ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior offensive lineman J.C. Tretter had a lifelong dream fulfilled when he heard his name called from the podium at Radio City Music Hall as the 25th pick of the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers at the 2013 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon. Tretter was the 122nd overall selection in the seven-round draft.

Tretter, a second-team Associated Press All-American at the Football Championship Subdivision, was responsible for protecting record-breaking quarterback Jeff Mathews' blind side at left tackle and allowed the Big Red to set new Cornell and Ivy passing records in his two seasons there. A preseason honorable mention FCS All-American by Beyond Sports College Network, he was part of a line that allowed the passing game to pile up 3,748 yards, a mark that ranked third in the FCS in 2012. He started each of his final 20 games at left tackle and is the first offensive lineman to earn first-team All-Ivy honors since Kevin Boothe in 2005. Boothe was drafted in the seventh round that year in the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Tretter lettered his first two seasons as a tight end, even catching a touchdown pass as a sophomore at Columbia.

Tretter is the 31st Cornell player to be selected in the NFL Draft and just the second since both Seth Payne and Chad Levitt went in the fourth round of the 1997 selection draft. Kevin Boothe '05 was a sixth-round selection in the 2006 Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Tretter is the highest pick since Payne was the 114th pick overall as a fourth-rounder in '97. Only 11 Cornell players have been selected earlier in the NFL Draft than Tretter.