Nate Boyer Has Beaten Odds Before, Don't Bet Against Seahawks' Newest Player

Every year during the NFL draft, we hear about players who have taken the "scenic route." Troubled childhoods. Run-ins with the law. Community college. We cheer for those feel-good stories—players who overcame adversity to fulfill their dream of reaching the NFL.

However, it isn't every day that you hear about a player whose "scenic route" took him to war-torn Sudan and combat in Iraq. A player who is 34 years old entering the NFL.

Of course, not every player is Nate Boyer, and given the obstacles the 5'11", 220-pounder has already overcome, don't bet your lunch money against the Texas long-snapper making the defending NFC champions.

Unless, of course, you're on a diet.

Back in 2004, Boyer was in his early 20s, working odd jobs to fund his backpacking trips around the globe. As Boyer told Nate Davis of USA Today, "After high school, I had no interest in joining the military," he said. "I wasn't even really that patriotic."

However, after reading a TIME magazine article about the Darfur region of Sudan, Boyer felt compelled to go and help the thousands of refugees displaced by years of civil war:

"

I was figuring out a lot about myself, I guess. But it was kind of selfish, I wasn't really doing anything for anybody else. Then I read that magazine article. So that's kind of what bridged that gap. And when I was over there is where I gained my patriotism, because those people over there were so appreciative of Americans.

"

Upon returning to the United States, Boyer enlisted in the Army. But not just any branch of the Army—Boyer joined the Green Berets:

"

If we don't get involved in some of these major crises, people are like, "Where's America? Where's the U.S.?" So I sort of gained an understanding for that and how much it meant to those people that I was there, so I wanted to continue that.

"

There were over 150 recruits who entered training with Boyer.

Boyer was one of 11 who made it through.

By 2009, Boyer had spent five years in the military, serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving active duty, some folks might have taken a little time off. Not Boyer, though. After all, he hadn't gone to college yet.

So Boyer enrolled at the University of Texas. And hey, while he was there, might as well have played football, right?

"I didn't want to regret never playing, and I'd never had the opportunity," Boyer told Davis. "It was always my favorite sport to watch."

Eric Gay/Associated Press

As Peter King of the MMQB wrote, Boyer had really never played organized football in his life:

"

When he walked on at Texas, he had never played a snap of football in the first 29 years of his life. Mack Brown, the coach at the time, didn’t know until the end of Boyer’s second year at Texas that he’d never played football. Boyer’s story was so good—from Army special forces to number 37 for the Longhorns, sprinting onto the field before every home game carrying the American flag—that Brown and Texas found a spot for him. And when the two incumbent long-snappers left after that second year, Boyer figured, "I’m going to learn to snap. And this job will be mine."

Boyer made it happen. The man who never played the game mostly taught himself how to long-snap on his final special-forces tour, coming back to fall practice at Texas determined to win the job. He practiced and drilled himself into playing 38 Big 12 Conference games, which is why there’s a glimmer of hope that this incredible football life has a chance to continue this summer at an NFL training camp near you.

"

Well, Boyer wasn't drafted, but only moments after the draft concluded, The Associated Press reported that the Seahawks had signed Boyer as an undrafted free agent:

Granted, Boyer faces an uphill battle in several respects. There's very little turnover among NFL long-snappers (according to King, only six teams had first-year long-snappers in 2014, and one of those was due to an in-season injury).

The Seahawks' long-snapper, Clint Gresham, inked a three-year contract extension back in March.

There's also the matter of Boyer's age. And his size (or lack thereof). At only 220 pounds, Boyer is tiny by NFL standards, and as Davis reported, Boyer said it's been a struggle even to put that weight on:

"

I'm trying. It's hard. I played at 190 at Texas. I've already put on 25-30 pounds in the last three months. It's tough. ... Doing a lot of heavy lifting. It's just eating constantly. Putting weight on this quick, it's not easy, and it's really hard to do it the right way. It's been a struggle and a challenge.

"

Boyer had to keep his weight down at Texas. Because while most youngsters spend their summers in college doing keg stands and playing beer pong, Boyer spent his deployed to the Middle East.

Still, Indianapolis Colts long-snapper Matt Overton (254 pounds), who offered to work with Boyer after hearing his story, told King this is more than just a human interest tale:

"

His velocity is definitely there, and his accuracy is definitely there. This was my chance to see if this was just a good story or if he has a legitimate shot to make it. And there is no question in my mind he can do it. None. He can legit long-snap at the NFL level.

"

Given everything Boyer has already done, and the goals he's already accomplished, I'm not about to bet against the rookie who's anything but.

I like lunch.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.