The newest member of the San Francisco 49ers just became the newest starter on the team's offensive line.
Jordan Devey, acquired from the New England Patriots on Aug. 21 in exchange for Asante Cleveland, will begin the regular season as San Francisco's first-team right guard – per Jim Tomsula's Tuesday announcement.
If fans are unfamiliar with Devey, this is the post for you. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound lineman has a fascinating backstory, and we broke it down into five chapters.
- He suffered from a debilitating knee condition as a kid.
Because of a painful knee condition called Osgood-Schlatter disease, Devey stopped playing football after eighth grade and didn't return to the sport for another seven years.
"I went to every football game and sat on the sidelines," Devey told telegram.com in 2013. "Most of my friends 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."
- He was an accomplished tuba player.
Devey turned to music to fill his time after he gave up football.
He joined the nationally-acclaimed marching band at American Fork High School in Utah as a tuba player. Music took him around the country, even performing at President George W. Bush's Inaugural Parade in 2005.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Devey had a flair for such antics as spinning and tossing his tuba in the air during routines.
"(He had) rare mental and emotional toughness that enabled me to be very honest in the feedback I gave," said Kevin Fallon, Devey's tuba instructor. "That's the thing about Jordan: He's always had a desire to be the best at what he does."
- He worked as a security guard before going on a Mormon mission trip.
After graduating from high school in 2006, Devey worked the graveyard shift for a computer company. For 12 hours a day, five days a week, he searched big-rig trucks bringing in shipments.
Devey then left the odd job and spent two years in Costa Rica as a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"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," Devey said. "So a lot of life lessons I picked up down there will stay with me for a while."
When he returned, the knee condition was no longer a problem, and he decided to walk on at Snow College in Utah.
"He sought us out," Dan Gerber, Devey's offensive line coach at Snow, told the Deseret News earlier this year. "He wasn't in great shape when he came home, but he worked hard to get into great shape and did everything that we asked of him.
"He wanted to be the best, and he wanted it right away, and a lot of times he had to be patient and let it come to him. And when he did that, everything kind of fell into place."
Devey spent his final two collegiate seasons at Memphis before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
- He won the Super Bowl last year with the Patriots
Devey began his professional career with the Baltimore Ravens. When that didn't pan out, he signed with the Patriots and spent his rookie campaign on the practice squad.
A year later, Devey made the 53-man roster out of training camp and started the first four games of the season for New England. He went on to appear in seven games total in 2014.
Devey wasn't active for any of the Patriots playoff games, but he remained on the roster throughout the Super Bowl run.
- He has a "calmness about him."
In a possession with the starters on Saturday against the Denver Broncos, Devey helped the 49ers drive 57 yards during a two-minute drill resulting in a Phil Dawson field goal.
"There's a calmness about him in there playing the game," Tomsula said. "He's a good football player. He's a smart guy. He came in here and really got it quick."
Devey told reporters that his hungry mindset won't change even after earning a starting job.
"I'm trying to do whatever I can to play football for as long as I can," Devey said. "I'm still going to work as hard as I have been working, if not more, to be able to do whatever I can to help the line and help the team."
