Wheaton, Ill. – On Sunday afternoon the Philadelphia Eagles selected Wheaton College defensive end Andy Studebaker with the 37th pick of the sixth round in the 2008 National Football League Draft. With his selection, Studebaker becomes the first player from Wheaton taken in the NFL draft during the NFL's modern era. The Wheaton senior will graduate from the school on May 11 with a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Health Science. Prior to Studebaker, 13 Wheaton players have signed professional contracts, including 10 NFL contracts, however, no Wheaton player has ever played in a regular season NFL game during the modern era.

Eagles head coach Andy Reid said of Studebaker in the team's press conference, "He's a pretty talented guy. He's very intelligent and very gifted athletically, to where he can play linebacker, outside linebacker, or defensive end. He played defensive end in college and had a bunch of sacks. He's a pretty sharp player."

As the 203rd pick of this year's draft, Studebaker was the first of two Division III players selected. Wide receiver Pierre Garcon of Mount Union was selected by Indianapolis, two picks after the Thunder standout. Studebaker's selection is the highest a Division III player has been taken since Tony Beckham of UW-Stout was selected by Tennessee in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Thunder head coach Mike Swider noted of Studebaker, “Andy is a total team guy and has a tremendous work ethic. He would do anything you asked of him.” Swider added, “Andy's selection is a testimony to the Wheaton football program because he came to Wheaton for what the institution and the program represent.”

In four seasons as a defensive end with the Thunder, Studebaker tallied 111 total tackles, with 50-1/2 tackles for lost yardage (-292 yards), including 30 quarterback sacks. He played in five games as a senior in 2007, before his campaign was cut short by a foot injury. In those five games the unanimous preseason All-American made 12 tackles, with 6-1/2 tackles for lost yardage (-52 yards), including five quarterback sacks (-45 yards). As a junior in 2006 he was selected as the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Defensive Player of the Year and was tabbed as a First Team All-American and the North Region Defensive Player of the Year by D3Football.com. He also earned Second Team All-American honors on the 2006 AP Little All-American team and was a Football Gazette Division III All-American. In that junior campaign he led the CCIW with 17-1/2 (-142 yards) quarterback sacks and was also the league leader in tackles for lost yardage with 25-1/2 (-161 yards). His 17-1/2 sacks tied the school record for sacks in a single season, and were the most of any player at any NCAA level in 2006.

On April 18 Studebaker attended a Pro Day at Northwestern University in front of several NFL scouts, posting impressive numbers coming off of a foot injury. Among the tests he excelled at were his 36-1/2” vertical jump and 4.60-seconds in the 40-yard dash. Swider noted of Studebaker's Pro Day effort, “A lot of scouts and teams paid attention to Andy after his junior season. After his injury though we weren't sure what would happen, but teams really took notice of him after he went to Northwestern and put up some impressive numbers.”

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