GREEN BAY — Justin Beaver has no idea what happened to it. It might still be in his parents' basement, for all he knows.

Or was sold at a rummage sale years ago. Perhaps it simply ended up in the trash.

But the former UW-Whitewater running back sure loves the symmetry between the headgear he'll be sporting this weekend and what he used to in his back yard.

"When I was 8, I had this mini plastic football helmet I used to wear. And it was a Packer helmet," Beaver said Wednesday afternoon as he prepared for his big NFL break — a tryout with the Green Bay Packers at their post-draft rookie orientation camp. "It's kind of hard to believe that come Friday, I'll be putting an actual one on."

Beaver is one of 15 to 20 undrafted free agents who'll participate in the camp on a tryout basis.

Unlike the dozen or so undrafted players whom the Packers signed after Sunday's seventh round ended, Beaver, who set the WIAC career rushing record with 6,584 yards, doesn't have a contract.

In a league where there are no guarantees, he's got even less than most. All he has is an opportunity. Which is all he ever wanted to begin with.

"This whole time, all I've asked for is one chance. I just want a shot," said Beaver, a former Palmyra-Eagle athlete who won last year's Gagliardi Trophy, the Division III equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. "Then, it's in my hands.

"I couldn't have worked any harder to get ready for this. I'm going to go up there and give everything I got and hopefully, they like what they see."

So far, they do.

The Packers first showed an interest in him during last season's final home game, when the Warhawks were recognized at Lambeau Field.

In a luxury box during the game against Detroit, Packers college scouting director John Dorsey approached Warhawks coach Lance Leipold with all kinds of questions about the kid who'd capped his college career with a 249-yard performance in Whitewater's Division III title game victory over Mount Union.

Then, general manager Ted Thompson got his first up-close look at Beaver in action on March 5, following the University of Wisconsin pro day at the McClain Center.

Several WIAC players were invited to work out there, and Beaver was terrific, running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds, bench-pressing 225 pounds 25 times, leaping 32 inches in the vertical jump and scoring well in the various speed and agility drills.

Combined with what he did at Whitewater — Beaver finished his career as the second-leading rusher in Division III history — the workout solidified in Thompson's mind that Beaver was a bona fide prospect. (The Buffalo Bills and other teams also showed interest in him before the draft.)

"First of all, he's been phenomenally productive," said Thompson, who attended the workout along with scout Eliot Wolf, the son of retired GM Ron Wolf. "When Eliot and I got to see him work out after the Badgers, you could see it. He's so gung-ho, intense, competitive, strong.

"Obviously you have fewer upper-echelon athletes and competitors at a smaller school, but I don't think it'll affect this kid at all. He's all-go, all-the-time. In some respects, especially with offensive and defensive linemen, there's quite a difference between the players in Division I and Division III. We'll see how he fits in with our group and see where it goes."

Interestingly, Beaver's workout numbers are remarkably similar to that of No. 4 overall pick Darren McFadden (4.33 in the 40, 33-inch vertical, 13 times benching 225).

And while it's been suggested that Beaver's lack of height — he's 5-foot-7 and 191 pounds — eliminates him from ever playing in the NFL, Thompson said that's not necessarily true.

"With him, it's not so much size. He's not very tall, but he's big and thick and strong," Thompson said. "You know, Barry Sanders was 5-7. And (Jacksonville's) Maurice Jones-Drew is shorter than that, I think. But when filling in the boxes as you have the 'ideal' look for a running back, yeah, those guys are a little taller."

Said Leipold: "I don't know if he's going to make it or not — I understand that part of it — but I wouldn't bet against him, either, just based on his work ethic. The more people have told him he can't do something, the more he's worked hard to prove 'em wrong. He's responded every time."

The odds certainly aren't in Beaver's favor. Last year, for instance, of the eight undrafted rookies they had in for tryouts at the rookie camp, three were signed to contracts. Only one of the three — Alabama-Birmingham fullback Corey White, who spent all of last season on the practice squad — made it to training camp.

Former UW quarterback John Stocco was among those who never were heard from again.

"It's up to me at this point," Beaver said. "I go up there, and either I'm good enough or I'm not. That's why I've prepared so hard the last few months. It feels good to get a chance."

Since the Packers didn't draft a running back and none of their current backs participating in the rookies-only camp, Beaver should get ample opportunity to impress. So far, the Packers have signed only one undrafted running back, Georgia's Kregg Lumpkin.

And just to be clear: Although Beaver was working out with another local-boy-making-good, University of Wisconsin punter and Green Bay-area native Ken DeBauche, on Wednesday — as the two have been doing for awhile now — the Packers' interest in both players is more than just a public-relations stunt.

"We don't waste people's time — his or ours — with stuff like that," Thompson said. "We wanted to take a look at him. That's it. The fact that he's a Wisconsin guy is nice, but it has nothing to do with what we do.

"We just thought it was a great chance to bring him up here and see how he looks in a Packer uniform."

And helmet. For real this time.