On April 8, the Detroit Lions held their local Pro Day at the team’s Allen Park Performance Center. Among the invitees was Auburn Linebacker Dorian Mausi. Mausi recorded 81 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks in his sole season with the Tigers after transferring from Duke.
Following the local Pro Day, Mausi hopped on the Locked On Lions Podcast with Matt Dery. He revealed that he received word about the Lions’ Pro Day during his Auburn workout, with a scout telling him that they would be in touch.
“At Auburn’s Pro Day and everything, when we got done, I got pulled to the side by a scout, and the scout told me, ‘We’ll be in contact,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ Then, I got a message a day, two days later, inviting me to the Lions Pro Day,” he told Locked On Lions.
Mausi then detailed his preparation, revealing that he was confused about what the team-specific Pro Day would entail. All revealed itself to the linebacker when he showed up. The linebacker found himself with linebacker coach Shaun Dion Hamilton working team-specific drills.
“I had no clue what the (Lions) Pro Day meant,” Mausi said. “I had no clue if they were Pro Day drills, actual drills, what kind of workouts they were going to be. When I got there, today, it was great hospitality by the Detroit Lions, I’m not going to lie. It was typical weigh-ins and treatment, making sure we were all good, all healthy before we step on field.
“You got to have one-on-one time, in the small group setting with the linebacker coach there, and he was awesome. Completely awesome. We went through drills, the drills he takes his guys through, he wanted to see us move on the field. It’s different seeing someone move on the film versus in person yourself.”
The second part of the Pro Day, however, was more classwork for Mausi. He was given defensive plays and asked to recall it.
“Also, when we were there, we went through install meetings,” Mausi revealed. “He (Shaun Dion Hamilton) taught us some of the defense, and tested our recall, how well we can remember the defense and things of that nature.”
The whole Lions’ coaching staff was there today, with Dan Campbell, Kelvin Sheppard, and Brad Holmes all in attendance. Naturally, there would be a Campbell story from it, with the head coach joining the tight ends in the workouts. Mausi also talked on the Lions’ culture, saying it is more than just words, it is the real deal.
“Yeah, everybody was there. They had the whole entire staff there,” Mausi expressed. “When they got done on the field, I did get a chance to talk to Coach Dan Campbell. He came over there, talked to us. I actually saw him getting in with some of the tight ends on the drills, what they preach over there at the Lions is real. Everybody’s bought in, it’s the real deal.”
Mausi revealed a few more names at the local Lions Pro Day, all guys who he has grown up with and worked out with before. Quite a few of these names might be familiar for people following the Michigan High School Football recruiting scene and/or Michigan or Michigan State football.
“I was around Makari Page, Cornell Wheeler, Jordan Turner, Kobe King, Jay Reed (Jaylen Reed of Penn State), he was on there on his 30 visit,” Mausi said. “Who else? Maliq Carr, Roderick Heard, there was a lot of guys.”
Mausi was then prompted on what makes the Detroit Lions different from any other NFL team. The first answer was the culture.
“The first thing I want to say, I learned in college football, is culture matters,” Mausi expressed, clapping his hands for emphasis. “100 percent. It is something that is lost on other teams, or some college teams even, that is a part that is missing. Over there (in Detroit) it is not missing. You can tell because of how every coach speaks to you. You speak to different coaches throughout the day, and they are all preaching the same message.”
That led to what the linebacker would be taking away from his experience. Mausi sees the value and the opportunity with the Lions, and the ability to show up to work, do his job, and get that chance to see the field.
That Lions’ culture of next man up and dedicating time goes from the locker room to the staff, and the Auburn product sees it.
“One thing I took away was that you come here, you get an opportunity to play for the Lions, you’re not there for no reason. You always have a chance to show who you are, you always have a chance to play if you just do what you are supposed to do and make plays,” he said. “Like, they are not going to just have you out there wasting your time or anything, everything you do over here is a job interview over here.
“Everybody has a shot to do it. You see how they rank up guys in house, how their linebackers coach is now DC. What they preach in terms of next man up mentality, being able to work and your work will be rewarded if you’re good enough, that’s true. That’s not a façade at all.”
