Nate Ebner’s decision to write a book about his life was inspired by a coach he’s never actually played for.
Ebner’s final season at Ohio State was in 2011, which meant he exited the program just as Urban Meyer was taking over as the Buckeyes’ new head coach. Nonetheless, Ebner and Meyer bonded as Ebner returned to Ohio State to train during his NFL offseasons. And as Meyer learned more about Ebner’s life story, the then-Ohio State coach thought Ebner should share that story with the world.
“To be quite honest, it wasn’t really something I was thinking I wanted to do or would do, but through the offseasons of going back to Ohio State and training, Urban and I crossed paths quite a few times and eventually, at one point after the Olympics, having an All-Pro year and winning the Super Bowl, Urban was like, ‘You need to write a book,’” Ebner recalled.