Lions pick Raiola 50th

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was nerve-wracking at first. Then came a sigh of relief that it was over.

Dominic Raiola hoped he would be picked higher in the NFL Draft, but is eager to get started with the Detroit Lions. Advertiser library photo

The two-time Advertiser All-State offensive lineman was the only Hawai'i player selected in yesterday's first three rounds of the NFL draft. The two-time All-American out of Nebraska — the recipient of the first Dave Rimington award for college football's top center — was a second round pick of the Detroit Lions, the 50th selection overall.

"I have a bigger task now," Raiola said from his family's Kaimuki home. "Now I have to make an impact."

Today, Raiola is expected to find out his plans for this week. Mini camp opens Friday under new coach Marty Mornhinweg.

Raiola, who petitioned for the draft after completing his red-shirt junior season, was projected to be taken late in the first round or early in the second. He said he was calm during the first 20 picks. "After that, I couldn't sit down," he said.

He admitted that he was hoping to get drafted higher. "I feel I'm better than that," he said.

He wasn't the only one on pins.

"At the beginning it was really exciting," said Raiola's mother, Wendy. "Then it went on and it got a little more stressful. We just don't understand why they don't take our son. But it really turned out OK."

ESPN was on a commercial break when the Lions' second round pick came up. When it returned, Raiola's picture was on the screen. But the phone call from the Lions came earlier. Raiola took the call in another room, away from family and friends who had gathered at the family home.

Later, he received a call from former St. Louis teammate Olin Kreutz, the center for the Chicago Bears. Kreutz, who was attending mini-camp on the Mainland, also petitioned for the draft after his junior season at Washington. Kreutz was a third-round pick in 1998.

It wasn't lost on Raiola that he was the 50th pick and from the 50th state, and that the Lions' official team color is called Honolulu Blue. Asked if he would try to get No. 50 for his jersey, he said he will probably try for No. 54, his collegiate number. Of course, all that is pending depending on seniority.

Raiola's father, Tony Raiola, broke out Detroit Lions caps. It wasn't that he had a premonition. He had collected a number of souvenirs as a locker room attendant for the NFL Pro Bowls, so he had hats from a number of teams.

"Everybody here has become Lions' fans," he joked.

More coincidences? Raiola will be close to his brother, Donovan, an all-state offensive lineman for Kamehameha, who signed with Wisconsin. Their mother said plans are already in the process to watch Donovan play on Saturdays and Dominic on Sundays. She even plans to travel with Kreutz's mother when the Lions play the Bears. Both belong to the NFC Central, meaning they will play each other twice.

"I always laugh when he gets so upset with me," Wendy Raiola said. "I can't believe my baby is grown up and become this football player, so it's really exciting."

It was an exciting day for Donovan, too. Perhaps he will get drafted in four or five years.

"It was real cool," Donovan said of draft day. "I saw the process. I know what it's like."

The Raiolas set up tents in the driveway, setting up a table for an impromptu press conference. Well-wishers were treated to a buffet.

"Hopefully, this is not the last time we do this," Tony Raiola said in making reference to Donovan.