A former EMU football player is making national headlines for standing outside the Detroit Lions practice facility with a sign asking for a tryout.
NFL hopeful Freddie McGee III went viral after several Lions reporters took pictures and spoke with him as he stood in Allen Park holding a sign with his stats and the eye-catching statement: “This is grit,” which is well-known to be the mantra the Lions live by.
“I’ve had this dream of going to the NFL since I was 5 years old,” he told FOX 2’s Brandon Hudson. “I always knew I had what it (took). I just needed that exposure, that opportunity.”
The defensive back said he woke up early Monday morning and wanted to go work out, but instead decided to head to Allen Park. He stopped at Walmart to get a poster and some pens.
“I would say God put it on my heart that morning, just to go do it,” he said.
After getting there around 8:45 a.m. that morning, he said the plan was to wait for a few hours and see if he could catch any staff members entering or leaving the building. His phone ended up dying, so he had no idea that someone had snapped a photo of him and it was circulating online.
“Somebody came and was like, ‘Hey man, we just saw you on Twitter. Stay here, don’t go anywhere — whatever you’re doing is working,’” he said.
McGee, a homegrown talent from Canton, played football at Salem High School, then at Eastern Michigan, and in the AFL, where he said he made the most of his experience and even earned a Defensive Player of the Year title.
“Met a lot of good coaches, good people, and it’s a blessing to be able to do what we did in that league,” he said.
McGee said he was grateful for all the support from comments online to people honking as they drove by on Monday. Since then, he’s shown up on all sorts of podcasts and shows, including national programs like the CBS Evening News and Good Morning Football.
No word yet whether the Lions have reached out. Keep your eyes out, I have a feeling this isn’t the end of Freddie’s story.
And onto the rest of your notes.
- Over on The Feed, user LovetheLions shares his thoughts on some comments by Kansas City’s general manager and how it might affect what Brad Holmes does come next Thursday.
- The Lions have the 17th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft. Here’s a look at each player selected at that spot over the past 10 years:
- Speaking of homegrown talent like Freddie McGee, here’s how many times Detroit has drafted a player from Michigan since 2010:
- Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs shows off some new ink. The comments seem a bit … harsh, but that’s the Internet for you.
- Detroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman checks in with Daniel Jeremiah, host of NFL Network’s Move The Sticks Podcast, and Lions Director of College Scouting Brian Hudspeth.
