First it was the Atlanta Falcons, then it was the New England Patriots or the Arizona Cardinals. When draft day finally came around, the San Diego Chargers appeared to be nowhere on Larry English’s radar.

“I was a little bit caught off guard because I haven’t had a lot of contact with the organization since the combine,” English said. “I didn’t take a visit and things like that but at this point I’m just so excited.”

The Chargers, however, had English on their radar as they were looking to improve the pass rushing aspect of their defense. English’s 31.5 career sacks at NIU obviously spoke to head coach Norv Turner, who isn’t looking for a Pro Bowl season out of the gates from his first round pick.

“Larry has to come in here and crank it up and learn what this league is like,” Turner said. “He’s going to get in here and have the same learning curve that all young guys do, but certainly you can take a skill and if a guy comes in and is an outstanding pass rusher, you can get his hand in the ground or let him rush the quarterback from a two-point stance.”

With a good core of outside linebackers in Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips for English to learn from, the curve may be shorter than expected. Jimmy Raye, Director of Player Personnel for the Chargers, said English is expected to play outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense and that he is ready to play right away.

“You can’t have enough good football players, especially trying to put heat on the quarterback,” Raye said. “We’ve had some situations the last couple years where [Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips] have been injured. To upgrade our depth is only a positive for us.”

Raye also said it was English’s pass rushing ability and dominance in the MAC that put him above USC’s Clay Matthews, whom many Chargers fans were hoping to see stay in southern California, adorning the San Diego powder blues.

Former NIU head coach Joe Novak credits the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants for putting a premium on pass rushers. The Giants upset the then-undefeated New England Patriots by putting consistent pressure on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

“The scouts that I talked to raved about his ability to rush the passer off the edge,” Novak said.

San Diego will likely use English on the field with both Merriman and Phillips, a defensive set they used last season with Jyles Tucker. The Aurora native will likely assume a limited role, but with the number of passes the Chargers defense saw last season (second most in the league),

he could still see 500-600 snaps, Turner said.