Lions take ex-Foothill star Miles Killebrew in NFL Draft

The Detroit Lions had Miles Killebrew faked out.

When Killebrew, a Foothill High School product and hard-hitting former Southern Utah safety, met with the Lions at the Senior Bowl, he was told, point blank, that they weren’t going to take him in the NFL Draft.

“That was the first time I’ve ever had a team tell me, ‘Nah, we don’t want you at all.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ I didn’t know how to react,” Killebrew said Saturday on a conference call. “I just took it and said, ‘OK, was there anything else you wanted to ask me? Was that it?’

“I think I took it well, because the coach told me he liked the way I handled it. I was disappointed. But, hey, I’m not disappointed anymore, that’s for sure.”

That’s because Detroit selected Killebrew in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday morning with the 111th overall pick.

On an unforgettable day for Killebrew, he fielded his life-changing phone call from the Lions as he was headed from his family’s Henderson home to Southern Utah for his college graduation.

“When I got the call, I froze for a second, kind of like a deer in headlights, when I saw the phone ringing,” he said. “And, man, Detroit Lions, woo, I’m still kind of geeking about it a little bit here in the car.”

Killebrew, who earned his degree in engineering, said the Senior Bowl interview was a case of Lions safeties coach Alan Williams playing mind games with him.

“Coach said he just wanted to see how I would react, and so he’s looking forward to working with me and just giving me a hard time,” he said.

Saturday also turned out to be an extra-special graduation day for former Southern Utah cornerback LeShaun Sims, an Agassi Prep product who was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, with the No. 157 overall pick, by the Tennessee Titans, who traded up to get him.

“I’m so excited that the Titans saw my potential,” Sims said in a Southern Utah news release. “Now I’m ready to get on their field and show everyone that I can work.”

The 6-foot, 200-pound Sims was the first student to earn an athletic scholarship from Agassi Prep, a Division III school that played eight-man football his freshman year. Sims, who graduated with a degree in physical education & human performance, gained 25 pounds at Southern Utah, where he had eight career interceptions and this year was invited to the East-West Shrine Game and NFL combine.

Southern Utah, a Football Championship Subdivision school in Cedar City, was the only one to offer a scholarship to Sims and Killebrew, who was an all-state defensive back at Foothill but weighed only 180 pounds, mostly because of his father’s insistence that he didn’t lift weights in high school.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound Killebrew added 50 pounds of muscle at Southern Utah, where he was a four-year starter and All-Big Sky selection who made a team-leading 132 tackles this season while delivering countless big hits that can be seen in a YouTube video titled “Miles “The Brew” Killebrew — CFB’s Hardest Hitter.”

“I think he’s the biggest hitter in the draft,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “I’ve never seen a safety hit more guys that go backward in my life.”

The kindly Killebrew started a weekly Bible study group at Southern Utah that included the soft-spoken Sims. But on the field, Killebrew relishes dishing out hard hits.

“I tell you what, I’d much rather be the hammer than the nail,” he said. “It’s football in its purest sense. Football is a collision sport, and as long as I’m doing it safely and legally, I enjoy it.”

A safety/linebacker hybrid, Killebrew is expected to contend for the starting strong safety spot with the Lions and also could see action at nickel linebacker and on special teams.

Sims will compete for time at cornerback and on special teams, but, according to the NFL Network’s Mark Dulgerian, “He’s a year or two away from being a legitimate contender for a starting role.”

Killebrew and Sims were among three local players drafted this year. Former Bishop Gorman and Notre Dame offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley was selected sixth overall by the Baltimore Ravens.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.