The date was December 10^th, 2017. The place – Daytona Beach, Florida. The stands were all but empty as the 2017 National Bowl kicked off to an unimpressive crowd of approximately 250 spectators. The National Bowl is a college football all-star game featuring NFL prospects who have completed their eligibility in Division II, Division III or the NAIA. During this particular matchup the American squad put an absolute whooping on the National team by a final score of 48-13.

One of the stars defensively for the American Team was none other than Packers undrafted free agent Marcus Porter from Fairmont State University. For those unfamiliar with “the other FSU”, Fairmont State is located in Fairmont, West Virginia with a total enrollment of approximately 4200 students. The football team plays in Division II in the Mountain East Conference.

Fairmont State had an impressive 8-3 season in 2017 and the MVP of their defense was unquestionably Porter. Porter lead the team with 95 tackles including 12.5 for a loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 2 quarterback hits and a fumble recovery. When you turn on the tape of Porter he explodes off the screen and you immediately are drawn to the rangy 6’0’’ tall 229 pound linebacker. You can see some of his highlight plays below:

Packers undrafted free agent thread 17:

Marcus Porter - @RichhPort3r
6’0” 229 - LB - Sr. - Fairmont State - #2

Porter is another one of my favorite udfas of this class. He’s undersized & coming from a small school but he will absolutely light players up. Love his mentality!!! pic.twitter.com/XxOtzg6gM5

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

Porter has pretty good agility and he has exceptional closing ability that shows up consistently. He is an absolute magnet to the football and finds ways to the ball carrier. pic.twitter.com/v1SStvwizT

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

Great balance here to avoid the cut block and once again he finds his way to the ball carrier. He’s very slippery and tough to block. pic.twitter.com/w7WW8FQrVN

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

Check the acceleration at the end of this play. He closes and finishes so well. pic.twitter.com/kp2wfeuzHB

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

I just love how he finishes plays. He has solid speed to get to the sidelines but it’s the hit that stands out here. pic.twitter.com/x62oO4071k

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

That burst and the finish. Every time. You better have your head on a swivel when you play against Porter. pic.twitter.com/3SBfCctXmy

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

Last play of the thread. I can’t say enough about how much I love his mentality. This is the type of player you want leading your special teams unit & providing a burst of energy from your bench. I’ll be keeping a keen eye on him during training camp & preseason for sure. pic.twitter.com/DXElCgUZ8Y

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

His impressive play in 2017 granted him the opportunity to play in the National Bowl and he didn’t disappoint. Porter ended the day with 4 tackles including 2 tackles for loss and a sack. He was easily one of the stars of the day. Thankfully for Packer fans, one of the 250 spectators in attendance that day was Joe Hueber, one of Green Bay’s dedicated college scouts. According to Porter, Hueber had been out on campus and talked to him, “in either October or November.” But on this day Porter was excited about how he played in front of the 30+ NFL & CFL scouts and GM’s, including Hueber.

Porter didn’t get drafted, but that wasn’t necessarily his expectation. Porter mentioned that a few teams told him he would go, “late 6^th early 7^th, but he wasn’t expecting that.” He stated, “I wasn’t looking to get drafted, I just wanted an opportunity.”

So how did he end up in Green Bay? “I was going to sign with the first team that called me and Green Bay called me 2 minutes after the last pick was made.” The rest was history. A few other teams contacted him afterwards and offered him a roster spot but he had already committed to Green Bay. The next step for Porter was to get to town and get ready for rookie mini-camp.

I asked Porter what he expected out of mini-camp and what the experience was like:

“I wasn’t sure what is was going to be. It ran like an orientation. They went over how things were going to run when he came back.” He also officially signed his first NFL contract. Once it was time for getting on the field, Porter was ready for the speed. “Practice was fast but we ran fast practices at Fairmont. Trying to learn the plays right away was the most difficult part. I had to learn it right when they taught it so it was just trying to get used to that.”

Porter worked with inside linebackers coach Patrick Graham and Green Bay immediately began using him as both a will and mike linebacker: “I was getting used to running the plays, they ran me at two positions; mike and will. I’m used to switching back and forth, I just needed to get used to learning the different calls.”

What’s Porter’s plan going forward? “I need to learn the playbook, I’m a month behind the other guys and need to get caught up. Oren Burks is from the same area so I’ll probably link up and we’ll go over the playbook.”

As far as Porters’ experience in Green Bay so far? “The fans have been really supportive. People have been hitting me up on Instagram and social media; I even got to meet a couple fans. Even though I’m not a big name or a high draft pick the fans know everything about me and my position.”

Porter finds himself on the inside linebacker depth chart along with fellow undrafted free agents Parris Bennett and Greer Martini, 3^rd round pick Oren Burks, 2^nd year player Ahmad Thomas and veterans Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan. Assuming Green Bay doesn’t add any more linebackers to the depth chart, Porter will be battling three other undrafted players for the fourth inside linebacker spot on the team. That’s about as good as it gets for an undrafted rookie free agent.

It’s always an uphill climb for an undrafted free agent but Porter has the playmaking ability and demeanor to make a 53-man roster. If one thing came across loud and clear to me in my interview with Porter, it’s that he’s going to put in the work and do everything in his power to make this roster. Whether or not Green Bay found another undrafted gem remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t bet against a player who has this type of attitude on special teams:

Checkout this hit on special teams. Are you kidding me? I want Porter and CJ Johnson to make the team and just crush people on special teams forever. pic.twitter.com/2PLdkneqWr

— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 8, 2018

A huge thank you goes out to Marcus Porter for taking the time to interview with me. Please follow Marcus on Twitter at @RichhPort3r and make sure to welcome him to Green Bay. He will be wearing number 59 for the Packers this season.