Players normally find themselves in all kinds of different jobs after leaving the NFL, but very few find themselves in the position of helping to defend the leader of the free world.
Yet that’s exactly what happened to former Atlanta Falcon and current Secret Service member Kevin Youngblood.
In 2006, Youngblood, a wide receiver, completed a very quick and very forgettable career in the NFL. Appearing in only one game and having no statistical impact whatsoever. After that week’s game, Youngblood was declared inactive the next week and later released.
However, shortly after being declared inactive by the NFL, Youngblood found himself activated by “Uncle Sam.” Youngblood has spent the last nine years as a member of the U.S. Secret Service Uniform Division. Which helps protect all federal grounds in DC, up to and including the White House.
Youngblood told the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier, “Football helped me a lot with going through two-a-day minicamps, and protection work is a lot like the offensive line where we make sure our job does not get interrupted.”
Youngblood nearly played for every team in the NFC South during his time in the league. He had stints with the Bucs, Panthers, and Falcons. Youngblood grew interest in joining the Secret Service after watching a story about the service on television.
With his curiosity firmly established, Youngblood reached out to a former Clemson player named Billy Davis who had spent a career with the Secret Service. With football firmly in the rear-view mirror, Youngblood felt ready to start over.
“I knew that I couldn’t play football the rest of my life and I wanted to settle down and stay in one place. I was ready to start the next chapter of my life.”
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