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German picked in NFL draft

April 26, 2013

German-born Björn Werner will be playing next season in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts. The defensive end from Florida State was 24th in the draft first round.

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Bjoern Werner of the Florida State Seminoles holds up a jersey on stage after he was picked #24 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

In New York, National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell spent three and a half hours calling names for players picked to play next season. Twenty-fourth on the list was Björn Werner of Germany.

Werner picked up the US-dominated sport at age 15. The defensive end from Florida State went 24th in Friday's first round to the Indianapolis Colts.

Born in 1990 in Berlin, Werner grew up playing soccer but discovered American football with the Berlin Adler team in Germany. He first went to the US as an exchange student in 2007 before winning a scholarship at Florida State as a defensive end. Over the spring break in 2010 he married his girlfriend Denise, who he met in tenth grade in Berlin.

Because of his German heritage, fans on the social network Twitter have given him the nickname 'the German invasion army.'

Two other international players, Ghana's Ezekiel Ansah and Star Lotulelei, from the Pacific island of Tonga were among the 32 first-round picks, which is reserved for the cream of the college system.

jm/hc (AFP, AP)