19-year-old Ott Eric Ottender looking to make it in American football

Perhaps the most hopeful Estonian American football player, aside from NFL defensive lineman Margus Hunt, is 19-year old Ott Eric Ottender, who currently plays for the Tallinn Kings but is looking to make it in the United States college football ranks in the coming years.
Ottender told Vikerraadio's sports show "Spordipühapäev" on Sunday: "My short-term goal is to be able to play in a college in the United States next year. The long-term goal of making it into the NFL - I would not like to set that one yet. Life is greatly variable."
The wide receiver continued: "The long-term goal would be to get better each day, week and year. The work and results will be reflected in the way I play then."
Ottender said a lot still needs to be done: "You have to be honest with yourself: Are you putting in the time to go to the field to practice, to the gym, study games in your spare time, be a student of the game? Of course, the main principles and the sum of the game are clear but there is so-so much left to learn."
But there are also things out of his own control: "Since coaches of American colleges receive 100 or 200 e-mails a day, you have to get a little lucky for them to see your letter and open it to reply. Another thing is if they even need a player like me in the first place."
Ottender, currently training with Estonia's only team, the Tallinn Kings, added that he sends some 100 e-mails each week to different colleges. "The work off the field is hard," he smirked, adding that off-season training camps also help a lot, such as the NFL Academy held in London, where Ottender participated over the summer.

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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste