Raiders fullback Alec Ingold excited for Green Bay homecoming vs. Packers

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ALAMEDA -- Alec Ingold grew up in the shadow of Lambeau Field, a high school quarterback in Green Bay, Wisc., with the slow drip of Packers fever coursing through his veins.

He grew up, like every boy in the area, idolizing first Brett Favre and then Aaron Rodgers. He felt the elation of the Pack's 2010 Super Bowl run, a championship jaunt that felt long overdue for one of the best quarterbacks to ever grip the pigskin.

Fast forward to 2019 and that Bay Port High School signal-caller traded in his No. 9 for a No. 45, and swapped his love of the green and yellow to bleed silver and black as the Raiders rookie fullback.

Ingold joined the Silver and Black as an undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin this season and made the roster with his performance in rookie minicamp, OTAs and training camp. Early on, Ingold has become a valuable part of the Raiders' revamped run game, helping clear holes for fellow rookie Josh Jacobs.

"We loved Ingold at the Senior Bowl," Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday after practice. "We stamped a bunch of Raiders stickers on his helmet. He was really ticked off he didn't get drafted. And if I've done anything right since I've been here coaching the Raiders, it was the recruiting call I made to Ingold. I'm really happy about getting him here.

"He played quarterback in high school in Green Bay. This is a big game for him. I'm trying to get some video of him throwing the ball but all I have is him handing off."

Ingold and the Raiders will head north in Week 7 to face a Packers team reenergized behind new head coach Matt LaFleur. His friends, family, neighbors and probably some former high school rivals will be in attendance to watch Rodgers and the NFC North-leading Pack take on the 3-2 Raiders, who have found new life behind a power running game made stronger by a Green Bay high school legend.

"I think the big deal for me is playing in front of the community that helped me grow up and love football," Ingold said of his return to Green Bay. "The Packers -- it's cool, but I think the people in the stands and the people I grew up with that are going to be able to watch and NFL game and see me go out there, it's going to be a thankful moment for me to thank them and show them how we play football out here in Oakland."

There will be a number of people cheering on the former Bay Port High star Sunday at Lambeau Field, hoping the Wisconsin high school legend throws a couple thunderous blocks to spring Jacobs and perhaps even gets a carry himself.

Of course, Packer football is a way of life up north, so the love for Ingold might slowly die down if the Silver and Black get into a fistfight with Green Bay's favorite sons. The Packer pride running through the veins of his former neighbors is something Ingold understands. That deep-seated love for the Packers is what first made him pick up a football and set him on his path to Oakland, a journey that's next step comes on the hallowed grounds his heroes made famous.

"I think everyone growing up [in Green Bay] loves football and loves the Packers," Ingold said. "It's pretty cool to have a community that rallies around something so unified. It's a big thing for kids to grow up and see these Packers in the grocery store and you stop and stare and it's really cool. To be able to have that go full circle is huge for me, just knowing that's where I came from and just to be able to bring it full circle is going to mean a lot."

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As a junior and senior in high school, Ingold led Bay Port to a 21-3 record before becoming a Badger and helping Wisconsin accumulate a 42-12 record during his four years in Madison.

He'll return home looking to do his part in getting the Raiders to 4-2 before the final leg of their five-game road trip, a feat that seemed like a fairytale four weeks ago.

So, what did Gruden say to convince the quarterback-turned-fullback from Wisconsin to head to the Bay Area and don silver and black?

"He didn't really have to say much," Ingold said. "He brought back the connection we had at the Senior Bowl and, you know, growing up, I knew him from his coaching days in Green Bay and I was taught all the things he did for that program So, it didn't take much for him to get me here."

And what about the game film of him throwing the ball for Bay Port?

"I'll have to pull it up sometime, we'll see," Ingold said with a chuckle.

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