Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Nick Bellore may not be as well known as this year's other draft prospects from the state of Wisconsin, but he has a chance to make his mark in the NFL nonetheless.

While J.J. Watt, Gabe Carimi, Lance Kendricks, and John Clay played in the bright lights of the University of Wisconsin, Bellore spent his career away the attention of most state sports fans, playing at Central Michigan.

Prior to being a Chippewa, Bellore was a WFCA First Team All-State linebacker at Whitefish Bay High School. He was a two-year captain for the Blue Dukes and gained First Team All-Conference recognition as a junior and senior. Following a senior season in which he totaled 148 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks, he was selected as the North Shore Defensive Player of the Year under head coach Jim Tietjen.

Bellore was ranked the #16 prospect in the state of Wisconsin in the 2007 class by WisSports.net Football Writer Marlin Lee.

Heading to Central Michigan was no surprise, as his mother attended CMU while his father is a Michigan State alumnus. It wouldn't take long for Nick to make his own name in Michigan.

As a freshman, he broke the rookie record for tackles at CMU with 102. He upped the ante as a sophomore, recording 148 tackles as he was named a First Team All-MAC selection and the CMU Defensive Player of the Year. He would go on to garner First Team All-Conference honors as a junior and senior as well, starting 51 consecutive games to start his career before missing the second to last regular season game of his senior year after getting 16 stitches in his lip the week before.

Bellore ranks third in Central Michigan history with 472 tackles, and was selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl following his senior season.

The former Whitefish Bay standout heads into Saturday's NFL Draft expecting to be taken at some point in the final four rounds. While it won't garner as much attention as the first round selections of Watt and Carimi, Bellore will nonetheless have a shot to continue his football career and make an impact in the NFL.