It's asking a lot.. for a Buckeye to block for a Wolverine...
I'd be tempted to be a matador
I'd be tempted to be a matador
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Nate Ebner's remarkable journey to NFL
Oct 25, 2012
By Kaitee DaleySpecial to espnW
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Nate Ebner had no doubts about his chances to make the Patriots' roster after being pick No. 197 in April's draft.
Patriots rookie safety Nate Ebner didn't take the traditional route to the NFL. In fact, he never ran one route in high school football.
The quiet, bearded guy with kind, dark eyes and a body built to hit people is still learning the game, with three tackles in his first seven games. But if his past is any indication, it won't be long before he makes an impact.
Ebner took his early love of rugby, a sport his father taught him growing up in Ohio, and translated it to a starring role on the United States U-19 and U-20 national teams. Then, without any high school football experience, he walked on at Ohio State and eventually earned a scholarship on special teams. And though no one was projecting an NFL future for Ebner, he dominated his pro day and got drafted in the sixth round.
How does one go from MVP of the rugby World Cup to Ohio State football and an NFL roster spot? It started with a simple promise to get a degree.
When Ebner got to Ohio State, his athletic prowess and academic responsibilities tugged him in different directions. Touring on the international rugby circuit wasn't conducive to classes and homework, and there was something about football -- particularly the promise of playing for the team he grew up watching -- that drove Ebner to try out.
Paul Vernon/AP Images for USA Rugby Seven
Ebner's first love was rugby, but the sport's skill set has served him well in his latest calling.
"Walking on was a big step for me, not playing football in high school. I was sticking my neck out there ?" said Ebner, who at 6-foot, 210 pounds had the size to play.
cont...
http://espn.go.com/espnw/8550243/es...iots-safety-nate-ebner-remarkable-journey-nfl
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redstatebuckeye
Junior
Seems like a good guy and its a great story. Hope he is successful in the NFL and life. By the way, I saw the highlight of the late Seattle touchdown and I did not think that receiver was his responsibility. I thought the corner and safety on the other side of the field missed their assignments. Did I see that wrong?
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redstatebuckeye
Junior
Thanks. I saw him covering the TE/RB late in the game vs the Jets. Really good story.
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Ex-rugby player Ebner fitting in with Patriots
By John Powers
| Globe Staff
November 03, 2012
john tlumacki/globe staff
Safety Nate Ebner?s work on special teams at Ohio State caught the eyes of the Patriots.
FOXBOROUGH ? The first adjustment was figuring out the helmet, shoulder pads, and the rest of the football player?s occupational armor. ?It was awkward,? Nate Ebner recalled. ?I had to make sure I did everything right the first time I was putting them on.?
There are no plastic hats in rugby, where the leather scrum cap is a 19th-century vestige. Until Ebner walked into the Ohio State locker room in 2009, he?d been a fly half for Uncle Sam?s junior team and for the Buckeye club squad. Suddenly he had a facemask, a playbook, and a new job description.
That was the first step in his ongoing evolution from back line to secondary as Ebner, a sixth-round surprise, goes about his apprenticeship as special teamer and backup safety. ?All of it has been a learning experience,? acknowledged Ebner, who already has played in nearly as many games as he did last year in Columbus, Ohio. ?I?ve come a long way and I?ve got a lot to learn still, but I?m excited.?
Ebner could have started his football learning curve a decade ago but decided to follow his father, Jeff, who?d been an imposing player in Des Moines, to the rugby pitch when he was 12. ?I didn?t have any outlet to rugby other than him,? Ebner said. ?There was no way I could have seen myself involved with that without him being part of the situation.?
Ebner became a superb rugger, seemingly on track to make the Eagles senior team and possibly play in the Olympics when the sport makes its return in 2016. Yet the gridiron tempted him. ?I wanted to play football my senior year in high school,? said Ebner, who went to Hilliard Davidson in Columbus. ?I had gone to some meetings and was thinking about it but I had a junior World Cup coming up so I decided not to because I didn?t want to risk something possibly happening there. We ended up winning the Division 1 state championship so they didn?t need me. But it would have been fun to be a part of that with all my buddies.?
Safety Nate Ebner?s work on special teams at Ohio State caught the eyes of the Patriots.
Once he enrolled at OSU, Ebner knew that his international rugby days were over, at least if he wanted to earn a degree within a normal time frame. ?That restraint left me just to play with the club team,? he said. ?With the drop-off there I was just looking for something more. I was craving something.? He?d talked to his father about walking on for football. ?Any kid growing up in Columbus would want to be part of something like that,? he said.
cont...
http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/...gateway-nfl/cH3TbFnIkG6B3rp5xL1GpK/story.html
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
ESPN looking stupid again, who's laughing now?
"The Ebner pick was so out of the blue to draft experts that even ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. was rendered almost speechless. He said he had Ebner as his 165th-rated safety."
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/04/28/rabinowitz-osunfldraft.html
:osu:
"The Ebner pick was so out of the blue to draft experts that even ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. was rendered almost speechless. He said he had Ebner as his 165th-rated safety."
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/04/28/rabinowitz-osunfldraft.html
:osu:
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OhioState001
Tressel Loyalist
He actual rated 165 safeties? And then the 165th got picked? 
fail
fail
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Hilliard to the NFL
Ebner making most of his opportunity with Patriots
By JARROD ULREY
ThisWeek Community News Wednesday January 2, 2013
Photo courtesy of the New England Patriots
Selected by New England in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft, Nate Ebner said it?s been ?a great opportunity? to play for the Patriots, who are headed to the NFL playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons. A former rugby player, Ebner has been playing football full time only since fall 2009.
With future college players Bo Delande, Connor Dietz and J.B. Strahler leading the way, the Hilliard Davidson High School football team captured its first state championship in 2006 when it beat Mentor 36-35 in double overtime in the Division I final.
What no one at that time could have predicted is a Davidson senior not affiliated with the football program would go on to play at Ohio State and in the National Football League.
Nate Ebner, a 2007 Davidson graduate, was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft with the 197th pick. He did not play football in high school because of his commitment to rugby.
?I had the (Junior) World Cup coming up (in rugby) and didn?t want to risk injury,? he said. ?(The Davidson football team) won the state championship that year. ... It was bittersweet not to be able to play my senior year, but I ended up going to the Junior World Cup, so I don?t really regret it.?
?Coach (Brian) White tried to get him (to come) out (for the football team), but he was going to miss a good amount of time playing rugby overseas,? said Delande, a 2007 graduate who went on to play for Ohio State, while Dietz played at Air Force and Strahler at Ohio University. ?It?s been great to see him make that transition from rugby to the football field.?
Ebner, who earned a football scholarship at Ohio State as a senior, made the Patriots? roster this season as a special teams player and backup safety. He had 12 total tackles through 15 games for New England, which won the AFC East to secure a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season and ninth time in 10 seasons.
?I?m just trying to learn as much as I can,? Ebner said. ?I?m kind of taking it week to week and not dwelling on anything that?s happened. I?ve been playing special teams throughout the season and, because of some injuries, have been able to step in and play some safety.
?Obviously, it?s a great opportunity to be a part of an organization like this. I?m excited to have a chance to play for the Patriots.?
cont...
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content...ng-most-of-his-opportunity-with-Patriots.html
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Football journey: Nate Ebner
January, 5, 2013
By Mike Reiss | ESPNBoston.com
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ? When the Patriots selected Ohio State safety Nate Ebner in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, it had many scurrying for information. Ebner wasn?t a highly touted prospect, had hardly played defense at Ohio State, and didn?t take part in the NFL combine.
Barry Chin/Getty Images
Ebner, a relatively unknown sixth-round pick for the Pats, finished the regular season second on the team with 17 special-teams tackles (14 solo).
His career highlights were more rugby-related (he was a world-class player) than football-related.
But as is usually the case, the Patriots had a plan and a specific fit in mind. If things went according to plan with Ebner, he?d be a core special teams player and a developing prospect at safety.
That?s how it turned out, as Ebner finished second on the team with 17 special teams tackles (14 solo) during the 2012 regular season. Only special teams captain Matthew Slater had more (20).
The 24-year-old Ebner, who hails from Dublin, Ohio, shared his unique ?football journey? with ESPNBoston.com this week
When he first started playing football: ?I played from 6- and 7-year-old through middle school. Those were my running back days. But then I didn?t play at all high school [Hilliard Davidson].?
Why he first started playing football: ?My dad [Jeff] and his influence on sports. Also, all my best friends were playing.?
Why he stopped playing football after middle school: ?I was raised in Cincinnati in my young years until sixth grade. I went to my last year of middle school in Columbus so that changed. My body type, I was a late bloomer. I didn?t grow a lot and wasn?t really into the football as much. I wasn?t as big. Also, I wanted to play running back and they wanted me to play quarterback and safety. Between that, and also playing rugby with my dad, I enjoyed that more.?
Why he eventually came back to football: ?I wanted to play football my senior year of high school. I debated it. But I also had a Junior World Cup [for rugby] that I had already committed to in the spring. I talked with my dad about it and I went to meetings with the coaches, but it didn?t end up happening. I was concerned about possibly getting hurt for the World Cup, which was my main priority at the time. I wasn?t sure about playing football in college, I just wanted to play with my friends, and I also didn?t feel good about going out there and taking someone?s spot that had been there for four years. They won the state championship that year, so it wasn?t like they needed me or anything. Then going into college, I couldn?t play on any traveling professional rugby teams because I was committed to college. I was playing at the club collegiate level, and I struggled with that as far as the competition level. It wasn?t against the best guys in the world. You were playing college club teams. That was hard for me, how serious I was taking it. So it was a mixture of those two things ? not playing when I kind of wanted to my senior year [of high school] and then just not getting the same competition level I had been used at the World Cup level.?
How he approached Ohio State football about walking on to the team: ?I got in contact with the guy I needed to get in contact with, and asked when the walk-on process was, and what does it entail? I started to train for that type of stuff, and the rest is history. ? The end of my second year of college, I walked on in the winter. My first season was going into my third year of college [Ebner was at Ohio State for 5 years, playing 3 seasons].?
Best football memories at Ohio State, where he was voted by teammates as the Buckeyes? most inspirational player: ?I?d say it was running the [American] flag out in the September 11th game last year. I think at the time, I didn?t realize how big of an honor it was. Looking back on it, especially after it happened, and just hearing the crowd ? they always cheer when we come out, but to hear them cheer the American flag on September 11th, it was awesome. And for me to lead the team out and have 110,000 screaming their heads off, I?d say that was my favorite. Obviously everything playing football, there are memories I can look back at and a lot of good things, but that one sticks out. Getting a sack was cool too, but the [flag] was better.?
cont...
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4737867/football-journey-nate-ebner
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Patriots Draft Pick Review: Nate Ebner
Nate Ebner Patriots Safety
Nate Ebner made some plays on special teams this year for New England. (Patriots.com)
NEPD Editor: Tony Santorsa
With the 197th overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft the New England Patriots selected defensive back Nate Ebner out of Ohio State.
The first thing that you probably heard about Ebner is that he?s a former rugby player in high school as well as at Ohio State?but he obviously still played football while at Ohio State.
When Bill Belichick made this selection, I immediately figured it was just another player that fits the ?Patriot way,? someone that might not have the potential to be a star but can do a lot of different things and be a valuable member to New England?s 53-man roster.
Standing in at 6?0″ and weighing 210 lbs., Ebner does has the size to play at the NFL level but I wasn?t sure if he could be an impact player on anything aside from special teams.
The majority of Ebner?s playing time during his rookie season came on special teams but did play safety sparingly.
Entering 2013, I?m not sure what my expectations are with Ebner. I?m not 100 percent sure that he?ll make next year?s roster, but considering that he made this year?s roster as a rookie, he?ll likely be a quality special teamer next season.
2012 Stats: 15 games played and 14 total tackles.
Letter Grade: C-
http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2013/02/patriots-draft-pick-review-nate-ebner.html
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