Boyer honored, surprised by teammates, Allstate

Texas long snapper Nate Boyer walked in to the players lounge in the
Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center on what seemed to be a customary Friday
afternoon. Every week, patients from the Dell Childrens Medical Center,
along with some of their parents, are welcomed into the headquarters of
Texas football by numerous players and a few coaches. Boyer, who
frequently visits and interacts with the children at the Medical Center, knows
many of the children who are present already. What he does not know, is on
this Friday, hes in for a little surprise.

On Sept. 23, Boyer was named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team,
joining former Longhorns Emmanuel Acho, Sam Acho, Colt McCoy, Vince
Young, Ricky Williams, Tyson King, Tony Brackens and Robert Reed who
were all previously named to the Good Works team. Boyer is part of the 22member team that consists of 11 FBS players who were selected out of 182
possible candidates.

The children from the Medical Center engage in pool with some of the
players. Some feast upon the free cookies that were there for the taking,
while others seek out autographs on their footballs, posters and T-shirts.
Boyer meanwhile is taking the time to talk to two young boys about their
favorite sport, which is of course, football. His meeting is interrupted by Ken
Rucker, who calls attention to everyone in the lounge. Rucker was the first
person Boyer talked to about trying out for the football team. Rucker and a
representative from Allstate present Boyer with his honor in front of his
teammates, media and the children from the Medical Center. Boyer seems to
be the only one in the room who did not know what was coming.

They snuck this one on me, it was a surprise, I had no idea, Boyer said.

Boyer took part in the Green Beret Special Forces unit of the United States
Military. Following his time, he received a Bronze Star for his service. He still
makes himself available to the National Guard in the summer. He was
instrumental in the creation of the student organization, Caring for Camo,
which sends care packages to soldiers and hosts events that benefit
wounded veterans. He also speaks to the children of military parents
stationed at Fort Hood in his spare time.

Im not going to say Im a role model. I make bad decisions, Boyer said.
All Im trying to do is make people realize its not all about football. As
much as we love this game. It is just a game.

Boyer has made his presence felt within the Texas Football program, and
within the community. However, for him, the true reward isnt in the form of
the Allstate plaque he was presented with.

The reward is doing stuff in the community and helping people out.
Knowing that at least once in a while, you make a difference, Boyer said.
Being recognized, [is good because] its recognizing a lot of soldiers and
college football players. Ive been inspired by a lot of things in my life. So
being able to go out and inspire other people to follow their dreams. A lot of
times my dreams consist of going out and helping other people.

Boyer seems to be making those dreams come true.

Eleven players are chosen for the Good Works team from the FBS, while 11
others are chosen from the FCS. Yet, Boyer stood above the rest.

The reason Nate was chosen, hes just an all-around good guy. People just
seem to migrate towards him, said Harley Alloway, local Allstate agent that
presented Boyer with the award. Nate was the shining star of the 182
nominees. He cares, but he does something about it.

Boyers teammates chanted speech after he was presented with his award.
Boyer handled the situation as he would any other scenario on or off the
field when he addressed everyone in the lounge. He shrugged off the praise,
and shifted the focus to something bigger than himself. He targeted the
attention back to the reason he attended the surprise in the first place, the
children.

For you kids, I really appreciate you coming up here, but also letting us
come there and hang out with you guys, Boyer said in his speech. I know
for some of you it might be special to be a football player. For a lot of us its
cool to come back down to earth and realize that going out on Saturday and
playing a game, its fun. And sometimes we dont deserve it. We can take
that for granted sometimes, seeing what you guys are fighting through and
some stuff you guys are going through and have to overcome, its inspiring.
Thank you guys for your fight, and I appreciate it.