Trevor Nowaske teaches Jets a lesson Jahmyr Gibbs already learned

It's easy to look at Trevor Nowaske and figure he got here with GRIT -- that word plastered on the walls in Allen Park. While he's certainly long on the more important trait to the Lions, that assumption sells him short.

Nowaske joined the Lions in 2023, the same year as Jack Campbell. One was a first-round pick out of Iowa; the other went undrafted out of DII Saginaw Valley State. They both produced Relative Athletic Scores that ranked among the highest ever for linebackers. In terms of speed and agility, Nowaske's numbers were even more impressive than Campbell's.

He was featured on one list that March titled '8 Super-Athletes Serving as Deep Sleepers in 2023 NFL Draft.' It noted that Nowaske's 40-yard dash at his pro day would have ranked sixth among linebackers at the combine; his three-cone drill would have ranked second.

Jahmyr Gibbs joined the Lions that same year, the 12th overall pick fresh out of Alabama. Gibbs, naturally, had never heard of Nowaske. Nowaske still smiles at one of their first interactions on the practice field.

"I will say, and he’ll tell you," Nowaske said, "my rookie year -- I remember this to this day -- we did 1-on-1s and he went out like a No. 1 receiver and just ran a go ball, and I was in stride with him. I don't know if I broke up the pass -- maybe he caught it, I don’t know — but I was like, 'OK, alright, I can do this thing.' And that was early in OTAs."

"Ask him about it," Nowaske said.

Gibbs remembers it being a hitch or a burst route. When he lined up against Nowaske, "I was like, 'game over.' And he was all over me. I was like, this dude is fast as f**k," Gibbs said with a laugh. "I think he ran the 100-yard dash in high school."

"I think that's the only one I've ever won against him," Nowaske said.

Over his first three seasons in Detroit, Nowaske played mostly on special teams. Campbell, Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes led the way for the Lions at linebacker. Nowaske was called upon in a pinch, especially in 2024 when Barnes went down with a knee injury early in the season. Last year, when Detroit's top three linebackers were healthy, Nowaske barely played on defense at all.

The same was true the first two games of this season. But the Lions' defense was getting gouged. The film was littered with blown coverages, missed assignments, and explosive plays. They coaches made some personnel changes in Week 3, seeking more reliability. Expanding Nowaske's role, at the expense of Devin White, was one of them.

"You know that whole thing we talk about: be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there. That's exactly him, and he makes plays," Campbell said this week.

After playing 13 defensive snaps in Detroit's first two games, Nowaske was told at the beginning of last week that he was in line for more. He said it was a combination of "just doing my job" in the limited defensive reps he'd logged to that point and the coaches wanting to know, "Let’s see what you can do with a bigger sample size." A lot, as it turns out.

Nowaske played 33 snaps on defense in the Lions' 31-24 win over the Jets. He was tied for the team lead with Barnes and Christian Izien with four defensive stops, per PFF -- tackles that constitute a 'failure' for the offense. One of his first plays was a strong tackle in space on Jets receiver Sterling Sheppard.

His best play came in the fourth quarter near the goal line. The Jets ran a toss to star running back Breece Hall from the four-yard line that was designed for Hall to get around the right edge to the end zone. It never had a chance. Nowaske was with Hall every step of the way and tackled him out of bounds for no gain. Hall was Gibbs, three years later.

"I know what I look like," Nowaske said, "I think Hall probably got it and saw a big white guy and was like, 'I’m gonna outrun this guy.' And I just love that, because I know I’m athletic and when it comes to a footrace I can run with the best of 'em. He didn’t really try to cut it upfield and that just played into my favor."

Know who wasn't surprised watching the play from Detroit's sideline?

"When saw that I was like, 'Oh, that s**t’s strapped,'" Gibbs said. "I was like, 'He do this s**t!!' I was lit."

The Lions figured the play was coming at some point, having seen a variation of it on film over the Jets' first two games. When the coaches gave Nowaske the look in practice last week, "he yawned at it," said Dan Campbell. "And then we get in the game, same thing." Nowaske nodded. In different iterations of the play, he said, the Jets sent a receiver in motion like he was running a sweep, then pitched it to the running back in the other direction.

In this case, they tried something similar with a tight end.

"I think they were setting that up," said Nowaske, "where everyone would go this way and the back would go that way. And they probably saw me in the Buffalo game where I’m locked on the tight end, and they thought I would be so locked in that I’d maybe not see the back."

He saw it, alright.

"He doesn't miss a beat," said Campbell. "He's just very disciplined that way, and that's all you want. That's what you're looking for. So he's going to continue to get opportunities, because he's earned that. He's a valuable special teams player for us and there's a role on defense where he can help us."

While Nowaske has stepped up in said role in the past, "it was more for injury purposes when I was younger." This feels different. This feels like it might last.

"To get that role where it’s like, listen, you just earned it, it means a lot more," he said. "But I also know -- it’s great, I feel like I did well -- it’s one game. And it’s the NFL, you gotta continue to do it, and do it, and do it, and it really means nothing (if you don’t). But I was fired up to get that opportunity. I know what I can do as a linebacker and what I’m capable of. To get that recognition and have other people see it, yeah, it was for sure a nice thing to hear."

Yes, the man has grit. He also has jets -- just ask the Jets.