Alan Gendreau hasn’t played organized football for over year, but he is now looking to make an NFL roster. Gendreau, who had a decorated kicking career at Middle Tennessee State, is openly gay and seeking another a shot at the pros, which is detailed in a lengthy feature on Outsports.com. While at Middle Tennessee State, Gendreau set Sun Belt records as the conference’s all-time leading scorer, but a disappointing senior season derailed his NFL hopes. A few missed kicks against Purdue lingered with Gendreau. In particular, two kicks that were blocked following protection breakdowns in that game. With five seconds remaining, down 3, a defender broke through from the corner to prevent overtime. "I was so ready to start my big push for the pros," Gendreau said. "And I connected with the ball perfectly on those kicks. They were going in. But sometimes the protection breaks down. I had great protection for three years, but on those two attempts it broke down. It messed me up for a bit." While Gendreau was quick to not place blame, saying football is a team sport, his holder and team punter Josh Davis set the record straight: "Those weren't his fault. It was a total breakdown in protection." Gendreau went undrafted in 2012 and is currently a free agent. He hopes that a team will invite him OTAs over the next two months, so he can compete for a roster spot. "His sexual orientation is not going to matter one bit," super agent Leigh Steinberg said. "The only thing that matters is if he can put that ball between those goal posts. If he can do that, and if he can do it consistently, he’ll have a shot at the NFL." Gendreau wasn’t publicly gay in college, but said that his teammates knew of his sexual orientation and it didn’t affect the way he was treated.
