April 30, 2004
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis offensive linemen Forest Vance and Brad Lekkerkerker have signed free agent contracts with the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans. The Packers announced Vance's signing on Friday while Lekkerkerker confirmed his signing on Thursday.
The pair were not selected in last weekend's NFL Draft but were contacted by teams before signing contracts during the week. Their signings mark the second straight year that UC Davis has had at least two players sign NFL contracts as free agents.
Vance, a 6-foot-5, 302 pound lineman from nearby Colfax, started all 48 games of his Aggie career. He played tackle the first three seasons before moving to guard as a senior. He was named to the Division I-AA Independent All-Star team last season following a junior season in whcih was named first-team All-America by D2Football.com.
Vance, an all-region honoree that season as well, was also selected to the Associated Press Little All-America third team. He was an honorable mention All-American and first-team all-region pick as a sophomore after being named the program's Mike Wise Award winner as outstanding freshman the year before.
"Forest is such a versatlie athlete," said UC Davis coach Bob Biggs. "He's very, very bright and very athletic for someone of 300 pounds. I think People like his lower-body strength and the fact he has such a good first step which makes him kind of unique in the interior."
Lekkerkerker, a 6-7, 330-pound tackle from Chino, was also named to the Division I-AA Independent All-Star first team last season after starting all 10 games. Lekkerkerrker, who anchored the tackle positions with his younger brother, Cory, helped the Aggie offense average 395.1 yards per game in total offense.
"Brad came as a player with tremendous potential," said Biggs. "The fact he hadn't played football for too many years still couldn't hide the fact he had a lot of talent and a lot of potential. I think Coach (Mike) Moroski and Coach (Dan) Gazzaniga did a great job in fine-tuning his skills."
Lekkerkerker was the feature of an article in the Washington Post last week and, with his brother Cory, was featured in Sports Illustrated last season. He appeared in all 12 games during his junior season after transferring from Chaffey College in southern California where he was a JC All-America. Lekkerkerker did not play during high school.
UC Davis finished 6-4 during the 2002 season, posting its 34th straight winning season.
