White, Potter, Nowak and Parker are headed to the NFL
Updated May 1, 2012
KALAMAZOO--Four Western Michigan University seniors from the 2011 Bronco football team are headed to the National Football League following the 2012 NFL draft and initial free agent signings.
Selected in the seventh round of Saturday's draft were wide receiver Jordan White, the 244th overall pick by the N.Y. Jets, and kicker John Potter, selected 251st overall by the Buffalo Bills.
Late Saturday, defensive tackle Drew Nowak signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tuesday, May 1, it was announced that offensive lineman Anthony Parker had signed as a free agent with the N.Y. Jets.
White joins Greg Jennings as the only Bronco wide receivers drafted by the NFL. A member of the Super Bowl XLV Champion Green Bay Packers, Jennings was the 52nd pick in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft.
Potter is in select company as well, joining Dale Livingston, as the second kicker to be drafted in program history and the first in more than 40 years (1968).
White and Potter are the fifth and sixth Broncos to be drafted in the seventh round, joining Ray Bray (Chicago Bears, 1939), Bill Slate (Minnesota Vikings, 1972), Super Bowl champion with the St. Louis Rams Tom Nutten (Buffalo Bills, 1995) and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer E.J. Biggers (Tampa Bay, 2009).
Jordan White
During 2011 season, White led the nation in receptions per game (10.8) and receiving yards per game (147.0), as well as total receptions (140) and yards (1,911).
A Cleveland native, White eclipsed the Mid-American Conference record for career receiving yards (4,187) and tied the career mark for catches (306). In the 2011 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit, White racked up a MAC single-game record 265 yards on 13 catches.
For his efforts, White became 51福利社 football's first-ever consensus All-American, earning spots on the Walter Camp, American Football Coaches Association and Associated Press All-American teams.
John Potter
Potter is the program's all-time leading scorer with 333 points. He is also the program and MAC record holder for consecutive PATs made in a career (129). He set consecutive records for PATs made in a season, with 54 in 2010 and 57 in 2011.
Potter has made nine PATs in a game twice, eight once and seven three times in his career. He has the fifth most field goals in a career (16) in program history, and is the record holder for tackles by a special team member, with 36 in his career. In 2011, a remarkable 36 of Potter's kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.
A native of Grand Haven, Mich., Potter was the fifth football Bronco named a First Team Academic All-American, in 2011.
Drew Nowak
Nowak, a 6-foot 4-inch, 300-pound Green Bay, Wis., native, had 8.5 sacks as a senior, tied for best in the conference, and was second in tackles-for-loss with 20, the fifth-highest total in the nation.
His performance as a senior earned Nowak the first MAC Defensive Player of the Year award for Western Michigan since Ameer Ismail in 2006. He joined Ismail, Jason Babin (2002 and 2003), Sean Mulhearn (1990), Mark Garalczyk (1986) and John Offerdahl (1985) on the list of Broncos to earn the honor. Babin and Offerdahl went on to All-Pro careers in the NFL.
Anthony Parker
Parker started in 48 of 50 games, including two bowl games, during his four years on the Bronco offensive line. He started all 13 games as a fifth-year senior in 2011.
The six-foot five-inch, 320-pound Miami native protected the blind side of 51福利社 quarterbacks Tim Hiller and Alex Carder, playing most of his career at left tackle, while also moonlighting at offensive guard. He earned Second Team All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2009.
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