During his playing days at Kentucky, quarterback Jared Lorenzen was listed around 260 pounds. That figure was around 280 pounds by the time his five-year NFL career came to a close in 2008 and then bumped up to 320 when he played for a few indoor football teams a few years back.

The whole time, though, Lorenzen’s weight was higher than he even knew — something he admitted in a 2014 ESPN The Magazine story. That was because he didn’t step on a scale in the eight years after he was cut by the Indianapolis Colts. And when he did, the figure shocked him: 502.8 pounds.

Now he plans to do something about it, while hopefully helping others along the way. Last week, Lorenzen announced “The Jared Lorenzen Project.” Here’s a look at what it entails:

The video shows Lorenzen meeting with a personal trainer and nutritionist to help him get on the right path, plus some of his early efforts in the gym. Lorenzen, now 36, knows it’s time to get his health in order. He wants to be an example for others struggling with obesity while doing so.

“I’m truly lucky to have the team that I have surrounding me right now. It’s a big deal,” Lorenzen said. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a long journey. I get to be able to come out of this a whole new man with whole new respect. If I can get the people in the community to say, ‘Look, if Jared can do it. We know Jared. Let’s jump on this bandwagon. Let’s do it.’”

The video announcing the project has already garnered nearly 300,000 views on Facebook. Lorenzen is very thankful for the positive reaction.

Thanks so much for your kind words. It's amazing to see how many people are behind this. Thank you thank you thank you. — jared lorenzen (@JaredLorenzen22) August 1, 2017





Lorenzen was a four-year starter at Kentucky from 2000 to 2003 and threw for a UK record 10,354 yards. His highlights are still incredible to watch all these years later.

For more Kentucky news, CatsIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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