NFL dreams come true for 2 hometown stars

Everyone at Drew Vanderlin's house sat in almost complete silence in the moments after the end of the NFL draft on Saturday evening.

With a crowd of friends and family surrounding him, the former Green Bay Southwest High School and Michigan Tech star was at the center of it all as he stared endlessly at the phone, anxiously anticipating a shot at the NFL.

Then, roughly an hour after the draft concluded, Vanderlin recognized an incoming call from the Green Bay Packers. He answered instantly. It was Packers director of college scouting John Dorsey, offering Vanderlin his shot at a childhood dream.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive end agreed to join the Packers as an undrafted free agent. It came just a few weeks after Vanderlin worked out for his hometown team. He’ll report with the rest of the Packers' draft picks, undrafted free agents and invitees in two weeks for rookie orientation.

A 2006 Southwest graduate, Vanderlin redshirted his freshman year at Michigan Tech and received a medical redshirt his junior year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the preseason.

During his six-year career with the Huskies, Vanderlin recorded 64 tackles with 20 sacks and 36 tackles for loss. Vanderlin said he received some interest from other teams but immediately chose the Packers when he got the call.

“This whole day was kind of nerve-wracking,” Vanderlin said. “My parents were crying, I was crying. It was just a happy time, but at the same time, I told Mr. Dorsey that I’m coming in there to work. I’m going to take it serious, do the best I can and it’s another step hopefully in the right direction.”

Also Saturday, former De Pere star Drew Nowak signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent.

The 6-4, 295-pound Western Michigan defensive lineman was the Mid-American Conference defensive player of the year last season after registering 91 tackles with 20½ tackles for loss and 8½ sacks.

Nowak worked out for the Packers with Vanderlin a couple weeks ago but didn’t hear from them on Saturday. He received interest from the Atlanta Falcons and had an offer from the New York Jets, but settled on the Jaguars after reviewing their depth chart.

Nowak, who talked with Jacksonville earlier this week, spent the first two days of the draft at his house before following the draft closely at the Green Bay office of his agent, Joe Flanagan, on Saturday.

While it made for a long week, the result made it all the more gratifying for Nowak.

“I didn’t sleep too much this week, to be honest with you,” Nowak said. “I was up today at 5 a.m. and didn’t sleep much through the night the rest of the week. I watched every single pick throughout the entire draft. I watched everything extensively and marked it all down, and Jacksonville didn’t do anything that would make me not pick them and I’m just really excited I’m going to get this opportunity.”