ONE OF MY PRIMARY KIDDOS IS GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! (AND NOT AS A SPECTATOR)

I was either in the presidency, or 

Primary pianist when Jordan went through Primary.
Mom was his Primary teacher...because she was
everyone's Primary teacher!
His parents are Kerry and Leslie.

This article was on the AF Bands Facebook page.

It has been brought to my attention that a former AF Band Alumni will be playing in the Super Bowl this Saturday!! This story has been on our website this year, but I've copied and pasted it to share here. 

Enjoy!

NFL: AF Band Alumni Jordan Devey's progress has been music to Patriots' ears
Jordan Devey stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 270 pounds as a high school senior. So it was hardly surprising he spent his Friday nights on a football field and performed well enough to find himself entertaining several scholarship offers.

There was one twist.

Devey wasn't playing football at American Fork High, but the tuba in the school's nationally acclaimed marching band and it was his musical proficiency that drew the attention of several colleges in his native Utah.

"I went to every football game and sat on the sidelines," said Devey who gave up the sport after eighth grade due to intense knee pain from having Osgood-Schlatters disease. "Most of my friends who weren't in the band were on the football field. They always gave me a hard time trying to get me out there.

"I wanted to, it was just one of those things where we had the big picture in mind rather than the here and now."

That prudent approach paid off.

The here and now for Devey includes being an offensive lineman for the Patriots, who signed the undrafted rookie to their eight-man practice squad in early September just days after he was cut for a second time by the Baltimore Ravens.

Devey's journey to New England was circuitous, protracted and, especially, rewarding in a personal, pious and professional way.

After graduating from high school in 2006, Devey took a job working security on the graveyard shift for a computer company. Twelve hours a day, five days a week he checked diesel rigs bringing in shipments.

From there it was off to Costa Rica to serve a two-year mission as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Devey loved everything about the country from its beautiful beaches to friendly folks.

Well, mostly friendly
Trying to get people to listen to his Mormon message was always demanding and occasionally demoralizing.

"You get a lot of doors slammed in your face," Devey said. "You see the best and the worst of people when you're doing that because a lot of times it is cold calling."

His experience in Central America, while focused on serving others, helped foster his individual growth.

"I definitely loved it and I learned a lot of things that I still apply in my life, about working hard and learning new things — I had to learn Spanish while I was down there," the easygoing and enthusiastic 25-year-old said. "So a lot of life lessons I picked up down there that will stay with me for a while."

When Devey returned to the United States he felt a bit out of place after having been immersed in Latin culture for so long. He had also grown another 2 inches and lost 50 pounds due to a diet heavy on rice and beans and a daily regimen that included lots of walking.

Devey also shed the knee pain that had beset him for years and decided to walk on to the football team at Snow College, not far from his hometown. He not only made the squad, he started for two years and — when was the last time you heard a lineman honored this way — was named the Snow Cats' Offensive Player of the Year on a team that wound up being ranked seventh in the country in 2010.

Now 6-foot-7 and more than 300 pounds, the athletic scholarships poured in. Devey settled on the University of Memphis, where he studied accounting, got married and played every snap in every game while seeing time at left tackle, right guard and right tackle over the next two years. Oh yeah, he was named team MVP after his senior season in 2012.

Although he went undrafted in April, Devey was signed by the Ravens right after the conclusion of the seventh and final round. He spent spring and summer in Baltimore before being released, re-signed and released again, leading to his becoming a Patriot.

Utah will always be home, but Devey has settled in quite nicely in Massachusetts.

"I absolutely love it here," he said. Coach (Bill) Belichick does a really good job. Everyone here is blue collar. It's all about going to work and the team and getting better every day. That's the kind of person I am, so I felt like I fit right in with these guys and I couldn't imagine a better group of guys to be around."

As for the tuba, Devey came home from Costa Rica and discovered he couldn't blow a note. That's about the only thing that hasn't worked out these last few years for him.

Blocking for #12 . . . Tom Brady