Trevor Nowaske grew up watching the Lions lose. Last week, he sealed their biggest win of the season. He's not quite Lawrence Taylor yet, Aaron Glenn says with a wink, but the linebacker from down the road is making a name for himself in Detroit.
Two sacks in his last two games?
"To say it's a surprise, absolutely not," linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said Wednesday. "This is exactly how I expect him to play."
The Lions have loved Nowaske since he arrived as an undrafted rookie last summer. He was a little-known player from an even lesser-known school, but his deep bag of tools earned him a $2.7 million deal in Detroit. The Lions lost him to the Cardinals via waivers late last season while trying to move him to the practice squad, and couldn't wait to return the favor when Arizona waived him this summer.
Nowaske was "really disappointed to leave," he said -- and "so fired up" to return.
Sheppard and the Lions ask their linebackers to do a lot, especially in the SAM role where Nowaske has seen the bulk of his playing time in place of Derrick Barnes. And "mentally," said Sheppard, "he can handle everything."
"It's a big reason why not only myself, but AG, Dan (Campbell) and the front office were all very eager to get him back," Sheppard said. "The second we could, we went out and did that."
Nowaske, 25, has spent most of his life in Michigan. His stint in Arizona was his first time living out of the state. He was born and raised in Canton, went to Salem High and played his college ball at Division II Saginaw Valley State. He landed on NFL radars last year when he posted a Relative Athletic Score at his pro day that ranked among the top two percent of linebackers since 1987.
Athleticism is essential to playing the SAM, which requires the ability to rush the passer like a defensive end, diagnose and defend the run like a middle linebacker and cover, at times, like a nickel. Nowaske played there a bit in college and was back and forth last season between on-ball and off-ball duties. When the Lions lost Barnes to a knee injury last month, the most natural replacement on their roster was Nowaske.
"That SAM position is not an easy position, it’s not for everybody," said Glenn. "He’s going to continue to grow in our system, and I like what he’s doing for us. We’re going to try to put as much on his plate as he can handle, but we’re not going to overwhelm the player."
Nowaske saw lots of action in the Lions' rout of the Cowboys, finishing with three tackles, a pair of quarterback pressures and a sack. He didn't play quite as much in last week's win over the Vikings, but he charged into the backfield with the Lions guarding against a Hail Mary on the final play of the game and sacked Sam Darnold to officially move Detroit into first place in the NFC North.
"I’ve always been a Lions fan, so this is very cool for me," Nowaske said. "Growing up, I remember Joey Harrington being the quarterback, and obviously Calvin Johnson. When I first got here, to see him pop into the building, I was like, oh my gosh. And seeing Barry Sanders, and then playing against (Matthew) Stafford, you’re growing up idolizing these people and all of a sudden you’re on the field with them, it’s pretty surreal."
Most of Nowaske's extended family is also from Michigan, "so that adds a cherry on top to everything," he said. His parents are retired and attend every game, home and away. He hasn't been flooded -- yet -- with ticket requests, but smiled and said that "maybe after last week, it's picked up a little bit." He certainly doesn't mind.
Sheppard is a big believer in all of his players. He doesn't put anyone on the field who doesn't have a chance to succeed. Asked if he's considered giving former first-round pick and MIKE linebacker Jack Campbell a run at the SAM, Sheppard said, "Honestly, if Trevor Nowaske continues to play the way he’s playing, the only way Jack ends up out there is if Trevor glitches out on me."
"That player has ice water in his veins and I doubt that Trevor does that," he said.
The Lions had two players take questions at the designated interview area in the locker room on Thursday. One was superstar wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The other was Nowaske. As Sheppard told Nowaske this week, "What he's done is he's introduced himself to the world and to the NFL. So now, it's not going to be a surprise, Trevor, when you line up. They're going to be buckled up and ready to play you."
"And that's OK. That's all good. It's the NFL," Sheppard said. "He's going to be ready to meet that match."
Nowaske was born in 1998, a day before one of the final 100-yard games of Sanders' career. He had never seen the Lions win a division title or a playoff game until last season. Now Sanders is watching Nowaske, who's making plays for a Super Bowl contender in Detroit.
"We’re rolling right now," Nowaske said. "It’s super cool to be part of such a winning team. And the mindset here, the culture, it’s everything you want to be part of. Like I said, one word to describe it would be surreal."