Nate Ebner

Nate carries on his father's work ethic, adopting dad's old mantra, "FINISH STRONG." As a special teams walk-on, Nate Ebner addressed the Ohio State Buckeyes after a devastating loss to rival Purdue. Addressed the team, as a special teams walk-on.

It beg the question, how many people are simply born to be a leader, an insurrectionist, a Spartacus?

How many walk-ons have inspired their team to a Rose Bowl?  Not many walk-ons have won an MVP in a worldwide tournament, but Ebner won that award when he lead his team to victory in the U-19 and U-20 Rugby World Championships.  He was the unabashed best player on his Ohio State Rugby team, so why would he want to play football?

Pro Football is far more lucrative than Pro Rugby, but Ebner does not allude to any monetary motivation.  He didn't really expect to be drafted, but he knew there was a chance.  There is no better team to land with than The New England Patriots because of the culture of coaching and learning in the organization.

Most teams would never consider drafting a Safety for the future, but I guarantee that the Patriots will commit to giving Nate Ebner all the tools to succeed. If he can apply the coaching on the field, then he could be an absolute terror against the ever-evolving TE-offense.

There might be a game where Belichick says, "Nate, I want you to jam 88, and stay in his pocket" Ebner has linebacker size at 6'0" 202 lbs and cornerback speed with reported 4.4s.  He might be giving away a little bit too much height to be a factor against TEs near the goal line, but I think that he could be physical enough and fast enough to compete with them in the open field.

Sure, the biggest upside is that he can contribute as a core special teamer. A 200 lb sure-tackler running 4.4 on a kickoff or a punt is great to have. His rugby return skills may not translate to the faster, launch-mode speed of the NFL, but its worth a look.  It would also be cool if he kicked a few PATs with the Flutie-kick.

My point is that some people just have "it" and Nate Ebner has that same toughness, talent and leadership that served well him in Rugby.  He only needs to study football full time in a Bill Belichick training camp with the attention that he deserves.  As a walk-on at Ohio State, they were content to get a boost on special teams.

I hope the Patriots try to develop his sense of awareness, and I hope he is capable of understanding defensive assignments. I doubt he could be worse than Sergio Brown...