Ex-WR protects White House

Former NFL wide receiver Kevin Youngblood left football behind for something bigger.

Youngblood, who briefly played for the Atlanta Falcons in 2006, spent the last eight years as a U.S. Secret Service agent, according to the The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C.

Youngblood, who is from Jacksonville, Fla., started his journey to become a Secret Service agent at the White House after bouncing around the NFL and playing for the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force, according to the newspaper.

Along with the Falcons, Youngblood had a stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers before pursuing the Secret Service.

“I knew that I couldn’t play football the rest of my life and I wanted to settle down and stay in one place,” Youngblood told The Post and Courier. “I was ready to start the next chapter of my life.”

A wide receiver at Clemson from 2003-06, Youngblood’s former position coach Dabo Swinney was excited to reunite with Youngblood when the Tigers visited the White House in June.

“I was proud to see Kevin Youngblood greet us at the White House,” Swinney told the newspaper. “He takes great pride in Clemson and we take pride in his service for our country.”

In three seasons at Clemson, Youngblood recorded 1,709 yards and six touchdowns.

Julio is second best

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones had the second-highest ranking among NFL receivers in breaking routes in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus.

With a ranking of 120.8, Jones was barely beaten out for the top spot by Baltimore Ravens receiver Mike Wallace, who finished 2016 with a 121.5 ranking.

Jones caught for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns on 83 receptions last season.

You go so-long

Receiver Jeremy Maclin says he found out he’d been released when Chiefs GM John Dorsey left a voicemail. Which certainly gives a whole new meaning to “calling an audible.”

Quote marks

RJ Currie of SportsDeke. com, after an Atlanta cheerleader uncorked a record 44 consecutive back handsprings: “It all started with a rumor Tom Brady was out for the season.”

Eric Kolenich of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, after QB Derek Carr was given a record $25 million-a-year contract extension: “Apparently the Raiders are getting in the gambling mood ahead of their move to Las Vegas.”

It pays to eat

Cowboys rookie D-lineman Taco Charlton has signed an endorsement deal with the Texas-based Taco Bueno restaurant chain.

“Some guys have all the luck,” said Pot Roast Knighton.

Sheer stubbornness

A California man went to Disneyland 2,000 days in a row.

Hey, if you were really that fixated on repeatedly seeing a Mickey Mouse outfit in southern California, wouldn’t Rams season tickets be cheaper?