Former Wolverine Lands NFL 'Dream' Job

After going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, former University of Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin's dream of playing in the NFL seemed to come crashing down. Without any offers on the table, Nordin began looking for jobs and even considered enlisting in the military.

“I waited four days,” Nordin said during a news conference. “I was on LinkedIn looking at jobs. I was thinking about maybe going into the military."

Fortunately for Nordin, one NFL team was intrigued by his leg strength and decided to reach out days after the draft had concluded.

“I was sitting in a recliner all day on my laptop, calling people, looking for a job,” Nordin recalled. “I was on a walk with my mom, and my agent called me and told me that the Patriots were going to get me a contract. And I said I’m not going to believe anything until there’s something at my house. 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.”

NFL debut for @QuinnNordin. 3/3 on FG’s including this one from 5️⃣0️⃣💥#𝐅𝐀𝐁𝟓𝟎 pic.twitter.com/ELaNcjhcyM
— Brandon Kornblue (@KornblueKicking) August 13, 2021

Once the opportunity came, Nordin certainly made the most of it. His best game of the preseason came in Week One against Washington - finishing the night making 3 of 3 field goals, including a booming 50 yarder. Though Nordin showed tremendous leg power and promise during the preseason, he also showed a bit of the accuracy issues that plagued him during his time at Michigan. During an awful Week 2 performance against the Philidelphia Eagles, Nordin went 1 of 2 on field goals and just 2 of 4 on extra points.

Special teams coordinator Cam Achord says Nordin's ability to rebound from that performance is a major reason he’s stuck around and ultimately won the job.

“He’s really showed an ability to bounce back. He was really competitive,” Achord said. “Obviously, it was a great competition throughout that. He’s got to continue to improve that consistency and keep showing it, but definitely being able to bounce back — he had the one rough outing and then came back and had solid performance the other day. That’s the big thing: you continue to get better.”

For Nordin, the opportunity to play in the NFL with franchise like the New England Patriots is a dream come true.

“Literally, I think it was two days after, my dad needed the deck power-washed. 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 said. “But I wanted to give (the NFL) a shot. This is every kid’s, person’s dream to get a chance to play for the New England Patriots.”