The Detroit Lions stayed pretty close to home with some of their undrafted rookie free agent signings in 2023. One Lions UDFA fits that bill for both high school and college.
Linebacker Trevor Nowaske is a graduate of Canton Salem High School in the Detroit area and played collegiately at Saginaw Valley State. The D-II standout earned acclaim with an outstanding workout at the GLIAC pro day, enough that the Lions signed him after the 2023 NFL draft.
It took a little time, but I finally obtained access to more SVSU game tape to properly evaluate Nowaske. I had only seen highlight videos, which were impressive but don’t paint anything close to a complete picture of a player.
Nowaske’s tremendous athleticism definitely shows on Cardinals film.
Trevor Nowaske is a LB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.85 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 38 out of 2503 LB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/q3yetfFGER #RAS pic.twitter.com/AHzNvAg9Vh
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 26, 2023
Nowaske was an outside backer, playing much the same role that Alex Anzalone currently does for the Lions. He’s very quick to click-and-close on the ball on run plays outside the tackles. Nowaske is adept at keeping his feet clean and generally anticipates blocking well. It allows him to take good angles, and his speed suits him well to make plays. He’s also got strong body control to not overshoot the point of attack.
He is a finisher. There is excellent tackling power and pretty good form; Nowaske sinks his weight well as he wraps and has the shoulder and core strength to drop bigger runners. He has shorter arms than ideal for his position, which shows when he needs to reach outside his frame to initiate a tackle.
It’s clear Nowaske understands how to quickly process what he sees, and he generally does so without a lot of wasted motion. There were instances in coverage where he was caught looking into the backfield too long and losing awareness of his coverage mark, something Lions fans lament about Anzalone too.
The football IQ is what will give Nowaske a chance to stick in Detroit. Against Ferris State, the eventual D-II national champs, Nowaske had a monster game. His ability to anticipate, diagnose and react quickly leapt off the game film. He was credited with 15 tackles — it felt like more — as well as an interception. Ferris State runs a complex, inside-zone run scheme with multiple options on nearly every play. Nowaske stayed clean and attacked very well. It nearly led to an upset win for the Cardinals.
At the very least, Nowaske should make the Lions’ practice squad as a rookie and as fellow rookie LB Jack Campbell’s understudy. The athleticism, football IQ and vocal leadership are all there. If Nowaske can adapt to the superior speed and strength of the NFL game, he’s got a real chance to follow in Anthony Pittman’s footsteps and convert a strong GLIAC career to a lengthy NFL career.
