PRE SUPER BOWL

That one time my Primary kiddo, #66, blocked for

Tom Brady!

I was the Primary Pianist and in the Presidency when

Jordan Devey was in Primary.  My mom taught him in Primary.
Jordan did not play high school football!
He walked on at Snow College.

This is a great article!

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 he 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.