*Players never forget the day they were drafted, and they can remember various moments from that once-in-a-lifetime day, memories that sharpen as a new NFL Draft approaches each year.
Packers.com caught up with all the members of Green Bay's 2008 draft class to share what they remember most from their draft day one year ago.
Excerpts of those thoughts will be presented in a two-part series. The first part features the players drafted in the first three rounds, four of the team's nine selections in 2008. The first two rounds took place on Saturday, April 26, and the following day began with the third round.*
WR Jordy Nelson, Kansas State, 2nd round, 36th overall
"The whole day was a lot of fun. I was up at my parents' restaurant (Nelson's Landing, in Leonardville, Kan.) with a bunch of family and friends watching the draft. It was fairly new and had only been open about six months.
"Going into it, we were confident, and we went where we thought we would be, but the biggest thing was there weren't any receivers taken in the first round, so that's when I started getting a little nervous. Because if you're not supposedly the top receiver, you want to see some go off so you think you might be the next one. The whole first round went without any receivers, and I was just hoping it started soon.
"I only got one phone call, it was from the Packers, and that was it. I do not have a clue who called me, and I've been asked that multiple times. I know I talked to (receivers) Coach (Jimmy) Robinson and (Head) Coach (Mike) McCarthy, but I do not know who the first person was.
"I was obviously excited to get picked, but you just kind of stand there and don't believe it. It's a dream come true, and you don't think it really happened. Then you see it go across the TV. It's a lot of excitement, and relief as well. You know where you're going and you've been picked.
"Once things calmed down, I actually thought where Green Bay was and what it was like, and my wife and I were very pleased. We were glad to be coming here. The organization and the community really fit us. It wasn't all the big cities and stuff like that.
"The rest of the day we just stayed at the restaurant, hung out and celebrated. My brothers and buddies ran into Manhattan and bought a bunch of Green Bay stuff. Manhattan didn't have much, so they bought them out and then got plain white T-shirts and markers and drew Green Bay logos on them, making our own shirts. We were just hanging out and enjoying the time."
QB Brian Brohm, Louisville, 2nd round, 56th overall
"On my draft day, I had a big party with a bunch of family and friends up in the Louisville football complex. ESPN was there televising when I got drafted. It was a longer day than I expected. But everything happens for a reason, and right now I couldn't be happier about it. I like playing here, I like the coaching staff here, and I'm just working hard to get better.
"When you make that decision (to allow the cameras in), you don't realize how long there is between each pick. It was a long day. Family and friends were there to kind of talk to and hang out with while the draft was going on to get my mind off of it a little bit. But at the same time I think we were there for 8½, nine hours, just sitting there watching the draft, with cameras in the room.
"Nobody really tells you what's going to happen after you get picked, so it was kind of a hectic scene, getting on the phone, and I've got a couple hundred people going, 'Who is it?! Who is it?! What are they saying?!' So I had to run into the other room, and then ESPN wanted me to come for a live feed, and I was running back and forth. I didn't really know what was going on, but I was just glad to be picked.
"It was a long day. I was hoping to go off the board early second, late first, and I didn't want that party to have to end without a draft pick. I was just hoping, 'Let's make this happen the first day so we don't have to come back here tomorrow and do it all over again.' So I was glad when I finally got that call and it was all over.
"(Football administration coordinator) Matt Klein was the first person on the phone and Ted Thompson got on the phone after him. His exact words were, 'Are you ready for this day to be over?' I said, 'Yes sir,' and he said the Packers had just picked me, so that was a good feeling."
CB Pat Lee, Auburn, 2nd round, 60th overall
"I was at my house in Miami with my mom and dad. People were showing up and I really didn't like that. I wanted to be alone on this day. But people showed up and showed a little support and stuff.
"When I first started getting recruited by agents and stuff, they'd tell me I might be going the first day, but in my head I always thought I was a free agent. That's what kept me straight. I wasn't worried about anything, nothing like that. I was just hoping everything would work out, and when I got that call, it was great it was on the first day.
{sportsad300}"I was in my mom's room, dozing off a little bit because I was getting a little tired of it, but then I got the call and saw the 920 number, and I thought, 'Man, what area code is that?' I picked it up and it was Green Bay, and the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Dang, it's going to be cold.'
"But I loved it. I was happy I got the call. My mom was happy, she was crying and stuff, and it was just a great feeling. My mom and dad are Dolphins fans, and when they saw Green Bay, it was like, 'Throw away the Dolphin hat now.' But they loved it.
"I went out with some of my friends and had a good time celebrating it. I still watched the draft the next day because one of my good friends, (Auburn defensive tackle) Pat Sims, he got drafted by the Bengals in the third round. We were real good friends, chilling together the whole time, and he got the call in the morning from the Bengals. That was good for him, too.
"I was just excited. Basically everything was good. Now I knew where I was going."
TE Jermichael Finley, Texas, 3rd round, 91st overall
"We just set up a little party at the house, in Diboll (Texas), my hometown. We were sitting around, and you go into deep thought about where you could be in a day or two. And then you get that phone call, and you don't picture yourself being at that place, because I so didn't picture myself being in Green Bay, but now I'm living here and enjoying it. It's a great experience.
"I watched the draft all the way through, and I thought I was going to go on the first day, but obviously I didn't. It was hard to sleep. But it's just a thing that goes on in life, you just have to go with it. I just waited until the next day and I woke up real early, got me a breakfast, and was excited about the day, because for sure you knew you were going somewhere that day.
"I wasn't nervous. It was just a big relief. When I heard I was going to Green Bay, I thought I could make an impact right off the bat. The first person I called was Mike Montgomery. I've got a cousin that went to (Texas) A&M with Mike, and the first thing I did was ask Mike how it was up there, and he said, 'You'd better bring your PlayStation because there ain't much to do.'
"Right when I got picked, it was still early enough for me to go to church, so I just went to church and enjoyed the rest of the day."
