Photo By Bethany Huff | Nate Boyer, former Special Forces Soldier and long snapper for the University of Texas...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO - The "Specialists" is a term used by the All-American Bowl West Team to identify three individuals who work together. The most recognition this group gets is when one of them misses a kick, a punt or drops a snap. These individuals are probably the smallest ones on the field at any point in time, weighing in around 195 to 200 pounds. But when the fate of the game is resting on their shoulders, it’s solely up to them to ensure their jobs are performed flawlessly and earn those last minute Hail Mary points.
The "Specialists," as they’ve come to call themselves, are West Team’s long snapper, Johnny Den Bleyker, punter, Drue Chrisman, and kicker, Skyler Southam. These athletes met with Nate Boyer, former U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier, during their practice at the Blossom Athletic Stadium, Jan. 7, and were very excited to meet with someone who they could actually relate to.
“We can relate to him better than a big shot quarterback,” said Chrisman. “It’s not a very glorious position, being a specialist, but when the game is on the line, it does come down to us and we have to be able to perform.”
Boyer shared key attributes, like adaptability and versatility, with the "Specialists" on the West Team, which enables them to prevail in challenging situations.
“Talking to him and listening to some of his stories and things he’s gone through ... helps us realize how different things are from high school to the pro level,” said Southam, a Heber City, Utah, native. “[Boyer] said it doesn’t matter if you’re a specialist, you need to still be in the weight room, you need to still be doing everything that everyone else is doing, and you still have to outwork people.”
Chrisman also shared how Boyer explained to them how in the bigger arenas, they won’t always get a lot of chances to prove themselves.
“The margin of error is a lot tighter,” he said. “[Boyer] talks about in the NFL and college, once you get to that level, you can miss one or two, but you have to be able to fix those tiny little mistakes and learn from them.”
Boyer never played football until he deployed to Iraq and began practicing in his spare time. Boyer then left active duty to pursue his dreams of playing college football at the University of Texas in 2010.
“I didn’t play football at all growing up,” said the Bay Area resident. “I played baseball, basketball and a bunch of other sports. But football was just something that I always wanted to do, but never happened for me.”
Although Boyer is not an All-American Bowl alumnus, there have been 299 U.S. All-Americans that have been drafted since 2004. Boyer encourages the athletes to embrace the grind in order to get there.
“Half the time you’re doing stuff you don’t want to do, but you have to remember what you’re ultimate goal is and why you’re doing it. Just put your head down and keep driving and you’re going to get a lot further along than you ever thought you would,” said Boyer.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be broadcast live Saturday, Jan. 9, on NBC at 1 p.m. EST.
| Date Taken: | 01.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.07.2016 20:27 |
| Story ID: | 185815 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | HEBER CITY, UT, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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