Palmer grad keeps NFL dreams alive

PALMER — It’s been about two years since Junior Aumavae’s name was officially on a National Football League roster, but Aumavae has kept his professional football dreams alive.

Now, fresh off an impressive workout with the Green Bay Packers, Aumavae could once again be within reach of landing on an NFL squad.

“I got a phone call from the Packers asking for a workout. They wanted to check and see how I am,” Aumavae, a 2004 Palmer High School graduate, said recently. “It went really well.”

Aumavae, a two-time all-state offensive and defensive lineman who later starred at Division II Western Washington and Minnesota State-Mankato, worked out with the storied NFL franchise early last week.

“There were about five guys there, another (defensive) tackle, a linebacker,” Aumavae said. “They ended up signing a linebacker. They needed a linebacker, but said I did pretty good there.”

Aumavae said Green Bay officials indicated there may be potential for him with the Packers in the future. He caught the attention of the Packers while playing for an Indoor Football League franchise, the Blizzard, in Green Bay. Following his first season with the Green Bay Blizzard, Aumavae — a defensive tackle — was named the defensive MVP for the Blizzard, who boasted the top-ranked defense in the IFL.

After a solid collegiate career, in which he was named a first-team all-conference defensive lineman for a pair of Division II programs, Aumavae spent a portion of the NFL offseason in 2010 with the Dallas Cowboys. Despite his release from Dallas later that summer, Aumavae has continued to keep his NFL dreams alive. Aumavae continued to work out and has spent time as a volunteer assistant with the Palmer football program during the high school season.

“I was fortunate that Palmer High School allowed me to help out,” Aumavae said. “The most important thing for me is to be around football, period.”

Aumavae said he’s excited about the quality workout with the Packers, but wants the opportunity to once again compete for an NFL job.

“It feels good, but I’m not satisfied,” Aumavae said.

Aumavae was listed at about 6-foot-2 and 330 pounds during his days with the Cowboys, but has slimmed down to about 315, he said. Aumavae has been scouted as a run-stuffing nose tackle, but the new weight may add some versatility and ability to play different positions along the defensive front.

Aumavae is still in Green Bay, Wisc., working out and waiting for the next call.

He had been staying and working in Palmer, but was told by teams that the cost of airfare from Alaska to the Lower 48 hurt his chances to be invited to NFL workouts.

He suited up for the IFL’s Blizzard last season, but is looking for other opportunities this year, he said.

“I want to try to get back into the outdoor game,” Aumavae said.

There may be potential in the Canadian Football League, he said, and Aumavae is set to participate in an upcoming CFL combine.

“All the CFL teams will be there,” Aumavae said. “I want to expose myself (to that league).”

But the NFL is still the primary goal.

“I definitely have a lot more left,” said Aumavae, 26.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.