YAZOO COUNTY, Miss. — A cacophony of barking, baaing, and neighing reverberates across an acre of farmland that represents the backyard of Kenny Gainwell’s trailer home. Standing in the middle of his family’s yard, the second-year Eagles running back is sporting a beat-up pair of team-issued Nike trainers. The once-white sneakers are now dusty and brown, full of dirt and dried mud.
Gainwell’s shoes make a crunching sound as he walks toward a large dry freezer. Inside the container is a multi-month supply of whole corn poultry feed. He fills an empty water jug and tosses the cracked corn pieces to the ground, where dozens of chickens flock for feeding time.
“This right here,” Gainwell says, “is my home. I’m a country boy. A real country–.”
