Nate Ebner officially has a chance to add Olympic gold to an already storied athletic career.
Mike Friday, head coach of the United States Men's Sevens Rugby squad, selected 12 athletes he wishes to represent America in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Monday morning. The former Ohio State football player, current New England Patriot and Super Bowl champion found his name on the list. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.
Head Coach @MikeFriday09 has selected the 12 men to represent @TeamUSA on the #RoadToRio . Read More: https://t.co/z6HkKzTFNU
— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 18, 2016
Book the flight @Natebner34 is Brazil Bound! @OhioStateFB alum 1 of 12 on @USARugby @TeamUSA #GoBucks #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/cHrDqXZbMS
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) July 18, 2016
With the grace of the Patriots, Ebner took a leave of absence from football in March to train for the Olympics. The extra work paid off for the Hilliard, Ohio, native, who the Patriots recently retained for the 2016 season. New England made him a sixth-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Here is more on Ebner's background as a rugby player from the USA team website. Ebner played rugby internationally his first two years at Ohio State before walking on to the team. He also became the youngest player ever to suit up for the Men's Eagles Sevens team, doing so at age 17.
The 27-year-old Ebner is slated to be the only current NFL player in the Rio Olympics. All players nominated to are pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee. You can follow Ebner on Twitter here.
