Detroit Release on Jamal Angew

Senior Jamal Agnew (San Diego, Calif.) received outstanding news today with the announcement that the Detroit Lions had selected him in the 5th round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 165th player selected and becomes just the second Torero to be drafted. In 2008, Josh Johnson was selected in the 5th round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We were happy with the good news for Jamal today," said head coach Dale Lindsey. "It is a testament to his hard work, dedication, attention to detail, and doing what he is supposed to be doing. All of that has shot him to the 5th round of the NFL Draft and we are all so very proud of him. We wish him nothing but the best with the Detroit organization."

Agnew, a two-time team Defensive MVP and a first team All-Pioneer Football League performer in 2016, finished his outstanding Torero career as the program's all-time leader in passes defended with 59. In 44 career games he totaled 148 tackles (118 solo), with 12.5 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery and 11 interceptions.

This past season he helped guide the Toreros to a 10-2 overall record and perfect 8-0 PFL championship title. The Toreros earned the school's and PFL's first FCS playoff victory with the team's 35-21 first round win at Cal Poly. He finished with 31 tackles (24 solo), 13 passes defended, 1 blocked kick, 1 quarterback hurry and 2 interceptions. He also returned 17 punts for 216 yards (12.7 average) and returned a 63-yarder for a touchdown against Valparaiso.

He was selected 2nd Team All-PFL in both 2015 and 2014. In 2014 he led the nation in passes defended for FCS players with 23 (2.1 per contest). During his freshman campaign he was All-PFL honorable mention and USD's Outstanding First Year Player.

LIONS CB Jamal Agnew CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET

On his excitement after being drafted: "You have no idea how excited me and my family are right now. We're beyond tired. First of all, I want to thank Mrs. Ford, Mr. Quinn and Jim Caldwell for the opportunity to be a Detroit Lion. I went out there for a visit and I had a blast. Great people I met out there, great facilities and I'm just so excited to be a Lion."

On if he has an idea of where he will play with the Lions: "Not really, I'm just looking forward to going in there and competing with the other guys, the other draftees, possible free agents and veterans and just looking to get better."

On what impressions he had of the Lions organization during the pre-draft process: "It was great just because of the culture there. It felt like I was around my own family. They're so thoughtful. They're so warming and just everybody there that I met was fantastic. That's why I'm so excited and that's why my family is so excited, just because I tell them I went there and it felt like home. We're excited that I get to a call a second place home."

On if his mother will bring his baby pictures to his NFL games like in the past: "Man, she probably would because she did that in San Diego."

On the type of baby pictures his mother would bring to his college games: "So now it's a different stage, so they'll probably be blow-up (pictures) just because at USD (University of San Diego) we never filled the stands. That's different in Detroit, so now she's got to make the pictures a little bit bigger."

On what he thinks his strengths and weaknesses are:"Just the way we were coached. We were coached by Dale Lindsey at USD. He teaches us to be physical. You've definitely got to be smart. You've got to be in the playbook 24/7. I'm always watching film and that's just how I play. I feel like that's how the culture is in Detroit and that's one of the other reasons why I'm real excited to go in there. Just go in there and compete, get better, get the team better and my teammates around me better."

On the impact his speed has on his playing style: "I would say it's a big part just because of the position I play, you need speed. It definitely is a factor."

On what his draft day expectations were: "To be honest, nobody can ever predict what's going to happen in the draft. It's honestly like the lottery. We heard some buzz, but you can't really believe all the hype. I just told my family, `Hey, this is the last day which is still a little bit some people or the other.' My grandma's been real sick lately. She's on hospice rest, so we all met up at her house and just celebrated. We didn't know what was going to happen, had really no expectations going into it. I'm just thankful and grateful that Mrs. Ford, Mr. Quinn and Coach Caldwell took the chance on me and I'm going to make the most out of that."

On if his grandmother is healthy enough to be aware of today's significance: "Yeah, she's beyond happy for me."

On the influence his grandmother has had in his life: "I'm still in shock right now. Just for her to be able to witness that, it just means so much to me and my family because she's the backbone of our family, so that just means the world."

On his grandmother's name: "Rosario Borie."

On how many people are gathered with him today to watch the draft: "We probably have around like 20 people here."

On if he is currently in San Diego: "Yeah, this is in San Diego."

On how emotional it was for him to sit and wait for his name to be called: "Like I said, we didn't really have any expectations so, you know, we were just kind of just watching, going with the flow. I mean, I've seen other guys get picked and, you know, I'm happy for them. I got the call and my heart dropped. I saw the area code and I was like, `No way is this happening.' You know, I saw the TV, I saw Detroit on the clock, man, and then I saw the area code. I was like, `No way this is happening right now.' You know, I had my phone on loud and my phone started ringing and everybody in the room just got quiet. I answered the phone and it was Kevin (Anderson) and then he handed the phone to Mr. Quinn and then Mrs. Ford, then to Coach Caldwell. You know, I'm still in shock right now. I'm still kind of shaking."

On what his ringtone is: "Just a normal iPhone tone."

On moving far away from his hometown to pursue his NFL career in Detroit: "I have no problems with it. You know, in college we traveled all around the world. We went to New York, we went to the Midwest multiple times a year. We went to Florida, we went to North Carolina, we go everywhere. I honestly like the Midwest. San Diego weather's nice, but you can't have perfect all the time."

On the origins of his nickname "Swagnew": "That was just a little nickname I got at USD. You know, our coach is really strict with the dress code and I used to try to make the dress code a little swaggy. So it goes with my last name a little bit and they called me Swagnew, so it just kind of stuck since my sophomore year."

On his grandmother's reaction to when he told her he had been drafted: "She was lost for words, honestly. Like, literally loss of words."