NFL debut a big deal for Lions rookie Tomlinson

How will Detroit Lions rookie running back Ameer Abdullah look in his debut Sunday? What about Eric Ebron 2.0? How much more potent will the offense be? Will the defense be anywhere as good as last year’s?

There are a lot of questions and excitement and curiosity about the Lions heading into Sunday’s season opener against the San Diego Chargers. Strangely, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot about the team’s top draft pick this year.

Laken Tomlinson, the 28th overall pick, will make his NFL debut at left guard, and yet he has gone largely ignored while sitting quietly at his locker every day while offering a smile and a hello to reporters who have been busy hovering around LaAdrian Waddle and stalking Larry Warford.

On Friday, Tomlinson again sat unbothered at his locker. When he was asked what his NFL debut would mean to him, Tomlinson repeated the question, exhaled and waited six full seconds before answering.

“It’s going to mean a lot to me, man,” he said. “Being out there with those guys I’ve been working all summer with and going out there and competing, it means the world to me, honestly. That’s my No. 1 focus.”

Tomlinson isn’t planning much fanfare or making plans on saving souvenirs. The only people he knows who will attend the game are his best friend from Duke, former Blue Devils punter Spencer Rogers, and Rogers’ parents, who all live near San Francisco.

Tomlinson appears happy and excited. But, for a young man who emigrated from Jamaica, made a daily three-hour commute in high school, then picked one of the toughest academic colleges in the country, a football game in sunny southern California should hardly be daunting.

“Expect it to be loud,” Tomlinson said. “Expect there to be a lot of energy in the air. Expect it to be a good, physical game.

“I feel like I’ve been preparing all throughout camp and all throughout the week to get ready for this game. I just need to finish the week strong and show up and ball out.”

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