LHS grad gets NFL shot
By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
Rob Radice knew that if work ethic had anything to do with it, John Nalbone had a shot to play in the National Football League.
”John really helped his cause by working out the way he does,” said Radice, the Lawrence High football coach who saw his former player drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Sunday.
”He’s blossomed into a 6-4½, 257-pound tight end. His work ethic is outstanding. When he was here he was always looking to get back into the weight room after we were finished. I had to throw him out of there sometimes and then he would try to sneak back in. He was always super coachable and a pleasure to work with.”
Now, the Dolphins will be the team that will get the chance to work with Nalbone. After his stellar career at Monmouth University, the former Cardinal will now get his shot at the NFL. He leaves today to participate in the three-day mini-camp that begins Friday in Miami.
”It’s been nuts, but it has been a great experience,” said Nalbone, the first player ever drafted from Monmouth. “It’s been everything that everyone said it would be. It’s pretty cool and it is good for Lawrence High.”
Nalbone will now be one of two former Monmouth players in the NFL. Former Hawk Miles Austin hooked on with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent and is now part of their group of receivers. Austin making it made Nalbone realize anything was possible with hard work.
”There have been other great players to come through here,” he said of Monmouth. “Miles Austin was here my first two years and he’s been with the Dallas Cowboys. He just signed a contract and is doing well. He went through the combines and was signed as a free agent. He’s doing real well.
”My junior year and the spring of my senior year was when I had initial contact with NFL scouts, so I knew they knew who I was. I worked real hard that summer and I had a good senior year. I probably had 20 teams that showed some interest in me. I did well at my pro days and I went into it thinking I could be a late round pick, maybe fifth, sixth or seventh round. If I wasn’t drafted I thought I might have a shot to hook on with a team as a free agent.”
Nalbone, a two-time All-American selection, was selected by the Dolphins with the 161st overall pick. After setting receiving records for a tight end at Monmouth, he’ll now get a shot at playing at the ultimate level.
”We’re all real excited,” Radice said. “When he played for me it was my second and third year here and we were 5-5 three years in a row. We were not great, but we were laying the groundwork to be good. He was a captain and he started at tight end for us for three years. He also played outside linebacker. He was one of the last two-way players we had.
”He is very happy with the way it all worked out. He got to Monmouth and was able to play right away. He was an All-American the last two years. He could not have found a better situation.”
Nalbone was one of two former Mercer County high school players selected in Sunday’s second day of the draft. Tiquan Underwood, who played at Notre Dame and then Rutgers University, was selected after Nalbone.
”There have been some great players to come out of Mercer County,” Nalbone said. “Kevin Johnson, who went to Hamilton, had a decent career in the NFL. I just want to do the best I can and work as hard as I can.”
He’s made his younger brother, who is a Dolphins fan, very happy. And he’ll certainly have a legion of new fans in Mercer County pulling for him.
”I’m just excited for the opportunity,” said Nalbone, who already has his degree from Monmouth. “It’s an honor to be drafted in the NFL and to go to a great organization like the Dolphins. I am going to go down there and work as hard as I can and do the best job I can.”
Those who know Nalbone would expect nothing less.

