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USA Rugby announced the roster for the men's sevens team that will be representing the United States of America at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and one of the participants is New England Patriots defensive back Nate Ebner. The portion of the announcement detailing Ebner's selection read in part:
New England Patriot Nate Ebner joins Team USA after receiving his team's blessing to make a run at an Olympic dream. Ebner was the youngest-ever player to represent the Men's Sevens at age 17 and continued his rugby career at Ohio State University before joining the football team and subsequently being drafted into the NFL.
As we wrote back in March when it was first announced that Ebner would be trying out for the Olympics, the safety was a rugby star before he was a football prospect. He competed internationally for his first two years at Ohio State (he won MVP of Team USA at the under-19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007 and the under-20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008) before walking onto the football team as a junior.
He was not the only NFL player to try out for an Olympic team this summer. Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin attempted to make the US track and field team, but failed to qualify. Former Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best, meanwhile, will head to Rio as a representative of St. Lucia's track and field team.
Ebner's trip to the Olympics, as noted by the Patriots blog Pats Pulpit, will cause him to miss offseason activities as well as the team's first preseason game, as the rugby event takes place from August 6-11.
New England Patriot Nate Ebner joins Team USA after receiving his team's blessing to make a run at an Olympic dream. Ebner was the youngest-ever player to represent the Men's Sevens at age 17 and continued his rugby career at Ohio State University before joining the football team and subsequently being drafted into the NFL.
As we wrote back in March when it was first announced that Ebner would be trying out for the Olympics, the safety was a rugby star before he was a football prospect. He competed internationally for his first two years at Ohio State (he won MVP of Team USA at the under-19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007 and the under-20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008) before walking onto the football team as a junior.
He was not the only NFL player to try out for an Olympic team this summer. Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin attempted to make the US track and field team, but failed to qualify. Former Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best, meanwhile, will head to Rio as a representative of St. Lucia's track and field team.
Ebner's trip to the Olympics, as noted by the Patriots blog Pats Pulpit, will cause him to miss offseason activities as well as the team's first preseason game, as the rugby event takes place from August 6-11.
