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Notable Quotes from Lions' Day 3 Draft Picks

Check out some of the most notable quotes from Lions' Day 3 draft picks
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The 2020 NFL Draft has come to a close after seven rounds and 255 total picks.

The Lions had nine of them over the course of an eventful three days that saw general manager Bob Quinn execute two trades, including one on Day 3 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Quinn traded down from the team's fourth-round pick (No. 109 overall), and gained two picks in return -- the Raiders' fourth-rounder (No. 121 overall) and fifth-round pick (No. 172 overall).

It allowed Quinn to net five players on the final day of the draft.

Here's how the picks on Day 3 went:

  • Fourth round, Pick 15 (No. 121 overall from Raiders) - Kentucky G Logan Stenberg
  • Fifth round, Pick 20 (No. 166 overall from Eagles) - Wisconsin WR Quintez Cephus
  • Fifth round, Pick 26 (No. 172 overall from Raiders) - New Mexico State RB Jason Huntley
  • Sixth round, Pick 18 (No. 197 overall from Colts) - Utah DT John Penisini
  • Seventh round, Pick 21 (No. 235 overall from Eagles via Patriots) - Ohio State DT Jashon Cornell

Each player spoke to members of the Detroit media after being drafted.  

Here is a collection of the most notable quotes:

Stenberg on his style of play: “So I’ll tell you what my best asset is: I’m a nasty player. I like to block and finish guys. I’m a hardworking individual. I’m the kind of guy that’s going to show up to work every day whether it’s practice or meetings – just a really blue-collar guy.”

Cephus on playing against Lions' first-round pick Jeff Okudah in college: “Jeff is an unbelievable talent. He was the best guy I lined up against all year. It’s amazing getting to see all the great players the Lions have this year (that) they drafted, that they have on their roster. Jeff Okudah – I’ll know he’ll get me better. I just can’t wait to get to work with him and have fun, knowing that he has that same respect as I have for him. It’s going to be a great thing.”

Huntley on what the moment was like when he found out he was being drafted: “I was happy, I was speechless. All my hard work just paid off and I’m just happy to be a Detroit Lion. That’s the biggest thing, I’m just happy to be able to get with my teammates and just make the best of it.”

Penisini on his road to Utah and playing at Snow College in 2015 and not in 2016: “I redshirted that year (2016). Saved a year to play three at Utah. To be honest, it was hard from there because you’re at junior college where you are pretty much on your own straight from high school. I was two hours away from home, but I don’t have a car and my mom wouldn’t want to drive that far only just for games. You go up there, same as other junior colleges, but you know, food is limited. You’ve got to earn your stuff over there. I played one year, redshirted my second year just to save it for Utah and then I actually had shoulder labrum surgery after my first year, which went well. I also graduated, sorry, I left that one out. I also graduated with my associate degree that I needed because I wasn’t qualified coming out of high school. Really, just from high school I was pretty late on all my grades, that’s how I got to junior college.”

Penisini on what he did his one year away from football and what he’s been up to while in quarantine: “Man, I’ll start off with the first part. The year that I redshirted, I actually was just working on my grades and I’d work out. It’s hard to workout on your own, especially when you’re in junior college and you don’t have the coaches to call you and tell you to get up or any of that. That’s where the drive comes from. You just think about your family and you work out and do whatever. But that’s pretty much what I did. I worked on my schoolwork, finished off strong in that last semester and then I actually worked out on my own over at Snow (College). For the quarantining, me and my girlfriend – I actually started painting. I only painted one picture, which kind of turned out good. It was a beginner’s picture. Other than that, really just play games and work out. My life is kind of boring, but I try to push myself in the workout aspect and try to figure out some new stuff to do. There’s honestly nothing to do out here with the coronavirus.”

Cornell on Okudah and Jonah Jackson, one of Detroit's two third-round picks from Friday: “Jeff Okudah is a franchise player. He’s going to be – the things that Jeff can do as a defensive back – being able to come in as a freshman and being able to watch Jeff grow, he was able to showcase his ability as one of the best defensive backs in the country. He came to practice every day, he showed out. Jeff Okudah is going to be a great player for the Lions. Jonah, me and Jonah go at it for 12 weeks out of the year for every year since Jonah (INAUDIBLE) you know, we always had our battles in practice. It’s going to be good to go back up there in Detroit, and be able to compete with Jonah each day at practice and stuff.” 

Cornell on if he knows Lions center Frank Ragnow well: “Yeah, me and Frank go way back since basically high school. Me and Frank used to do car rides together to go to different football camps across the country for last two years during our high school time. But me and Frank, I remember we’d fall asleep on him in the car ride, he’d drive down – we drove down to Detroit for Sound Mind, Sound Body camp together or just different camps around the country. Me and Frank, we did a lot together growing up throughout our high school years.”

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