Senior offensive lineman J.C. Tretter became the 31st Cornell player of all time to be selected in the NFL draft as the Green Bay Packers chose him this weekend in the 2013 draft. Tretter was chosen as the 25th pick in the fourth round, making him the 122nd overall selection.
Tretter, who initially started at tight end for the Red, switched to left tackle in his junior season and played his final 20 games for Cornell at that position. An intimidating 6’4” figure weighing around 300 pounds, Tretter’s skill at protecting quarterback Jeff Matthew’s blind side helped the Red set new passing records and have the third-best passing attack in the FCS.
Tretter was named a unaniminous all-Ivy first team selection, becoming the first offensive lineman to earn that honor since Kevin Boothe in 2005. Boothe was later drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 draft by the Oakland Raiders. Overall, only 11 players from Cornell have been selected earlier than Tretter.
According to some NFL analysts, Tretter’s strong NFL Scouting Combine performance made him stand out among the other top offensive linemen in the draft. Statistics from the Bleacher Report list Tretter’s results from the combine as eighth in the vertical jump, eighth in the three-cone drill, 12th in the bench press, and 14th in the 40-yard dash.
Original Author: Emily Berman