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DB Nate 'War Daddy' Ebner (3x Super Bowl Champ, USA Rugby)

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Damn, you really have to be some athlete to make the tOSU squad and play some special teams with no football experience.

I would certainly think that rugby's still in his future, if he wants it to be, post-football.
 
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Father?s spirit never leaves OSU player
Jeff Ebner was killed shortly after his son decided to walk on the football team
By Kermit Rowe, Staff Writer
Saturday, November 7, 2009

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Jeff Ebner (left) competes during a rugby match. He died Nov. 14, 2008, defending his family-owned business, Ebner and Sons in Springfield, during a robbery. Contributed photo

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?Just because I play football doesn?t mean I?ve grown further apart from him,? said Ohio State freshman defensive back Nate Ebner (34), shown above and below going for tackles during a Big Ten Conference contest against Illinois on Sept. 26. ?Playing rugby was a big part of my life. A bigger part of me was working out and lifting weights with him. So me being successful in any sport, he is a big part of it.? Contributed photos from Ohio State University
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Nate Ebner

Nate Ebner feels closest to his late father, Jeff, when he?s lifting heavy poundage in the weight room.

?I love working out,? said Nate, who after not playing high school football and competing in rugby his freshman year at Ohio State University now wears the vaunted Scarlet and Gray on autumn Saturdays. ?It was something me and my dad always had together.?

Now, if he could just lift the weight off his heavy heart. Jeff died a year ago this coming Saturday ? Nov. 14, 2008 ? after defending his family-owned business, Ebner and Sons in Springfield, during a robbery.

Though the weight is sometimes nearly unbearable, it is even more unbearable to abandon what was his closest connection to his dad.

?It?s what I did with him,? Nate admitted. ?Now, it reminds me of him all the time.

?It makes me stronger every day,? he continued. ?It was always a competition, to see who could do more. I?m at the point now that I?m about to beat his max bench press. The next time I max out, I?ll probably beat it.

?That will be pretty emotional. I just wish he could see that.?

And if he could?

?He wouldn?t be shocked,? said Nate. ?He?d probably tell me I?m going to do a lot more than that when I reach my full potential.

?He?d say, ?I?m no longer the strongest guy in the family,? and that would be something he?d be proud of.?

The strength of Jeff?s presence continues to grow in Nate, a finely chiseled sophomore who is listed as 6-foot-1, 197-pound freshman in eligibility on the Buckeyes? roster.

?I wouldn?t say he made me what I am today, but he instilled the values that made me what I am today,? he said.

?He was a part of everything I did,? Nate continued. ?He was the only person who understood about what I was talking about. I can tell my mom, and I know she cares, but it?s not the same.

?We were best friends.?
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Father’s spirit never leaves OSU player
 
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A motto with meaning
OSU's 'finish strong' wristbands honor slain father of special-teams player
Thursday, December 31, 2009
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Neal C. Lauron | Dispatch
Nate Ebner passed out wristbands after the Purdue loss. "Finish strong" was the mantra of his father, who was killed during a robbery attempt at his workplace last year.

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Neal C. Lauron | Dispatch
Kurt Coleman and his OSU teammates will try to finish the season strong with a win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
All about the Rose

LOS ANGELES -- Every day, Nate Ebner wakes up, looks at the black band on his wrist and draws strength from what his father used to tell him:

"Finish strong," it says.

The words help Ebner go on without his dad, Jeff, who was killed just over a year ago during an attempted robbery at his workplace.

"It means that in the end, all that matters is how you finish," said Ebner, an Ohio State defensive back from Hilliard. "And also just how to deal with pain, and when things get tough, you've got to fight through it."

After Ebner and the Buckeyes were upset by Purdue this season, their second loss, Ebner thought that perhaps his teammates could benefit from the motto, as well.

He told his story in a team meeting and offered wristbands to whoever was interested.

Ohio State won five straight games to close out the regular season, clinching a Big Ten title and a spot in the Rose Bowl. Now, as the Buckeyes prepare to face Oregon on Friday, more than half the team is wearing Ebner's wristbands, and "finish strong" has taken on a new meaning.

Ohio State has not won a bowl game since after the 2005 season.

"We haven't finished yet in our careers, and that's something we definitely want to do," senior safety Anderson Russell said.

Even without the element of personal tragedy, Ebner's story would be compelling.

He grew up around rugby, which his father played in the 1970s. Nate started playing at 12 and was naturally gifted, earning a spot on the U.S. national under-19/under-20 teams in 2007 and 2008.

Nate did not play football at Hilliard Davidson and played for Ohio State's club rugby team as a freshman last season before deciding to walk on to the football team earlier this year.

"The last time I played (football) was middle school," he said.
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A motto with meaning | BuckeyeXtra
 
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He's been on kickoff coverage all year...

I learned while coaching Nate in rugby never to doubt him in the slightest...if he sets his mind to making the 2-deep on defense, rest assured he won't stop until it happens.
 
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wadc45;1629213; said:
He's been on kickoff coverage all year...

I learned while coaching Nate in rugby never to doubt him in the slightest...if he sets his mind to making the 2-deep on defense, rest assured he won't stop until it happens.
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Awesome. I'm really excited to see how his future plays out.
 
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Flying into Columbus for the Iowa game, I sat next to Ebner's Aunt on the plane. She had a jersey with his number and those words (Ebner's Aunt) on the back.

It was clear to me that they were a close knit family and that she was very proud of her nephew. She was flying in from Huntinton Beach, California to see him play, and she talked about him the whole way.
 
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