Anchorage's Zack Bowman took a step toward joining an elite group of Alaskans on Sunday when he was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

Bowman, a sturdy 6-foot-1, 197-pound cornerback out of the University of Nebraska, was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 142nd overall pick. He is the first Alaska player picked in the NFL Draft since a pair of offensive linemen went in 2006.

He will try to become the 10th Alaskan to play in the NFL, joining a list that includes Mark Schlereth, Reggie Tongue, Travis Hall and Daryn Colledge. But nothing is guaranteed.

Asked about his role with the Bears, Bowman told the team's Web site: "They just want me to come in and learn the playbook and help on special teams. That's something I really pride myself on. I just want to help the team out."

Bowman, a former Alaska Player of the Year from Bartlett High and the 2003 Anchorage Daily News Athlete of the Year, has the prototypical size for a professional cornerback. He also has great leaping ability and posted a Nebraska cornerback record in the 40-yard dash, clocking a 4.36 in 2006.

"He's a big corner and an excellent athlete," Bears defensive coordinator Bob Babich told the team's Web site. "I'm very pleased to get an athlete that size with that athletic ability out there at corner. He's a big guy, and as fast as he is, he's going to really help us on special teams."

At Bartlett, Bowman starred in three sports but excelled most in football and basketball.

He was a three-time first team all-state pick on the gridiron, earning player of the year honors and the reputation as a shutdown cornerback. It got to the point where opposing quarterbacks quit throwing his way.

On the hardcourt, he teamed with Mario Chalmers -- the University of Kansas junior guard who recently declared for the NBA draft -- and helped the Golden Bears win the 2002 and 2003 Class 4A state championships. In the '03 title game, Bowman guarded Wasilla's 7-footer, Ray Schafer, now a senior at the University of Oregon.

At Nebraska, Bowman started nine of 22 career games and collected three interceptions, 20 pass breakups and 56 tackles (46 unassisted). His signature performance came in the 2005 Alamo Bowl against Michigan when he intercepted a pass, broke up a school bowl-record five passes and sealed the win on the final play when he made a game-saving tackle after a crazy sequence of laterals.

He missed the entire 2006 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee on the third day of fall practice. After rehabbing his knee, Bowman was again sidelined after rupturing the patella tendon in his right knee in spring practice.

But he worked his way back, returning to play a key role as a senior. He played in 11 of 12 games, starting four times. He finished with 29 tackles, 22 of them solo. In a game against Wake Forest, he bagged seven tackles (one shy of his career high) and intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

"He really didn't come around until the end of this past season," Greg Gabriel, the Bears' director of college scouting, told the team's Web site. "We're taking him really on the idea that he is 100 percent recovered now. He didn't play as well in 2007 as he did before that, and that's because of the injury. The doctors feel he's in pretty good shape now."

Bowman transferred to Nebraska as one of the country's top junior college recruits from New Mexico Military Institute.

Bowman's parents, Zackary and Zelma, live at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks.