Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Things didn't start out so well for Jamal Agnew on the day his University of San Diego football team had a chance to clinch its first undefeated Pioneer Football League season in 10 years.

Agnew, a fifth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in last month's NFL draft, got beat by Aaron Blockman for a 96-yard touchdown pass on the Toreros' first defensive play from scrimmage.

When the senior cornerback got to the sideline, his team down 7-0, defensive coordinator Steve Irvin asked him pointedly whether he knew what happened.

"He’s like, 'Yeah, Coach, I got twisted around, I slipped up,'" Irvin recalled. "He said, 'But I got it. I got it.' And he did."

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Campbell quarterback Anthony Robbins challenged Agnew deep again on San Diego's next defensive snap, but this time Agnew intercepted a pass intended for Blockman.

The Toreros went on to rout Campbell, 57-21, and qualify for the FCS playoffs, and Irvin said Agnew shined the rest of the day.

"He's a big-time competitor," Irvin said. "I don't think he'll shake in his shoes at the next level of competition, I think he'll just do his best to compete."

The Lions took Agnew with the 165th pick of the draft and expect him to compete not only for a roster spot but perhaps time in their sub defensive packages this fall.

Just 5 foot 10, Agnew projects as a slot cornerback in the NFL, though Irvin said he played all over the field at San Diego.

“He was the guy that we matched up on the opposing team’s best receiver," Irvin said. "If the quarterback threw it to a certain side in a zone defense, that’s the side we put him on. He was a guy who liked blitzing off the edge as well as playing man-to-man coverage, so he did a little bit of everything for us on the slot and on the outside. Through some injuries, he even played some safety for us in a couple of games. He’s one that did it all."

A non-combine invite, Agnew impressed as a four-year starter with the Toreros.

He set a school record with 59 career passes defensed, including 11 interceptions, was a three-time first- or second-team all-PFL selection, and occasionally handled punt returns.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Agnew will "be in the punt-return mix" this fall, but acknowledged Agnew still has plenty of developing to do as a player.

"You have to look into level of competition," Quinn said. "He’s not playing against SEC receivers. A lot of those schools out there are actually non-scholarship. Really what solidified Jamal’s evaluation was the pro day. We had a couple guys at his pro day and they came back raving about him. Then we watched the pro day, we watched more film. That was a guy that was a little bit under the radar as a non-combine guy, but felt really strong about the evaluation and he’s going to come in there and compete on the inside."

Agnew ran two sub-4.4-second 40-yard dashes at his pro day and bench pressed 225 pounds 16 times. For comparison, Florida cornerback Teez Tabor, who the Lions took in Round 2, ran 4.62 seconds at the NFL combine and did nine reps on the bench press.

Irvin compared PFL football to the Ivy League because of its high academic standards, but he said Agnew, who was disciplined enough to balance his football and academic responsibilities while holding a job last season, should be a quick study in the NFL.

"It's hard at our level with the academics in our league," Irvin said. "To do it all is pretty impressive."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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