http://jimrome.com/2015/04/21/nate-boyer-shares-his-story-with-jim-rome/

Nate Boyer shares his story with Jim Rome

Listen to Jim Rome interview Nate:

34-year old Green Beret, former Texas Longhorns long snapper, and current NFL prospect Nate Boyer shared his amazing story on The Jim Rome Show. Boyer says when he graduated high school he knew his path wasn’t going to be the traditional college route at that time, so his passion for random journeys led him to relief work in Darfur, Africa. Despite his lack of credentials to work with an organization in Darfur, Boyer decided to act on his own and head overseas.

“I was told it was impossible,” Boyer said of going back to Darfur. “So I just bought a plane ticket myself and kind of just showed up and talked my way on to a UN flight and sort of got out to the refugee camps and started working until people were like ‘who is this guy and what are you doing here?’ And that turned into a whole other thing but eventually I earned their trust and all that, and was able to do that for a couple months until my visa expired.”

Boyer said the experience is where his Patriotism first developed.

“The thing that stuck out to me more than anything, despite all the pain and struggle and awful things you see that are done to these people and the family members that are gone, their positivity and how they were so appreciative that an American would just come spend a couple months out there, it was like huge for them,” said Boyer. “That’s where that Patriotism really developed for me and really grew inside me. I felt this love for my country that I never had before and obviously we’re very lucky and I kind of knew that but it didn’t really settle in until I was somewhere like that and knowing that the fact that I was born here, I was just like there’s no better opportunity than a person can ask for to have.”

While in Darfur, Boyer realized he wanted to join the Army and become a Green Beret.

“In Special Forces you work with indigenous people. So you are working hand in hand training, fighting alongside and sometimes even living with these people in third world countries so I wanted to help those people,” said Boyer. “The motto of the special forces is ‘de oppresso liber’ which means to ‘free the oppressed’ and that was a passionate mission to me.”

In the Special Forces, Boyer decided it was time to continue his education and despite never playing high school football, the Green Beret decided he wanted to play the game in college at a major school, the University of Texas.

“I wanted to play with a great program,” Boyer explaining his decision to go to Texas. “Honestly when I was in Iraq in 2009, for my last active duty employment, I remember thinking and seeing that Longhorn symbol everywhere. Texas is just like the Army’s team or the military’s team more than any college, that symbol is everywhere. I’d see it on Iraqi’s and Afghan’s and I’d be like ‘Where did you get that shirt?’

Boyer also said word spread about UT’s coach Mack Brown among military men.

“Coach Brown had gone out there on a US field trip, and he stayed and signed autographs for hours and all these soldiers loved him and all that,” said Boyer. “So it was just kind of a number of things that kind of led me there, and I applied, it was the only place I applied, I got in and that was it.”

The walk-on is now focused on making an NFL team, despite being 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, and playing a limited position. Furthermore, Boyer says there’s really no reason a team shouldn’t bring him in and give him an opportunity.

“I know on paper it’s not going to look like every other you’ve seen. But maybe you don’t want every other guy on your team,” Boyer said of his resume. “I have those experiences that people don’t, obviously normally have, but definitely a football player or an athlete doesn’t have. So yes I can bring all that stuff to the locker room and to the team and a leadership role that a long snapper doesn’t normally have. But beyond that I can do the job.”