When Shea Allard was a young kid, he was too big to play football in the youth leagues.

By the time Allard was an upperclassman playing offensive tackle for the Wareham High School Vikings, he was already playing at the level of a division 1 college athlete, said Allard's former high school football coach Dan Nault.

Moving on to college, the 6-foot, 5-inches, 305 pound Allard was a 3-year starter for the University of Delaware at left tackle. Allard started 33 out of 42 career games, won honors from the Colonial Athletic Association, and was part of the 2010 football team that won a conference title and participated in the national championships, according to a University of Delaware press release.

Fast forward to the present. Allard signed with the Green Bay Packers this spring, after participating in a rookie orientation camp. Allard was one of five athletes that were signed from the camp.

"We're proud of his accomplishment, and we're very excited that he was one of the few players that the Packers signed at rookie camp," said Kristen Kuliga, Allard's contract advisor.

Signing with the Green Bay Packers does not mean, however, that Allard is guaranteed a spot on the final 53-roster Packers team that will start the season in the fall, Kuliga explained.

Allard will be participating in training practices with the Packers over the summer. If the Packers choose not to add him to the final roster, the team can still sign him to what is known as the "practice squad," said Kuliga.

The practice squad is a kind of developmental program, explained Nault, where players practice with the team and learn programs as well as strategy.

"Our hope is that he will work hard and the team will continue to see his progress and he will be on the 53-man roster," said Kuliga.

If the Packers choose to keep Allard, Wareham will have two players to root for in the NFL.

The other is Stephen Cooper, a 1997 Wareham High School graduate and linebacker for the San Diego Chargers -- a player Allard used to look up to, Nault said.

"Stephen used to come around in the summer, come in the locker room and give the kids a talk," said Nault. "I remember Shea looking up to Stephen."

Now, aspiring Wareham High School football players are looking up to Allard.

"He's a really humble kid, he still comes around and visits. … He would come to use the [high school] weight room, and all the other kids would say, 'Oh my God, what's that?'" said Nault. "The kids in the program right now look up to him."

Nault credits Allard's work ethic for his current success.

"He was a very mature kid, he always had a really good work ethic, he was brought up well by his mother," said Nault, adding that "he was awesome in school, he graduated with honors … and took challenging classes."

Allard was an "All-Conference Player" in the South Coast Conference while in Wareham, meaning that he was one of the best five offensive linemen out of all 11 teams in the conference, said Nault.

Allard and his Wareham team went to but lost the Super Bowl game during his 2006 senior year. After graduating, he got a full scholarship to the University of Delaware, said Nault.

"I've gotten to watch him play. … I've gotten to see him every year just get better and better. I get to see him on TV, which is just awesome," said Nault.

Nault said he hopes he will soon be able to watch Allard on TV on Sundays.

"He pushed every day, worked really hard and did well in school, and now hopefully it works out for him," the coach said. "It's been something he wanted to do for a long time."