The former Kalaheo High basketball star turned football player made diary entries starting on July 26. He also writes about his first NFL game experience.

The Lions' second-round draft pick has been dubbed "Five-O" by head coach Rod Marinelli because of his difficulty in pronouncing his name. Of course, "Five-O" comes from the popular television program, "Hawaii Five-O."

Here are some highlights from Alama-Francis' diary:

Wednesday, Aug. 15

"(The defensive linemen) have been really good just with helping me out with everything. I can go to any of them for help whenever I need anyone to help me. (Shaun Cody) — my roommate, my boy, he helps me out a lot.

"Cody — he's a good person, he really is. He's always energetic. He just goes. It helps you relax with everything being so serious, because you've got to remember: it's still a game and you've got to have fun. I've just got to get out of that serious mode and just relax."

Monday, Aug. 13

"I don't even have to talk to (fellow rookies to know how they're feeling) — you can see it on their face. It's pretty grueling going into something you don't know in an area you don't know. But you've just got to hang with it; you've got to stick with it. Because I'll tell you what, it does get harder at times — it really does. Some days it doesn't go as planned and you kind of get down on yourself but you've got to stick with it. You've got to try to stay positive no matter what happens and keep fighting."

Saturday, Aug. 11

"Wow. My first (game). It was a very exciting experience just seeing the game atmosphere — finally playing against someone else besides each other. I learned from that game. I did some good things, did some bad things, but the main thing is to get better. I'll just work on it at practice and get ready for the next opponent.