It was an especially memorable school year for the Cape Coral High football program. The Seahawks achieved the program’s first undefeated regular season and won their first district championship in nearly two decades.

The second day of the NFL Draft was historic for the school as well as for 2006 grad Nate Allen, who was selected as the fifth pick of the second round (37th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles making him the first Cape graduate drafted into the NFL.

Allen joins former Seahawk teammate Taurus Johnson in the pro league. The undrafted Johnson signed a free-agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs before being released last season and recently signed with the Miami Dolphins.

“I wasn’t watching the draft,” said Allen. “I had a lot of people over, but I was off in a side room with some friends. I’m excited and in disbelief. It’s been a dream for me since I was a little kid playing Pop Warner football.”

One of many celebrating the moment was Allen’s mother, Darlene, a Cape High teacher.

“Since Nate was 5 years old he had wanted to play in the NFL, and never missed a year,” she said. “The first time it really hit me (that he might get drafted) was when he showed me his invitation to the Senior Bowl.”

Allen is looking to take his range and playmaking ability to an Eagles organization that went 11-5 last year.

“It’s a real commitment. It’s your job now,” Allen said. “I’m just going to try to get in there and learn as much as I can, and start memorizing the playbook.”

About his high school playing days, Allen talked about how important work ethic and dedication were in developing him into the player he is now.

“It was a lot of work during high school, but if you work hard, you’ll progress,” Allen said. “It took a lot of years of sacrifice. You’ve got to live a different kind of lifestyle to get to that level.”

Allen is remembered as a hard-working student who had a team-first attitude both on and off the field. As a captain his senior year, Allen recorded 76 tackles, third-most on the team, while grabbing a season-leading four interceptions.

“He never talked back to his coaches,” Darlene Allen said. “He never bad-mouthed his coaches or teammates.

“When he was a student here, I was always told by his teachers that he was a good student, polite, always focused, concerned for others, and had good grades,” she added. “He was very punctual, always on time. His coaches don’t remember him being late for anything.”

Though it has been five years since he suited up on a Friday night, Allen still recalls, “The experience and coaching I got from Cape. I had a lot of great coaches and teammates in high school. I miss being under the lights and the guys I played with from high school, and playing in front of my student body. In college, you do too, but there’s a lot more camaraderie in high school.”

Allen leaves soon for Philadelphia for the Eagles’ summer training camps. The 6-foot-0, 207-pound, All-Big East safety from the University of South Florida starts mini-camp training for rookies in early May.