Soccer was once a bastion of masculinity, often with entrenched attitudes bordering on gender and sexuality issues. But as we move further into the 21^st century, thankfully, those attitudes are appearing far more out of sync with modern times. Football has taken off amongst females.

Sam Koch was one of the few punters to be drafted (he played his college ball at Nebraska) and the choice has proven well for Baltimore, the team he played the entirety of his 16 NFL Seasons.  Koch would make the Pro Bowl in 2015 and to date has been in the top ten in Yards per Punt four times.  Koch was a member of the Ravens Super Bowl Championship team in Super Bowl XLVII, and at the time of his retirement in 2021, he was seventh all-time in Punting Yards (52,868).

Ryan Kerrigan was the 2010 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and you would expect from a player who won such an accolade, he went high in the draft.  The Washington Redskins took him 16^thOverall, where he became their starting Right Defensive End as a rookie.

Kerrigan moved to Outside Linebacker as a sophomore, and he was a Pro Bowl in 2012.  An expert pass-rusher. Kerrigan led the NFL in Forced Fumbles (5) in 2014, and Tackles for Loss (18) in 2016, and he has had four 10-plus Sack years.  The former Purdue Boilermaker went to three more Pro Bowls consecutively (2016-18).   Kerrigan's output declined in 2019, and he was coming off of the bench in 2020, which would be his final year in Washington, as Kerrigan signed with division rival Philadelphia, but that would only be for one year before he retired.  

Kerrigan had 95.5 Sacks and 120 Tackles for Loss over his career.

Do you believe in Fitzmagic?

One of the most intriguing careers of an NFL Quarterback belongs to Ryan Fitzpatrick, a QB that defied the odds time and time again, and was constantly written off, despite becoming a cult-like figure among fans

From Harvard, Fitzpatrick was a Seventh Round Pick in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams, but he did not see any significant action until he was with the Buffalo Bills, where he had three straight 3,000 Yard years.  He would also exceed that mark once with the Jets, and once with the Dolphins while throwing for 34,990 Yards in total.  Fitzpatrick also played for Cincinnati, Tennessee, Houston and Tampa and retired with 223 Touchdown Passes.