Third-Round Pick
Jace Sternberger suiting up in Packer green; 2nd Jacket since ‘08 to plot path to NFL dream
AT TEXAS A&M — Jace Sternberger.
TEAM LEADER — As a junior at KHS, Jace Sternberger helped lead the Jackets to the 2013 state championship. [Dillon Laster/KHS Photography]
AT TEXAS A&M — Jace Sternberger carrying the ball against Ole Miss.
The large crowd that gathered suddenly realized the person they were there to celebrate had disappeared.
That’s because Jace Sternberger got the call he’d been waiting for.
That call was from the Green Bay Packers, who were about to make his dream come true.
The former Kingfisher High School standout last Friday night became the 75th pick of the 2019 National Football League Draft when the Green Bay Packers selected him with the 11th pick of the third round.
When the pick was announced on ESPN, the large gathering of family, friends, former coaches and neighbors erupted in cheers inside the Sternbergers’ garage in Kingfisher.
“It was definitely a proud dad moment,” said his father, Jason Stern-berger, the superintendent of schools at Kingfisher. “It was hard not to lose your emotions.”
Sternberger became the first KHS graduate to be selected in the draft since Curtis Lofton taken by the Atlanta Falcons with the 37th pick (second round) in 2008.
Like Lofton, Sternberg-er helped guide KHS to a football state championship during his junior year and then went on to an All-American career in college.
Sternberger was a consensus All-American tight end for Texas A&M after his 2018 season, his lone year with the Aggies.
As a redshirt junior in his first year with the Aggies, Sternberger led the country in receiving yards (804) and touchdowns (10) by a tight end.
The touchdown mark is the most in Texas A&M history by a tight end in a single season and currently ranks tied for sixth all-time on the Aggies’ single-season list.
His 47 receptions also led the team.
Sternberger was a multi-sport standout for KHS and helped lead the Jackets to the 2013 Class 3A football state championship as a junior.
During that season, Sternberger had nine catches for 191 yards and four scores as a tight end and 39 tackles, including 23 for a loss, as a defensive end.
The production picked up in his senior campaign as he logged 34 catches for 434 yards and seven scores. He added 80 tackles and 20 sacks on defense as the Jackets got back to the state semifinals.
KHS was 40-4 with a state title, runner-up finish and semifinal appearance in his three varsity seasons.
He signed with Kansas out of high school and spent two years in the Jayhawks’ program, including his redshirt season, before transferring to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for his sophomore season.
After closing strong with NEO, Sternberger fielded multiple offers before ultimately becoming the first signee under Texas A&M’s new head coach, Jimbo Fisher, in December 2017.
After the season, Sternberger declared for the NFL Draft and was invited to the NFL Combine earlier this year in Indianapolis, Ind.
Green Bay was the first of several NFL clubs that brought Sternberger in for an evaluation after the combine.
“He was a riser at Texas A&M,” said Jon-Eric Sullivan, Green Bay’s co-director of player personnel.
“(He) didn’t have much of a career at Kansas, moved onto junior college and kind of burst on the scene this year. Charles Walls went through there, who is our area scout, did a lot of work on him, did a really good job. And then I went through there myself, and we were very pleased with what we found.” Green Bay’s offseason
Sternberger will travel to workouts begin in May and Green Bay on Thursday and its mandatory minicamp is return home this weekend. June 11-13.