Nowacki began his collegiate career at Scottsdale Community College before transferring after two seasons to Murray State University.[1] From 2001 to 2003, Nowacki played in 24 games recording 53 receptions for 608 receiving yards. He led the Racers in receiving as a redshirt senior with 43 catches for 477 yards.[1]
Professional career
Nowacki was selected in the third round (26th overall) by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2004 CFL Draft.[2] As a rookie, Nowacki rarely played only recording one catch for seven yards.[3] Entering 2005, Nowacki's roster spot was in jeopardy before the Eskimos final season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[4] He ended up on the team's inactive list to begin the season.[5] He was activated on July 14 after running backMike Bradley suffered a knee injury.[6] After making a few appearances, Nowacki suffered a finger injury[7] causing him to miss a few games. He was re–activated on September 29.[8] In 2005, Nowacki recorded 18 catches for a total of 151 yards.[3] Following the selection of Pat Woodcock by Edmonton in the CFL Dispersal Draft, Nowacki was possibly going to lose his job as the Eskimos fifth receiver.[9] Despite the Woodcock selection, Nowacki recorded 17 catches for 147 yards in 2006.[3] He was re-signed by Edmonton on January 11, 2007.[10] In the Eskimos first preseason game on June 16, 2007, Nowacki recorded four receptions for a total of 46 yards.[11] After a few injuries to the Eskimos receivers to begin the season, Nowacki began to take a bigger role in the offense.[12] On August 13, 2007, in a game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Nowacki caught his first career touchdown pass.[13] On the following possession for Hamilton their receiver Jason French also a Murray State University graduate, caught a touchdown. The two touchdown catches for Nowacki and French came one minute apart.[14] In the game where quarterbackRicky Ray broke Warren Moon's Eskimos record for most passing yards in Eskimos history, Nowacki caught a five-yard touchdown pass.[15] In 2007, Nowacki had 47 receptions for 465 yards with two touchdowns.[3] In 2008, Nowacki played in every game recording 28 catches for 369 yards with two touchdowns. He started the West Semi-Final and caught three passes for 27 yards.[1]
^Prince, Gerry (June 16, 2005). "Last chance to impress". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Prince, Gerry (July 7, 2005). "Lefsrud back in the trenches". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Prince, Gerry (July 14, 2005). "The big driver". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Huntington, Jonathan (September 29, 2005). "Wiltshire's streak comes to an end". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Huntington, Jonathan (April 13, 2006). "Esks call for Collier". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Huntington, Jonathan (January 11, 2007). "Frenzy free zone". Edmonton Sun. Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
