The closest mall is an hour and a half away. There are "a couple" of stoplights, Jeff Janis confirms.
Quaint ma-and-pa stores once dotted this town, too. But only a few of those are hanging on.
Tawas City, Mich., is a (very) small tourist town of about 2,000 on Lake Huron. It has produced one — count 'em — one Division I player, 30 years ago. When Janis visited his old football coach's class, seventh-grade students crowded him for autographs.
So you can imagine the scene back home when Janis was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the 236th overall pick. A private viewing party of 100-plus packed into the bar "Wingin' It" to witness history.
Said Janis, "It's pretty crazy now."
This is where you'll find the third of Green Bay's three wide receivers drafted last weekend. Janis' path to the NFL is one that includes 6 a.m. weightlifting sessions, a broken finger, a late growth spurt and, of course, scorching speed. To this point, he's been the big fish in the small pond — a physical abnormality, dominant.
Starting this weekend at the Packers' rookie camp, the small-town kid tries to make it.
"He's kind of turned into this celebrity in this small town of Tawas," said Janis' high school coach, Tim Webb. "I don't think people know how rare this is, how incredible this is."
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