Rookie wide receiver Antoine Green felt a mixture of comfort from seeing a familiar face and excitement to learn a new offense when he got to the Detroit Lions for his first minicamp.
Being reunited with cornerbacks coach Dre Bly, who Green knows well from their days together at North Carolina, made Green comfortable in his new surroundings.
"Dre's the same dude everywhere he goes," Green said. "I'm definitely excited I can be around him."
Bly's 11-year pro career includes four seasons with the Lions (2003-2006). He went into coaching after retirement as a player, with a stint at North Carolina, his alma mater, before coming to Detroit this year.
Green tested his skills against Bly with some good-natured competition at North Carolina.
"I've done releases against him," Green said. "That's about it.
"He's getting a little older," Green added, laughing. "You can't run full routes against him."
Green will run full routes and everything else that's in the receivers' playbook in a bid to catch a roster spot.
Green had a long wait to get drafted. The Lions took him in the seventh round and 219th overall.
If Green pans out, it could be well worth the wait for both sides – Green to win a roster spot and begin his career, and the Lions filling the need for depth at receiver.
Green has some good physical qualities at 6-2, 199 pounds and a time of 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash among them.
Green was a five-year player at North Carolina. He had 90 career catches, with 74 coming in his last two seasons. He averaged 19 yards per catch for his career.
From what he has seen in the Lions' offense, Green likes the possibility of an expanded role compared to how he was used at North Carolina.
"I want to be able to do it all," Green said. "That offense at UNC, I was a vertical threat for the offense mainly.
"I want to be able to show I can do everything else outside of just running for deep balls."
