of putting his head down and whining about how unfair life is, he held himself accountable, finished his degree, and opened his own business. He’s doing something he loves and he’s making a living off of it. He is the perfect example of why America is the greatest country on earth.

Come check out Will and the rest of the Mass Fury at their next home game Saturday July 25 at Worcester State. Click here to get the Turtleboy Ticket discount.

Want to have your business advert seen by over 500,000 people per month? Email us at Turtleboysports@gmail.com for more information, and check out our website about types of advertising we offer.

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook