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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, April 22, 2010

NFL draft: Lions draft Ndamukong Suh at No. 2


LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions biggest need is talent.

Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh seems to have a lot of it.

Detroit drafted the game-changing Suh with the No. 2 pick overall Thursday night. The Heisman Trophy finalist is the first defensive tackle to be drafted among the top two picks since Oakland took Darrell Russell in 1997.

The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Suh was the first defensive player to win The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year award since its inception in 1998. He had 4½ sacks against Texas in the Big 12 title game and finished with 12 sacks for the season.

Detroit has a lot of voids after becoming the first team in NFL history to lose 30 games in two seasons.

Its biggest gaps are on defense and drafting Suh seems to make them much tougher in the middle of the line.

"It's amazing," Suh said on ESPN. "It feels good to have those tingles come down your body."

In workouts, Suh bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times, ran 40 yards in 4.98 seconds and soared 35½ inches in the vertical jump, the best for any defensive tackle since 2000.

The native of Portland, Ore., graduated with a construction management degree and plans to donate $2.6 million to his alma mater.