jcollingsworth
Guest
Making The List: Leonidas
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Last week we chose the great Paul Warfield to be a member of the deserving on Making The List.
This week, the week of The Game, we will dance back to Defense – with a twist.
Since the beginning of the season I kept tabs on The Ohio State University Rugby Teams – both Men’s and Women’s. Both had successful seasons in different directions. The Women’s on rebuilding and promise – the Men’s on a return to the BTU Championship game. I can rip through some names in the history of Buckeyes Rugby – both Women’s and Men’s that were standouts that also represented Buckeye Nation beyond Beekman Field.
There is no player with a bigger story – or more recognizable than that of Nate Ebner.
What makes Nate’s story so interesting is that he was also on the Ohio State Football Team.
He did not play football his first two years at OSU, as he was competing internationally in rugby. In his junior year he decided to give it a go and walked-on. He made the team even though it was his first time ever playing the sport – as he had never played throughout his entire time in High School. He would soon rise through the ranks of the team and be considered the best member of the Special Teams unit.
In his senior year (2011) he would be awarded a full scholarship based completely on his special teams’ skills. It would this same year he’d record 11 tackles and be voted the team’s most inspirational player – receiving the Bo Rein Award (awarded to the most outstanding special teams’ player). He would also be recognized for his Academic competence as an All-Big Ten Conference honoree three times.
Ebner’s nickname “Leonidas”, after a Greek warrior-king hero of Sparta acted by Gerald Butler in the movie “300” is because of his intense workout routine – and, of course, his beard. Listed on the Buckeyes Football roster as a safety he would gain immediate attention from coaches – especially Paul Haynes, safeties coach, and Luke Fickell.
In his 36 career games for the Buckeyes he would register 30 tackles from 2009-11. Pro Football Weekly – prior to the draft in 2012 would say of him “races down the field like a bat out of hell, and hunts returners like a heat-seeking missile”.
Nate’s first love is rugby. He would learn the passion of this game through his father Jeff who had played the sport at the University of Minnesota. He would soon shine too. At the age of 12 he would be a standout rugby union player on the US age group national teams. At 17 he became the youngest player ever to play on the United States national rugby union team, the National 7’s. He was subsequently named MVP of the USA team at both the Under 19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007, and the Under 20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008.
One of the most inspirational stories ever told is eight months following the murder of his father who had been savagely beaten to death in a failed robbery of the Family business in Dublin, Ohio is that Nate and his OSU Buckeyes were in the Collegiate Championship for Rugby vs. Penn State.
Bill Belichick Head Coach of the New England Patriots has a knack for finding treasure in later rounds of the drafts discovered Nate Ebner in the 6th round of the 2012 draft. He was recorded as saying of his new pick “…This kid plays hard, mean, and with complete confidence. The combination of the three makes him a danger to opponents. I love that!”
A report in 2012 suggests that a quote in the Lantern by Ebner is what Belichick responded to the most in if Ebner would be taken in the 6th round or to take the gamble to see if he lasted to the 7th. Ebner had been asked which special teams unit he enjoyed playing on the most at Ohio State: “Kickoff, probably. Because … I just enjoy running down as fast as you can. It’s just mayhem, it’s exciting, it’s crazy. It’s such a rush…. It’s just one big blur, and then it’s over…. Maybe I got a screw loose.”
Whatever is going on he is a two-fold pick for Making The List. He was a star player on the 2010 Rugby Team for the Buckeyes that reached the Collegiate Championship. He would also be a member of the OSU Football squad from 2009-11. He wouldn’t be just a member of those two sports – he would be a total standout.
Nate Ebner deserves recognition on two counts: 1) Following the completion of the Rugby season of which the Buckeyes delivered a solid season – reaching the BTU Championship game for the 2nd year in a row. 2) The week of the completion of the Football season as the Buckeyes hopes of winning the Big 10 is NOT over as they head in dramatic fashion into Ann Arbor in rivalry week against TTUN.
Nate Ebner is the complete package of a praiseworthy Buckeye. And I am proud to include him in Making The List.
The post Making The List: Leonidas appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Last week we chose the great Paul Warfield to be a member of the deserving on Making The List.
This week, the week of The Game, we will dance back to Defense – with a twist.
Since the beginning of the season I kept tabs on The Ohio State University Rugby Teams – both Men’s and Women’s. Both had successful seasons in different directions. The Women’s on rebuilding and promise – the Men’s on a return to the BTU Championship game. I can rip through some names in the history of Buckeyes Rugby – both Women’s and Men’s that were standouts that also represented Buckeye Nation beyond Beekman Field.
There is no player with a bigger story – or more recognizable than that of Nate Ebner.
What makes Nate’s story so interesting is that he was also on the Ohio State Football Team.
He did not play football his first two years at OSU, as he was competing internationally in rugby. In his junior year he decided to give it a go and walked-on. He made the team even though it was his first time ever playing the sport – as he had never played throughout his entire time in High School. He would soon rise through the ranks of the team and be considered the best member of the Special Teams unit.
In his senior year (2011) he would be awarded a full scholarship based completely on his special teams’ skills. It would this same year he’d record 11 tackles and be voted the team’s most inspirational player – receiving the Bo Rein Award (awarded to the most outstanding special teams’ player). He would also be recognized for his Academic competence as an All-Big Ten Conference honoree three times.
Ebner’s nickname “Leonidas”, after a Greek warrior-king hero of Sparta acted by Gerald Butler in the movie “300” is because of his intense workout routine – and, of course, his beard. Listed on the Buckeyes Football roster as a safety he would gain immediate attention from coaches – especially Paul Haynes, safeties coach, and Luke Fickell.
In his 36 career games for the Buckeyes he would register 30 tackles from 2009-11. Pro Football Weekly – prior to the draft in 2012 would say of him “races down the field like a bat out of hell, and hunts returners like a heat-seeking missile”.
Nate’s first love is rugby. He would learn the passion of this game through his father Jeff who had played the sport at the University of Minnesota. He would soon shine too. At the age of 12 he would be a standout rugby union player on the US age group national teams. At 17 he became the youngest player ever to play on the United States national rugby union team, the National 7’s. He was subsequently named MVP of the USA team at both the Under 19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007, and the Under 20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008.
One of the most inspirational stories ever told is eight months following the murder of his father who had been savagely beaten to death in a failed robbery of the Family business in Dublin, Ohio is that Nate and his OSU Buckeyes were in the Collegiate Championship for Rugby vs. Penn State.
Bill Belichick Head Coach of the New England Patriots has a knack for finding treasure in later rounds of the drafts discovered Nate Ebner in the 6th round of the 2012 draft. He was recorded as saying of his new pick “…This kid plays hard, mean, and with complete confidence. The combination of the three makes him a danger to opponents. I love that!”
A report in 2012 suggests that a quote in the Lantern by Ebner is what Belichick responded to the most in if Ebner would be taken in the 6th round or to take the gamble to see if he lasted to the 7th. Ebner had been asked which special teams unit he enjoyed playing on the most at Ohio State: “Kickoff, probably. Because … I just enjoy running down as fast as you can. It’s just mayhem, it’s exciting, it’s crazy. It’s such a rush…. It’s just one big blur, and then it’s over…. Maybe I got a screw loose.”
Whatever is going on he is a two-fold pick for Making The List. He was a star player on the 2010 Rugby Team for the Buckeyes that reached the Collegiate Championship. He would also be a member of the OSU Football squad from 2009-11. He wouldn’t be just a member of those two sports – he would be a total standout.
Nate Ebner deserves recognition on two counts: 1) Following the completion of the Rugby season of which the Buckeyes delivered a solid season – reaching the BTU Championship game for the 2nd year in a row. 2) The week of the completion of the Football season as the Buckeyes hopes of winning the Big 10 is NOT over as they head in dramatic fashion into Ann Arbor in rivalry week against TTUN.
Nate Ebner is the complete package of a praiseworthy Buckeye. And I am proud to include him in Making The List.
The post Making The List: Leonidas appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...