Beavers to Bearcats to Broncos: Lisbon’s Wolfe off to Rockies

April 28, 2012 at 12:10a.m.

Staff/wire report

englewood, colo.

The Denver Broncos’ surprise second-round pick even caught the player off guard.

Versatile defensive lineman Derek Wolfe from Lisbon didn’t have many conversations with his new employer leading up to being selected at No. 36 overall on Friday night. Maybe one, but not nearly as many as he had with other teams.

So when his name was called, well, he was a little bit shocked.

Pleasantly, of course.

“I know I can make a difference,” said Wolfe, a Beaver Local High graduate who was a standout at Cincinnati. “I’m ready for the opportunity.”

In Wolfe, the Broncos receive a speedy 6-foot-5, 300-pound lineman who can play both tackle and end. The Broncos will more than likely ask Wolfe to play in the trenches and become a diversion to free up defensive ends Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller, who’s coming off a sensational first season in which he was named the rookie of the year.

For Wolfe, it doesn’t really matter where he lines up. He just wants playing time.

Not only that, but he comes with a chip on his shoulder, since he believed he was a first-round talent who slipped into the second day of the draft.

“I was a little upset,” said Wolfe, who was the Big East’s co-defensive player of the year after a final season in which he had 91/2 sacks and 211/2 tackles for loss for the Bearcats. “I’m not the type of guy to sit around and wait. I want to get in the mix.

“I’m going to try to learn from everybody. Just try to do everything I can to help us win a championship.”

He is the first Beaver Local graduate to get drafted and the first Mahoning Valley native selected this year. Several other Valley natives have a chance to get picked in Rounds 4-7 today, including Ohio State running back Dan Herron (Warren Harding) and Toledo cornerback Desmond Marrow (Mooney).

Others in the mix to get drafted or earn free agent deals are Northwestern DL Vince Browne (Lisbon), Ball State safety Sean Baker (Canfield), Kent State offensive lineman Chris Anzevino (Harding), Kent DL Ishmaai’ly Kitchen (Mooney) and Toledo TE Jerome Jones (Ursuline).

The 22-year-old Wolfe had a solid performance at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds and bench pressing 225 pounds 33 times.

“I think what the combine did was just make [teams] go back and really look at my film, see the things I actually did,” Wolfe said. “See how much I loved the game. I don’t take plays off.”