From Rio to Houston, Nate Ebner has been the Patriots’ iron man
Ebner hasn't had a legitimate vacation in a long time.
From the beginning of training camp prior to the 2015 season through the current buildup to Super Bowl LI, Patriots safety and special teamer Nate Ebner hasn’t had a lot of down time. In fact, because of his participation in the Rio Olympics as a member of Team USA’s Rugby Sevens team, Ebner has essentially had no rest, save a few days last February.
“The 23rd of January was the AFC Championship last year, and I would say mid February was when I started to train for the Olympics,” Ebner recalled during an interview on Super Bowl LI’s Opening Night. “So that was maybe my month off? Maybe 20 days?”
From mid-February of 2016 until August 11 (the final USA game in Rio), Ebner trained daily with his Sevens teammates. But once the Olympics were over, there was no respite for Ebner.
“As soon as the last game was over in Rio, I was on a plane the very next day,” said the 28-year-old. “I came straight to Foxborough, obviously taking a travel day in there. And then the day after that I was running again for conditioning.”
Asked he how has endured through almost a year and a half of unbroken participation in two tough sports, Ebner was humble:
I’m still good. I’m still here. I’m lucky, I mean both are violent games. I see people get hurt all the time. I’ve just been very fortunate and I’ve taken care of my body as best as I can to maintain it. I like to think the work that I’ve put in day in and day out through the offseason has really helped me sustain all of this for the last two years or so that it’s been going.
Still, even the iron man of the Patriots is happily sizing up the prospect of what will come after the Super Bowl. Asked if he will actually get a break, Ebner acknowledged, “Yeah, I hope so.”
“At some point obviously you have to get back into things,” said Ebner. “But yes, I’m looking forward to [a break]. It will be nice to have nothing in front of me for quite some time.”
