.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Laken Tomlinson goes in first round, lands with Lions at No. 28
Many expected Duke guard Laken Tomlinson to be selected Friday, after the first round of the 2015 NFL draft had passed. That wasn't the case, however, as the former Blue Devil heard his name called on Thursday night, when the Detroit Lions selected him with the 28th-overall pick.
Tomlinson, a consensus All-American as a senior, was the last of seven offensive linemen selected in the first-round. The pick ended Duke's 28-year drought without a first-round selection, according to Steve Wiseman of The Herald-Sun.
Head coach David Cutcliffe was proud of the rare, first-round Duke product.
"We are so proud of Laken, and certainly could not be happier for him and his entire family,"Cutcliffe said, per an official release from Duke Sports Information. "Laken’s accountability is second to none. Fifty-two consecutive starts at right guard tell a part of the story, and the Lions will find out quickly just how reliable he is both on and off the field. Obviously, Laken has had a great deal of success on the field while playing at the highest level of college football. I truly believe that will translate into a successful professional career."
Tomlinson's post-selection comments to ESPN may have caught the casual Lions/NFL fan by surprise. If you weren't already familiar with the 6-foot-3, 330-pound mauler, you probably weren't expecting him to share such a noble goal—one that has nothing to do with football—when discussing his studies at Duke.
"I chose medicine because my grandpa passed away my sophomore year in high school," Tomlinson told ESPN, via Sports Illustrated. "He was on vacation in Jamaica and the hospital couldn't help him when he went there and was sick. That angered me and I wanted to change that. My goal in life is to one day go back to Jamaica and change the health care system there and improve it."
It's safe to tout Tomlinson as the most intriguing and uplifting story of the 2015 draft's first round.
(h/t Duke Blue Devils)
Photo Credit: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo
Round 1 - Pick 28 The @Lions select Laken Tomlinson, G, Duke. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/ORgcpuDylk
— #NFLDraft (@nfl) May 1, 2015
— David Cutcliffe (@DavidCutcliffe) May 1, 2015
