Follow Your Favorite Collegiate Athlete’s Journey to Green Bay Stardom

molly | 05/04/2018

It is the time of year when hope springs eternal in NFL cities everywhere. Fresh off the 2018 draft, franchises from coast to coast are basking in the optimism an influx of new players can bring. The vast potential of these prodigies buoys the great expectations of fans hoping they bring the talent necessary to help carry their beloved team to Super Bowl success.

The Green Bay 2018 Draft Class

In his first draft as Packers general manager, Brian Gutekunst channeled predecessor Ted Thompson in more ways than one. He made draft-day trades to stash future picks, addressed team needs without reaching for a player too soon, and focused on an aspect of defense that Thompson always valued:
“…ball skills and taking the ball away,” Gutekunst said in the midst of the three-day draft. “When we’ve been at our best on defense the last 10 years is when we’ve taken the ball away.”

Round 1

Jaire Alexander, CB, University of Louisville
Ht: 5’11” Wt: 192
Green Bay selected Louisville corner Jaire Alexander with the 18^th pick of the NFL Draft.
Alexander battled leg and hand injuries this past season, limiting him to six games, but when healthy, he is a quick, aggressive and versatile corner who can also contribute to special teams. Alexander averaged 9.9 yards on 44 career punt returns for the Cardinals, including a 69-yard return for a touchdown against Florida State in 2016.
His best film came during his sophomore year in 2016, when he intercepted five passes and broke up nine others in 13 starts to earn Second-Team All-ACC honors.
Showcasing his speed and agility, Alexander ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, which was the sixth-fastest time by a cornerback this year.
“He’s got a confident air about him, which is a good thing for any player—but a very good thing for a corner,” said Jon-Eric Sullivan, Green Bay’s director of college scouting. “He’s an impressive kid.”

Round 2

Josh Jackson, CB, University of Iowa
Ht: 6’1” Wt: 192
Green Bay added a second highly-regarded cornerback with the 45^th overall pick.
Jackson was a full-time starter for the first time in 2017. During that season, the Hawkeye led not only the Big Ten but the nation with eight interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns, both in the same game against the University of Wisconsin.
He was named the Big Ten Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the Nation’s Best Defensive Back.
“He played a lot of zone defense in Iowa…he basically started for one year…this is a guy who looks the part, and boy, last year, he certainly played the part,” said WTMJ voice Wayne Larivee.

Round 3

Oren Burks, LB, Vanderbilt University
Ht: 6’3” Wt: 230
Green Bay added Vanderbilt linebacker Oren Burks with the 88^th pick in the third round.
Listed as an OLB, Burks played all over the field on defense at Vanderbilt. He played safety his first two seasons and was moved to a hybrid safety-linebacker position during his junior year. In his final year with the Commodores, he played exclusively at inside linebacker, recording career highs for total tackles (82) and tackles for a loss (7).
At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, the speedy linebacker ran a 4.62 40-yard dash and also led all linebackers in the draft in the broad jump and vertical jump.
As a linebacker who can cover, he has the potential to address a glaring need on the Green Bay defense.
“He’ll play inside linebacker for us,” Green Bay’s director of pro personnel John Wojciechowski said. “He’s athletic and he’s going to be able to cover the field side-to-side. Coverage wise, he’s definitely going to be able to help us there.”
Burks comes out of college having also earned respect for accomplishments off the football field. As a campus leader at Vanderbilt, he was actively involved in social issues and co-founded a campus group empowering African Americans.

Round 4

J’Mon Moore, WR, University of Missouri
Ht: 6’3” Wt: 205
On day three of the draft, Green Bay selected the University of Missouri’s J’Mon Moore in the fourth round.
The polished wide receiver had a team high of 65 catches last season and exceeded 1,000 yards as both a junior and a senior at Missouri. He is especially skilled at adjusting to deep throws and can make plays after the catch.
Moore is also known for his impressive jumping ability, with his 38-inch vertical leap ranking fourth among receivers at February’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Round 5

Cole Madison, OL, Washington State University
Ht: 6’5” Wt: 314
J.K. Scott, Punter, University of Alabama
Ht: 6’6” Wt: 204
Marques Valdes-Scantling, WR, South Florida University
Ht: 6’5” Wt: 209

Round 6

Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, University of Notre Dame
Ht: 6’5” Wt: 203

Round 7

James Looney, DE, University of California
Ht: 6’3” Wt: 280
Hunter Bradley, Long Snapper, Mississippi State University
Ht: 6’3” Wt: 240
Kendall Donnerson, OLB, Southeast Missouri State
Ht: 6’2” Wt: 248

Support Your Favorite Collegiate Athlete, Plan a Trip to Lambeau

Legions of the Green & Gold faithful are now welcoming Green Bay’s 2018 draft class with open arms, hoping these stars of the collegiate gridiron are on the cusp of professional greatness. For fans who’ve followed these draftees during their college careers, the chance to see them play for the league’s most storied franchise is an opportunity Event USA is happy to ensure they do not miss!
Event USA has everything a fan needs to make his or her trip to Green Bay complete:

Game Tickets – Any quantity!
Hotel Packages
Player Autograph Parties – Up close and personal!

Start planning your excursion today! Contact Event USA at: 920.722.5377

"

Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
"

-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada

"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help. As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game, particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "

-Kayle

"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time. One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA. "

-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida

"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"

-Matt

"Hi Amy- Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future! Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol! Go pack go!!"

-Julie Mastrianni

"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service. My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it. We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip. Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."

-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN

"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."

-Frank Chavez, Sacramento

"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."

-Beverley Moore, Lancaster

"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"

-David Anastas, Worchester

"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."

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"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."

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"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."

-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly