When Isaac TeSlaa got a call from a 313 number early in the third round of the NFL Draft, "I was a little worried when I first picked up that it was going to be a prank call, and I was going to be devastated. But it was really Brad Holmes. It was really him," he said.
The Lions were drafting the receiver out of Arkansas No. 70 overall. If it had indeed been a prank, "I would’ve been sick to my stomach, man," TeSlaa said on the latest episode of the St. Brown Podcast. Instead, it was "probably the coolest night of my life."
"Getting that call, getting drafted to the team I’ve been watching since I was a kid, I’ve been rooting on for however long, surreal feeling," said TeSlaa, who grew up in the Grand Rapids area.
And he didn't just pull for the Lions. He also despised their rivals, one more than the rest. "Packers Week 1" this season," he said.
"I hate the Packers," said TeSlaa, "with a burning passion."
Spoken like any other lifelong Lions fan. The Packers ruled the NFC North for most of TeSlaa's childhood, and tormented the Lions. TeSlaa was a fan when the Lions went 0-16 in 2008, "so I know what it’s like to go through that," he said.
Now, with the team coming off back-to-back NFC North titles, "definitely the best time to be drafted by the Lions," he said. "Anytime from here on out."
TeSlaa followed an unconventional path to the NFL. He played quarterback in a wing-T offense in high school, converted to wide receiver at Division II Hillsdale College, and eventually created some buzz after transferring to Arkansas -- but not enough to get initial invites to the Senior Bowl or the combine.
If not for a last-minute spot in the Senior Bowl, where Holmes took notice of him for the first time, TeSlaa may never have landed on the Lions' radar.
"Started with an invite to the Hula Bowl, which is lower than the Senior Bowl, ended up doing really there," he said. "There was a Senior Bowl rep there, but the roster was full. If anyone ended up getting hurt or dropping out, then I was going to fill in, so that ended up happening. Had a really good week at the Senior Bowl, got my combine invite, did really well at the combine.
"So for me, it was just getting those opportunities and making the most of them to show what I can do."