Zoltan Mesko at Michigan. (Image by cgilmour.)

Billed by the Wall Street Journal as “the most interesting man in the NFL,” Romanian immigrant Zoltan Mesko was a standout punter at Michigan before being drafted by the New England Patriots. He has one of the more unusual backgrounds among NFLers. An excerpt from John U. Bacon’s WSJ piece:

“Of the dozens of rookies signed by NFL teams this summer, perhaps the most unlikely one is a 24-year-old punter from Romania who stands 6-foot-4 and sports what he calls ‘a buzz cut and a big, goofy smile.’

The wonderfully named Zoltan Mesko speaks five languages and grew up dreaming of being an aerospace engineer before graduating from Michigan with a business degree and a master’s in sports management. He got lured into football only after he smashed a ceiling light with a kick ball in his Twinsburg, Ohio, junior-high-school gym.

‘When I was 10 years old, I barely knew American football existed,’ he adds. ‘If you would’ve told me I’d get two degrees and a pro contract for kicking a ball in the air, I probably would have said, ‘Oh yeah? Are you going to disappear into thin air for your next act?'”