ALLEN PARK -- Lions rookie Kevin Strong got to make the call of a lifetime.

His father, Kevin Sr., has been back in Texas fighting Stage 4 lung cancer. Kevin Jr. told him he would continue to fight for a Lions roster job, as long as his father continued to fight cancer.

But Kevin Jr.’s chances were never good. He is a defensive tackle who went undrafted out of Texas-San Antonio. He joined a Detroit Lions team that was stacked with big guns at the position like Snacks Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson and Da’Shawn Hand. Then Pro Bowler Mike Daniels was added to the mix the first week of camp, which bolstered Detroit’s strength up the middle -- but also hurt Strong’s odds even more.

He still put together a good camp, though. Good enough that he played his way onto the roster bubble. As the roster deadline approached on Friday and Saturday, he kept waiting and waiting and waiting for his phone to ring, hoping to get the call that he had made the team. Waiting and waiting and waiting some more.

Then the 4 p.m. deadline came and went. Still no call. Now he’s worried.

Only problem: Nobody had told him they call you only if you didn’t make the team.

The silence was good news. And sure enough, he was in the recovery pools at Allen Park when he saw the roster updated online. His name -- his father’s name before him -- was on it.

Kevin Jr. immediately sprinted back to his hotel so he could FaceTime his parents and tell him he had won his fight.

“Their eyes just blew up, man. It was crazy,” Strong said. "My dad was just jumping in the back. I had never seen this emotion from him. Knowing my dad, I know when he’s happy, know what I’m saying? He’s chill though. Oh no, when he heard, he was jumping around.

“It’s amazing to see that kind of emotion from him, because I like I said, he don’t show (emotions). He shows his emotion, but he’s more laid back and chill. So to see him jump up, jump around like that, that was amazing. I knew I truly brought happiness to him, and to my mom."

Strong was a solid player at Texas-San Antonio, although not exactly a star. He was named second-team all-Conference USA as a junior and honorable mention as a senior. He had 24 tackles last year, 6.5 of which were for loss, and one sack.

Good player for sure, but there’s a reason he went undrafted.

But the Lions know UTSA well because their defensive line coach, Bo Davis, spent a couple seasons there. They saw something they thought they could develop in Strong, and brought him in as a UDFA. It didn’t take long for him to leave an impression in camp, either.

With Harrison, Robinson, Hand and Daniels all missing extensive time, Strong found himself repping extensively against the first-team offensive line. And while the other deep reserves struggled, Strong was disruptive. After battling confidence issues as a senior, Strong began to realize he could play with these guys.

“These are starting guys, and for me to win a pass rush, for me to just be out there making a play, I never showed it, but inside I was just happy because I knew I could play with these guys,” Strong said. “At the end of the day, it’s all football. So even though I’m just a rookie, I’m young, but I know I’ve still got the body and skill to be able to come up and do certain stuff for this team.”

Strong carried his early momentum through camp, all the way until cut day. He was one of three UDFAs to make the club, along with offensive lineman Beau Benzschawel and special teams ace C.J. Moore.

What did he do to celebrate?

“I literally just smiled all day,” Strong said. “I was just so happy. I had so many family calling me. Like, my support system is crazy, and it’s amazing, and I’m so grateful. So I was literally just, like, happy. I didn’t do nothin'. Like I went and ate, but it wasn’t anything special. I was just happy."