Nate Boyer: The Long Shot

Immediately after the NFL draft in May, the Seattle Seahawks turned heads by signing 34 year old undrafted free agent Nate Boyer. The move was unexpected for a lot of reasons, and not just because of his age.

The Seahawks already have a great player at the position. Clint Gresham is one of the best in the business. Plus at just 216 pounds, Boyer lack the bulk needed to be an effective blocker. Combined with his age, conventional wisdom says that the Seahawks were crazy to waste their time with Boyer.

But when has the Pete Carroll-era Seahawks ever cared about conventional wisdom?

The Seahawks signing Boyer is an interesting story just for football reasons. Get to know him a little bit, and you’ll realize that Boyer’s story extremely interesting even if the Seahawks had never signed him.

Boyer was a Green Beret. When he got out of the military he walked on to the University of Texas football team as a 29 year old freshman. Now he’s fighting for a roster spot in the NFL.

"I shouldn’t even be here and I am. That’s only because of how hard I’ve worked and because of the people who’ve helped me out along the way. I owe it to them to spill my blood out and give it everything I got. – Nate Boyer"

That quote comes from an edition of SC Featured that will air this coming Sunday. (As part of the 10:00 E.T SportsCenter, and then again throughout the day in other editions of the show)

Boyer’s story needs to be told. I’m glad that SC Featured is taking the time to tell it.

"This is the kind of guy whatever he puts his mind to you think he’s going to get it done. It’s a great story regardless of what happens because he’s a great person. – Pete Carroll"

Boyer still faces an uphill battle to make Seattle’s final roster. With everything we know about him, there is no why I’d count him out. It doesn’t matter what the odds are.

Preview of SC Featured: The Long Shot:

Next: Training camp notes from August 6th

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