Nathan Ebner (born December 14, 1988) is an American football safety and special teamer who is a free agent, and a rugby sevens player for the United States national rugby sevens team.
Ebner played rugby union (15-a-side) on the US Under-19 and Under-20 national teams, and was named MVP for the teams at both the 2007 and 2008 IRB Junior World Championships. He later played rugby sevens for the US national team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Despite not having played high school football, in his junior year of college he then walked on to and played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. In 36 career college games, Ebner had 30 tackles as a special teams player from 2009 to 2011.
Ebner was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He earned Super Bowl rings in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, and Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams in 2019.
Ebner and Patrick Chung are minority owners of Major League Rugby's team New England Free Jacks.
Early life
Ebner was born in Dublin, Ohio, the son of Nancy Pritchett and Jeffrey Ebner. His father, who was Jewish, was a former college rugby player at the University of Minnesota, and Sunday School principal at Temple Shalom in Springfield, Ohio. He was beaten to death at age 53 during an attempted robbery in November 2008 at the family business, Ebner & Sons auto reclamation in Springfield. In July 2010, his father's killer was sentenced to life in prison for murder, with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Ebner said:My [late] dad was my only role model. Looking back on it, you had your favorite players, but they were just players. But a role model, and the way you carry yourself and how you go about your work – what hard work really means – and to be a man ... every aspect of life. To me, my dad was that role model, 100 percent. There wasn't anyone else I wanted to be like more than him. Ebner is Jewish, and said of his father: "He taught me the importance of being Jewish with holidays like Chanukah and Passover, and I spent some time at Sunday Hebrew school. My dad stressed finishing strong in every task I did, and conduct myself always in a proper manner." He said his grandparents continue to be a big influence in his life, and "make sure I keep up with Jewish events and that I remember my origins."
Ebner was raised in Mason, Ohio, until sixth grade, and then in Columbus, Ohio. He attended Hilliard Davidson High School, but did not play football there.
Junior rugby career
Ebner was a standout rugby union player on the U.S. age-group national teams. He was named MVP of the USA team at both the under-19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007, and the under-20 IRB Junior World Championship in 2008.
College football career
Ebner attended Ohio State University, where he majored in exercise science. Ebner did not play football his first two years of college, as he was competing internationally in rugby, but then in his junior year he walked-on the Buckeyes. Although he had not played football in high school, by year's end he was nevertheless considered the team's best special teams player. He played only a handful of plays from scrimmage at nickelback as a backup, but did record a sack. He ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.48.
He was given a football scholarship his senior year, based on his special teams skills. In 2011, during which Ebner had 11 tackles, he was voted the team's most inspirational player, receiving the Bo Rein Award, and the team's best special teams player, earning the Ike Kelley Award. He was a three-time Big Ten Conference All-Academic honoree.
Ebner was nicknamed "Leonidas," after a Greek warrior-king hero of Sparta portrayed by Gerard Butler in the movie 300, because of his intense workout regimen, and his beard. Paul Haynes, the Buckeyes' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, said: "He has a passion for being great .... He was probably the most valuable player on that whole team last year." Asked which special teams unit he enjoyed playing on the most at Ohio State, Ebner's said: "Kickoff, probably. Because ... I just enjoy running down as fast as you can. It's just mayhem, it's exciting, it's crazy. It's such a rush.... It's just one big blur, and then it's over.... Maybe I got a screw loose."
In his 36 career games, Ebner had 30 tackles from 2009 to 2011. Pro Football Weekly described him as a player who "races down the field like a bat out of hell, and hunts returners like a heat-seeking missile".