Former USA U20 fullback Nate Ebner, who has turned heads at the USA 7s Collegiate Rugby Championship the last two springs, has been selected as a captain for the Ohio State University football team this weekend against Toledo.

OSU uses a rotating captain system, but Ebner recognizes that this remains a big honor for the senior special teams specialist. Ebner has been an outstanding addition for the Buckeyes on kickoffs and kick returns.

The last two seasons he has been given a dispensation to play rugby for OSU at the CRC, and many feel that he will leap back into USA contention once he graduates from Ohio State.

Ebner says rugby hasn’t helped him overly much in his conversion to football, but he did say his experience in a high performance environment for the USA U19s and U20s did help prepare him for DI football.