New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner is taking a leave from offseason football training to join the U.S. rugby sevens program with a goal of making the Olympic team, according to USA Rugby.
Ebner, 27, has been mostly a special-teams player for the Patriots since being drafted in the sixth round in 2012.
He was a rugby standout a decade ago for U.S. junior teams at World Championships and at Ohio State, before he walked onto the Buckeyes football team as a junior.
“We are aware of Nate’s rugby background from his high school and college days, and this was the key to him being in a position to compete with the current squad,” U.