CEDAR FALLS — The 2023 NFL Draft came and went without a former Northern Iowa Panther hearing their name called.
However, since the final pick late Saturday afternoon, four Panthers have found homes in the pros as undrafted free agents.
Two-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference defensive back Benny Sapp III signed with the Green Bay Packers as a UDFA.
Despite interest from a number of teams, Sapp settled on the Packers, stating that his heart lead him to Green Bay.
“Green Bay has a great system with their scheme,” Sapp said. “I feel like I can learn that defense…and even if it is special teams, practice squad or making the 53-man roster, I am ready to take on that challenge.”
“That was the best place for me to go.”
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Sapp heads to Green Bay on Thursday for rookie minicamp before a week off prior to OTAs which last five weeks.
As he makes the transition from college to pro football, Sapp said he feels well-prepared thanks to the coaching staff and structure of the defense at UNI. He specifically cited the high standards of head coach Mark Farley and defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson.
“You have to know formations or you cannot play,” Sapp said. “In the NFL, you have to know your formations…Knowing those things, being prepared for those things in college, helped me a lot going into this process.”
“I know for sure at other schools—like at Minnesota—you did not need to learn the formations to play, but, at Northern Iowa, they make you. You have to learn it, because if you do not learn it you are going to make the wrong calls. Then, you will not be able to play.”
Sapp also described having a father who played in the NFL as a huge benefit. Benny Sapp II played eight seasons in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, racking up 239 total tackles, 36 passes broken up and six interceptions.
“Having a father that played eight years in the NFL, he has already done it,” Sapp said. “Having an open book guy. Him coming up [to Cedar Falls]…he helped me get my IQ up. We watched film all day.”
“It is a blessing and I am grateful to have someone like that in my corner.”
Although the Vikings and Packers possess one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL, Sapp, a self-ascribed “football nerd,” said he is ready to don the green and gold.
“Oh, man…I am going to be honest with you,” Sapp said. “I have always been a Vikings fan growing up. But—hey, hey, hey—Go Pack Go. That is all I will say. Go Pack Go.”
In addition to Sapp, offensive lineman Matthew Vanderslice earned a pair of rookie minicamp invites from the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons. Center Erik Sorensen accepted a camp invite from the Chicago Bears. Wide receiver Deion McShane received a camp invite from the New York Giants.
Vanderslice first heads to Indianapolis for the Colts minicamp, this weekend, before heading down to Atlanta for the Falcons camp. Growing up a fan of the NFL, Vanderslice expressed his excitement to get an opportunity with two teams that fielded two of his favorite players to watch growing up.
“[I] loved Tony Gonzalez—That is who I wanted to be when I grew up,” Vanderslice said. “So, when he went to Atlanta…I started paying attention to Atlanta.”
“With the Colts, obviously, you have Peyton Manning and what he did there. Growing up and loving the game of football, you wanted to watch the best. You watched those two play.”
For Sorensen, an invite from the Chicago Bears offered a serendipitous landing in the pros. A trip to Soldier Field in week 16 of the 2022-23 NFL season to watch former Panther and current Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Spencer Brown gave Sorensen a taste of the organization.
Upon receiving the call from the Bears, Sorensen said he “jumped on the chance right away” and then looked to see who the Bears drafted to size up the rest of Chicago’s rookie class.
“They drafted three D tackles—a couple from the SEC,” Sorensen said. “My first thought was ‘Who am I going against? What is this weekend going to look like for me on the field?’”
“I am going to go in there and play my game of football, my style of football and hope it is enough”
Sorensen said he expects his ability to command the offensive line to translate to the next level.
According to both Sorensen and Vanderslice, former UNI and current Iowa State offensive line coach Ryan Clanton built them into “dogs.”
“The mentality that Coach Clanton installed in us when he first got here was that we are five dogs that are attached on a leash,” Sorensen said. “When our quarterback says hike that is when we get to go. We get to play fast. We get to play free. That is what makes the UNI offensive line so good.”
“You had to fight to go out there every single day to even get a spot because of how good of players we had,” Vanderslice said. “[Clanton] brought the mentality that you are going to fight for your starting spot and you are going to have to keep it.”
