Drew Nowak (born March 7, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...

Early years

Nowak played high school football at

De Pere High School De Pere High School (DPHS) is a public high school located in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in 1870, it serves students in grades 9 through 12. It is the only high school in the Unified School District of De Pere. History Until 1870, schooling f ...

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

, a suburb of Green Bay. He played mostly on the defensive line but played some center his senior year. He attended college at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

. Donning jersey number 92, he totalled 180 total tackles as a defensive lineman. He led the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

in tackles for loss and sacks his senior year.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Nowak signed with the

following the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

as a rookie free agent. He was originally signed as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, but due to depth at the position and injuries on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, he made the switch to

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

2012 season

Nowak spent the entire 2012 season on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

2013 season

Nowak was released on August 30, 2013 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 1. He was promoted to the active roster on December 17. The Jaguars released Nowak on August 29, 2014.

Seattle Seahawks

2014 season

The Seahawks signed Nowak to their practice squad September 3, 2014. On May 4, 2016, the Seahawks released Nowak.

2015 season

Nowak was named the starting center for the Seahawks in September 2015. On December 1, 2015, he was waived. On December 4, the Seahawks signed him to their practice squad.

2016 season

On January 18, 2016, the Seahawks signed Nowak to a future/reserve contract. On May 4, 2016 Nowak was waived by the Seahawks.

Kansas City Chiefs

On May 10, 2016, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

signed Nowak after he was cut by the Seahawks to make room for rookies. On August 28, 2016, Nowak was waived by the Chiefs.

Personal life

Nowak grew up as a fan of his hometown

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, the only publicly owned NFL team, and owns three shares of the team, despite being a player for another NFL team. Drew currently owns Freedom Green Farms in Kalkaska, Michigan where he grows medical and recreational cannabis.

References

External links

Western Michigan Broncos BioJacksonville Jaguars Bio
1990 births Living people Players of American football from Green Bay, Wisconsin Western Michigan University alumni Western Michigan Broncos football players American football offensive guards American football defensive tackles Jacksonville Jaguars players Seattle Seahawks players Kansas City Chiefs players {{offensive-lineman-1990s-stub