Quinn Nordin's Long Road To Patriots Training Camp
BOSTON (CBS) -- After going undrafted in the spring, kicker Quinn Nordin was doing what most post-grads do -- he was furiously looking for work. The NFL didn't seem like a real possibility, so he was weighing all of his options.
Join the military? Maybe. Power-washing decks around the neighborhood? If it came to that. Nordin wasn't ruling anything out.
And then the Patriots came calling and gave him his chance. The 22-year-old out of Michigan is now battling with veteran Nick Folk in training camp for New England's kicking duties.
But it was quite the road to Foxboro for the former Wolverine. He only played in four games for Michigan last season, connecting on just two of his five field goal attempts.
Even after no teams called his name over draft weekend, Nordin still held out hope that someone -- anyone -- would call shortly after the final pick was made. But as the days passed, he decided that it was time to look for fallback options.
"I was literally on LinkedIn typing in, 'What to do after college,'" Nordin told reporters from Patriots training camp on Monday. "I was sitting in a recliner all day on my laptop, calling people, looking for a job."
He thought about possibly joining the military. And when his father needed the deck power-washed, he thought that maybe he had an odd-job for the summer.
"All my buddies had signed with teams, and I was like, you know what, I could rent this power washer and I could power-wash decks in the neighborhood," he recalled.
Through all of his job searches and brainstorms, Nordin held out hope that an NFL team would reach out. Then, finally, he received word that the New England Patriots may be interested. He was excited, but wasn't going to get too excited just yet -- not until there was a contract offer.
There was not only an offer, but Nordin received a late-evening text from Patriots special teams coordinator Cam Achord that there might be a spot for him in camp.
"I was on a walk with my mom, and my agent called me and told me that [the Patriots] were going to send me a contract. And I said I'm not going to believe anything until there's something at my house," said Nordin. "Something came to the house, and I'm extremely grateful. But I couldn't even believe it. Because when you want something to happen and it doesn't happen, and you wait and you wait and you wait, you're just that much more grateful when the opportunity does come."
The upward battle continues for Nordin, who is now trying to beat out Folk, who has been nearly perfect for the Patriots since taking over during the 2019 season.
