Seattle signs Army vet Nate Boyer as undrafted free agent

By foxsports
Published

RENTON, Wash. (AP) U.S. Army veteran and former Texas long snapper Nate Boyer will get his chance to make an NFL roster in Seattle.

The Seahawks reached an agreement with Boyer as an undrafted free agent on Saturday, giving the 34-year-old former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces a chance to continue his football career that started as a walk-on with the Longhorns.

''You fall in love through the process with guys and give people opportunities for different reasons all through the draft,'' Seattle general manager John Schneider said. ''Through a good friend of mine I've become aware of who this guy is at his core and what he represents and what he's done every single year at Texas and three tours and coming out of high school, he's just a phenomenal person. And he's a competitor, and he's tough and he represents a lot of really, really cool things that quite frankly that I think will be good for all of us to be around.''

In an interview on NFL Network, Boyer said he was called by Seattle coach Pete Carroll after the draft concluded and offered the chance to join the Seahawks.

''I don't even know what to say,'' Boyer said. ''It's so cool.''

Boyer did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was part of the Green Berets and earned a Bronze Star.

And then he learned how to be a long snapper.

Boyer walked on to the football program at Texas and eventually won the starting job. He was the long snapper for the Longhorns his final three seasons.

He had been working out in Los Angeles trying to put on weight after playing his college career at 195 pounds. Boyer told NFL Network he had just eaten a sandwich when Carroll called.

It'll be difficult for Boyer to earn a spot with Clint Gresham firmly entrenched as the Seahawks long snapper. Gresham re-signed with Seattle in the offseason and has been the Seahawks' long snapper for the past five seasons.

''I think he's going to hit somebody,'' Carroll said of Boyer. ''It's a great opportunity for us to have a guy come to the program with his background and all that. We cherish competitors. We cherish tough guys. We cherish guys that can overcome odds and he's done all of that.''

---

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL