Andy Studebaker’s cell phone hasn’t been working so great lately, but it was working well enough for him to receive the biggest phone call of his life.

At 3:37 p.m. Sunday, as he sat gathered with his family in Congerville, Ill., Studebaker received a call from the Philadelphia Eagles, who moments later selected the Wheaton College senior in the sixth round of the NFL draft.

Studebaker was the 203rd pick overall and the first player from a Division III college selected since 2002.

“It was pretty crazy,” Studebaker said of his Sunday. “You’re sitting there all day and finally get the call that you’re waiting for since you’re 10 years old.”

The good news was the culmination of seven tumultuous months for the 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end who was the first Wheaton player selected in the draft.

On October 6, 2007, in the Thunder’s fifth game of the season, Studebaker suffered a Lisfranc fracture (a fracture and dislocation of the joints in the midfoot) and was sidelined for the season. He had surgery on Nov. 8 to repair the damage and was in a walking boot until January. It wasn’t until March of 20087 that he was cleared to run again.

He missed the NFL scouting combine in February and in the ever-competitive world of the NFL it looked like his draft prospects may have been slipping.

“It’s been an uphill climb from getting hurt and looking like you’re being pushed out of the draft process,” Studebaker said. “All the therapy I went through was a daily grind. It was a one-day-a-time process.”

After getting the OK to run again Studebaker had just a few short weeks to prepare for his pro day, which was held at Northwestern on April 18.

If any NFL team considered him to still be damaged goods, Studebaker proved them wrong during his workouts.

He tallied a 36-1/2-inch vertical jump and was clocked at the 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Green Bay, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Baltimore and Kansas City were just a few of the teams to fly him to their football headquarters prior to the draft for meetings and more workouts. Since teams are only allowed to do so for 30 players it proved there was still interest in his abilities. Philadelphia was the team prescient enough to pounce and land a difference maker.

“He’s an amazing kid, he really is. His motor never shuts down,”  Wheaton College head coach Mike Swider said. “He broke his foot and he didn’t play for half the year, and when you test his physical abilities (before the draft) he’s off the charts.

“His measurements (at his pro day) were the best in the draft. You can’t overlook the physical numbers he put up.”

Prior to his senior season last fall Studebaker was already drawing heavy NFL interest after a junior season in which he led the NCAA — not just Division III — in sacks with 17-1/2. He also had 25-1/2 tackles for loss, was a first-team all-America and was the Player of the Year in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

“There were 32 teams through here in the fall to watch him practice,” Swider said. “I was talking to teams the entire winter.

“Before he got hurt I think he would have been a guy in the top four rounds (of the draft),” Swider said. “When he got hurt I thought he might not get drafted, not because he wasn’t good enough but because he was seen as damaged goods.

“But I never wavered that he was a draftable kid.”

Studebaker will report to Eagles’ headquarters on Friday for the first minicamp of the offseason and the first day of his NFL career.

“It’s a great experience. It’s awesome to be picked in the draft,” Studebaker said. “Wheaton College, we don’t get ESPN coming to our doorstep every week. To represent this institution and all it stands for in the NFL is great.

“I’m going to bring a competitive attitude. I want to go in and compete.”

Now the player who Swider estimates was 6-4 and 210 pounds coming out of Eureka High School has a chance to not only put his name on the map but also boost nationwide recognition for Wheaton College.

“It’s a shot in the arm for the program,” Swider said. “We play good college football here. (Studebaker getting drafted) is evidence of that.”

2008 BEARS DRAFT

With their first pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears selected 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle Chris Williams of Vanderbilt on Saturday.