Washington Huskies outside linebacker Psalm Wooching is an NFL draft prospect some thought would be drafted late. Well, teams can draft him, but he probably won’t play for them, because he’s switching to rugby.
Family, Friends & Fans please read pic.twitter.com/HrnIdyCV83
— Psalm Wooching (@UWPsalmWooching) February 16, 2017
The short version: Wooching is giving up football to play rugby full-time, with the goal of playing in the next Olympics.
Choosing rugby over football? Interesting choice, since he had a legitimate shot to make a roster:
“He’s 6’4”, 240, he’s raw, he can grow into that frame and he can run,” one AFC scout told Bleacher Report. “He’s a project, but with some work, he could pay off big down the road.”
That he’s able to switch between sports isn’t too surprising as both sports are very physical and have some similarities. It would’ve been a little more surprising if Wooching was choosing something like skiing or diving.
As SB Nation points out, this is the second big football to rugby story from the last year. Before he played football, New England Patriots’ safety Nate Ebner played rugby. That eventually led him to playing for Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio last summer.
If Wooching does make it to the next Summer Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo as a rugby player, it would likely be for the United States. Wooching does have a history as a rugby star. According to his Washington’ athletics page, Wooching once played for the Kona Bulls rugby team.
