Senior defensive back Michael Wadsworth with his wife, Kara. Kara and Michael have been married for two years. (Kara Wadsworth)
The football season can be difficult for players with traveling, early morning practices and hectic schedules, but it can be just as taxing for the player's spouses.
A typical day for a BYU football player consists of waking up around 5 a.m. for practice, which lasts until about 11 a.m., before going to their classes for the day. The players meet up again at the end of the day to watch film. It isn't until about 9 p.m. that they actually get to go home and reunite with their spouses.
'It's hard to not see him all the time, but it's his job,' said Kara Wadsworth, spouse of senior defensive back Michael Wadsworth.
Kara, who married Michael in 2013, is currently 38 weeks pregnant with their first child. She is a cosmetologist and also teaches dance part time.
'This is (Michael's) senior year and his first year he started,' Kara said. 'So watching him this year, I am completely overjoyed because he's worked so hard.'
With each other's hectic schedules, prioritizing the day's activities are of utmost importance. Between class, football practice, jobs and homework, football couples try to make the most of the little time they share together.
Adam and Cassidy Hine pose with their daughter, Leah. Cassidy balances her life as a spouse of a BYU football player, mother and graduate student. (Mark Philbrick/BYU Photo)
Cassidy Hiné is the spouse of senior running back Adam Hiné and is a grad student at BYU. Adam and Cassidy met in a sociology class three years ago and the rest is history. The couple now has a 3-month-old daughter named Leah. Despite his busy football schedule, Adam remains supportive of Cassidy with her schoolwork and helps take care of Leah while Cassidy is in class.
'If I didn't stay busy, I wouldn't know what to do,' Cassidy said.
The Hiné family still has fun after a crazy day by just relaxing and enjoying each other's company, whether it be lounging on the couch, going out for ice cream or watching Netflix.
Marissa Linehan, spouse of walk-on punter Jonny Linehan, is also a student athlete who plays on the BYU women's soccer team. The daily strain football puts on her husband was even surprising for her.
'He will come home and just go right to bed, and I wasn’t expecting that,' Marissa said.
These football players' wives go to all of the home games and try to attend the road games when possible. Game day can be just as exciting and nerve-wracking for the spouses as it is for the players -- if not more so.
'(It's) completely different to watch when it's your husband playing,' Cassidy said. 'People always ask if I'm scared of him getting hurt, and I am. But I just want him to be happy after (the game). I want him to have a good game.'
The life of a football player's wife has its ups and downs and often includes adapting to hectic schedules. But at the end of the day, all that really matters to them is their husband's happiness.
'When I know that he's happy and enjoying what he's doing, it makes me so happy to see that,' Kara said. '(Being a wife of a player is) the good, bad and the ugly. It's fun and it's hard and it's happy and it's sad and it's exciting. But it's worth it.'