Allen Park — Trevor Nowaske is hoping to make his dreams of becoming an NFL player a reality this year with the Detroit Lions.
Nowaske, an undrafted rookie from Saginaw Valley State and native of Canton, was surrounded by friends and family Friday night for the Lions’ preseason opener against the New York Giants at Ford Field.
With the NFL season knocking on the door and with a preseason game under the rookie’s belt, Nowaske has been grinding during training camp to make the cut and earn his way onto the 53-man roster.
“It would mean so much not just to me, but my community of friends and family,” said Nowaske, who played at Salem and tallied 98 tackles and four interceptions as a senior at Saginaw Valley. “It’s not just me on this journey, it’s all of them; the people who got me here.”
Still not able to put into words exactly how he felt in Friday’s preseason game, Nowaske says he’s blessed to even be in this position.
“Looking up and seeing the clouds of smoke, it was such a surreal experience,” he said. “I had my whole family there, which was awesome.”
Nowaske recorded four tackles in 15 defensive snaps against the Giants, and 14 special-teams snaps, which was the second most on the team Friday.
“I felt like I had a good game, I did well on special teams, got some good feedback from my special-teams coach, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Nowaske said.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Nowaske is developing and getting better.
“He’s a guy that is intriguing on special teams as a core player, and then in the meantime he continues to grow at linebacker, so he’s doing good,” Campbell said.
“He’s beginning to grow and climb again,” Campbell said. “That’s kind of what you would expect on some of these young guys and what you want; that’s the nature of their development and the way it should go.”
Nowaske said it means a lot to hear the praise received from Campbell.
“Every day, I’m just trying to do something positive to impact the team whether it’s on defense or special teams,” he said. “I’ll be the waterboy if I have to do whatever it takes to get this team where we need to go.”
As a rookie, the 24-year-old has looked to more experienced players on the team like Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Anthony Pittman, and Malcolm Rodriguez for help when it comes to sharpening his game.
“They’ve kind of taken me under their wing and any questions I have they’re here to help,” he said
Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard also has been a huge resource, and he values his expertise as a former NFL player.
“He demands a lot from us, which I really like, so overall, it’s been a great experience,” he said.
With the pressure of making cuts Nowaske is focused on not looking too far ahead, taking everything day by day, and not dwelling on mistakes.
“These past couple of weeks I’ve really been trying to hone in on the details, do my job, and do what I’m asked,” he said. “I feel like eventually it’ll pay off.”
mthompson2@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @mackenziethomp