Alan Gendreau would seem an unlikely pioneer. He is a former kicker for Middle Tennessee State, the leading scorer in Sun Belt Conference history, a little-known 23-year-old who wants a shot at the N.F.L.

And he is gay.

Recent attention on the sooner-or-later milestone of an openly gay male athlete in a major American team sport has been spurred by a presumption: that the first will be a current professional athlete.

But those who have long tracked the issue have thought the more likely situation would involve an already-out athlete climbing through the college ranks to reach the N.F.L., N.B.A., N.H.L. or Major League Baseball. They thought it would be someone like Gendreau. And it might be, if and when he can secure an invitation to try out for a team in the coming months. Gendreau’s motivation is not to become the first openly gay player in the N.F.L. It is simply to play in the N.F.L.