The PCA Blog - New England

How Many Patriots Were Multi-Sport Athletes Through College?

by Beth O'Neill Maloney

01.31.2017

Your child’s coach wants him or her to commit to one sport, the sport they coach. But is that the best answer for your child? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever you and your child decide, you should know that on the Patriots there are more than a few who played multiple sports in college. Who are they?

Multi-Sport Patriots

Chris Hogan: The standout receiver, who set a Patriots franchise playoff record with nine receptions for 180 yards in the Patriots’ 36-17 AFC championship win over the Steelers, played just one year of college football. As the announcers in that game mentioned more than once, Hogan was a four-year starter as a midfielder for the Nittany Lions lacrosse team at Penn State before playing a single year of football at Monmouth University.

Nate Ebner: A valuable special teams player, who, with 19 special team tackles, is tied for the lead in the NFL in 2016, Ebner is also a world class rugby player, who walked on at Ohio State and finished with a rugby scholarship. Ebner famously took a leave from the Patriots to compete for the U.S. Rugby team in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Tyler Gaffney: A scout team running back, essential to the Patriots’ preparation for every game, Gaffney played outfield in three seasons of college baseball and one year of professional baseball for the Pirates’ single-A affiliate while at Stanford. At the same time, Gaffney played four years of football at Stanford.

If you know of any other Patriots players who played another sport in college, tell us who and what sport in the comments below.

Beth O’Neill Maloney became the Executive Director – New England in January 2016. A native of the Boston area, she is excited to help PCA accomplish its mission of providing youth and high school athletes with a positive, character-building sports experience, developing Better Athletes, Better People, throughout New England.