5 Things You Didn't Know About Broncos Linebacker Corey Nelson

DENVER (CBS4) - Second-year player Corey Nelson is one of several Broncos linebackers who is going to be fighting for a spot in the Broncos defense during training camp.

Adversity is something every NFL player faces at various times in his career, and for Nelson he ran into it before he even got close to the pros.

Find out five things about Nelson you didn't know from his appearance on Xfinity Monday Live with CBS4's Mark Haas:

He got drafted despite missing the last half of his senior season with a torn chest muscle.
Nelson says it was a crazy process. First, he partially tore his pectoral muscle as a senior at Oklahoma. He says as a result many agents weren't interested in him. "But one agent, Kelli Masters, said 'You know what, I'm going to take a shot on this guy.' And she took care of my training, took care of my recovery." He wound up having a good workout at Oklahoma's Pro Day, and his agent was in talks with the New England Patriots to possibly sign there as a free agent after the draft. But the Denver Broncos had other plans. "The Broncos called and they said we want him to try out for us and my agent was like 'If you want him to come out, if you want him on your team, you're going to have to draft him.' (They said) 'Okay, give us a sec.' Next thing I know I get a call from John Elway and Pat Bowlen and they're telling me that I'm a part of the Broncos. I was just blown away because it happened so fast." (He was picked in the seventh round in the 2014 draft.)

He loved the swag that college players got when they participated in a bowl game.
The Oklahoma Sooners played Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl in 2013, and although they lost the game, and Nelson was a big fan of the free stuff given to he and his teammates. "Great gifts! iPads, Dre Beats (headphones) ... it was nice. The food was great."

The Broncos presented him with an award that didn't exist prior to last year.
"They actually made the award up for me," Nelson said of the team's Community Rookie of the Year award, which was given to him in December. The award is given to a rookie who succeeds in making "immediate contributions to the community in his first NFL season." Nelson said he felt empowered from the moment he arrived in Denver to "get out in the community and change lives."

He talks about something else besides football in the Broncos locker room
Nelson says he was shocked by the events on Sunday night's episode of HBO's Game of Thrones. (CAUTION SPOILER ALERT!! Watch clip here where Nelson describes what happened) He said the television series was basically the only thing anyone was talking about in the locker room on Monday morning. If you haven't seen the episode yet, Nelson says get ready for what he says are a "heart-wrenching" series of events.

He's got a few things going during the Broncos break before training camp.
Nelson plans on going to Haiti in early July on a mission trip. "Just to be able to go over there, give back and talk to the young kids. You know, pray (with) them, inspire them and just have a good time with the scenery and the people there." There's also one other small thing: he's getting married.

See more video from Nelson's appearance on Xfinity Monday Live in the special section on CBSDenver.com.