Lions draft pick Colby Sorsdal begins transition to guard

Detroit News

Allen Park — Roughly 98% of Colby Sorsdal’s career snaps at William & Mary came at right tackle.

But unless Penei Sewell’s full-time transition to tight end is coming sooner than we realize, Sorsdal, taken in the fifth round in April’s NFL Draft, is more likely to carve a career at guard. He was listed as a guard on the team-issued rookie minicamp roster last weekend and took a majority of his snaps there.

So far, he’s learned the interior is a quick man’s game.

“I love how fast it is, but everything happens so much faster when you’re at guard,” he said. “Things get on you really quickly and that’s one thing I need to adjust to. But I like to have something new to work on, I like challenging myself, and I feel like I’m doing that out there.”

Sorsdal showed off a bit of his versatility at the East-West Shrine game, where he played all three offensive line positions and was first put on the radar of Lions general manager Brad Holmes.

It’s possible Sorsdal could have played himself into a better draft position had he transferred out of the FCS level for his final college season. But he stayed and won a conference title, William & Mary’s first since 2015 — and in hindsight, it’d be surprising if his decision to stay didn’t contribute to Holmes’ decision to take him on Day 3.

“It means the world (to see it through). I talked about getting my ring. On draft night, I actually got it. Some of my buddies came in to celebrate with me and I got my ring. Seeing that, knowing that I earned that with the brothers I committed to in 2018, it means the world,” Sorsdal said.

“That’s just why I play the game of football. I want to win with my brothers. I want to win with my family. My family is now the Lions.”

Though Sorsdal will get a more realistic look at what the average NFL athlete has to offer when vets start taking the practice field for OTAs and minicamp, his first glimpse at the level was quite revealing.

“Everybody says it and it’s kind of a cliché…but everybody is stronger and faster and everybody is really good,” Sorsdal said. “Just kind of adjusting to the speed of the game and seeing things the right way and seeing things technique-wise. All that.

“Just (have to do) a lot of film study. … Right now, it’s a lot of film, a lot of getting the plays right, getting in the playbook.”

Looking Green

Former North Carolina receiver and seventh-round draft pick Antoine Green didn’t get to participate in rookie minicamp with a college teammate like some of the other players in his draft class.

But he did get to bring one of his old coaches with him — former North Carolina assistant and new Lions cornerbacks coach Dre Bly — and it went a long way in helping the rookie feel comfortable on Day 1 (even if their relationship is an adversarial one).

“We used to chirp at each other all the time at UNC, so just having him here is definitely fun,” Green said. “I see him across the field just looking like, nodding his head. It’s definitely fun seeing that again.”

Green (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), who earned third-team All-ACC honors as a fifth-year senior, caught 43 passes for 798 yards (18.6 average) and seven touchdowns in 2022.

“Compared to the offense that I was in, it’s a lot of diversity in (the Lions’) offense, so I’m real excited to be a part of the offense and learn more about the game and the people that’s here,” Green said.

“I wanna be able to do it all. Our offense at UNC, I was a vertical threat for that offense, mainly. I want to show that I can do everything else outside of running that deep ball.”

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @nolanbianchi

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