Nate's first appearance with the U.S. National 7's team was at age 16 where he was invited to camp for the World Series Circuit. At 17, Nate was the youngest player at the U19 Junior World Cup in Dubai in 2006.  He was named MVP of the tournament for The United States his next two Junior World Cups in 2007 in Ireland and 2008 in Wales.

​

Despite not having played high school football, in his junior year of college he then walked on to and played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. In 36 career college games, he had 30 tackles as a special teams player from 2009–11.

​

Nate was chosen by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He has played for the team since 2012, winning Super Bowl XLIX with the team for the 2014 season.

​

In 2016, Nate was one of 12 players selected to represent the United States Rugby Sevens team for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team finished 9th, with a 3-2 record.