Here are some observations from Day 10 of Lions training camp in Allen Park on Monday.
Edge defender Ahmed Hassanein was once again one of the day’s standouts on defense. He and linebacker Trevor Nowaske combined for an early sack of rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer and a few good plays in the run game. During a goal-line period, Hassanein was knocked to the ground, threw up, and yelled with glee toward some of the fans sitting in the front row, who loved every second of it.
“I was going full speed every play, so it was exhaustion,” Hassanein explained. “I love it. That’s what I did in college, man. You go full speed every time; it should be that way. You should be absolutely exhausted, because when it comes to the game, the game should be easier than practice. Practice should be absolutely trying your hardest. I love it — I love it when that happens. It’s like a little, oop, all right, time to go. You know what I’m saying? Time to get back in. It just gets me going, man.
“We used to have that in college all the time, man, and we used to celebrate that because it means you’re going full f—— speed or you’re overhydrated, which is good either way.”
Hassanein has repeatedly gotten into it with tight end Thomas Gordon, a rivalry that continued into a spirited special-teams rep between the two on Monday.
“It’s competition. It’s truly just competition … and talking smack, and this is what truly gets you better,” Hassanein said. “I’m just gonna go out there to do the drill. I’m out there to give you my best. And I’m gonna pancake you. I’m gonna do something to you. You better come ready.”
Following the news that center Cade Mays will miss “significant” time with a wrist injury, reserve Seth McLaughlin took all of the available first-team reps at center in Monday’s practice. He had a rough introduction to the first team, as Alim McNeill drove him back like a blocking sled for a sack of quarterback Jared Goff.
But he found his footing shortly after and was relatively solid play to play, with few notable losses. Goff said Monday was the first time he ever took snaps from McLaughlin, a former undrafted free agent who spent last year with the Cincinnati Bengals while recovering from a torn Achilles that ended his college career in November 2024, and was named the 2024 Rimington Award winner as the best center in college football.
“He did a good job,” Goff said of McLaughlin’s day. “He stepped in there, he has good authority with his calls, he was sharp, he was decisive. I think that’s all you can ask for. You’re gonna make mistakes, things are gonna happen. But he was decisive and quick and commanded the huddle well.”
The Lions ran a situational drill near the end of practice where the offense led, 24-20, with 1:53 left. The goal was to pick up a first down and end the game. After the defense stopped the clock following a run that lost yardage, Goff took advantage of a free play and threw a ball more than 50 yards downfield to wide receiver Jameson Williams, who blew past Rock Ya-Sin in coverage and had Chuck Clark trying to stop the completion as well.
Williams caught the ball while going to the ground and pointed to the 1-yard line, indicating he did not get across the goal line, which allowed the Lions’ offense to kneel it out the rest of the way.
With Juice Scruggs also on the shelf because of a soft-tissue injury, Michael Niese manned all the snaps for the second team. His most notable play was a low snap to Altmyer, causing Altmyer to rush his pass and nearly throw an interception.
Altmyer has shown steady growth since arriving for camp, but Monday might’ve been a bit of a step backward as Josh Dobbs, Detroit’s newest addition at quarterback, watched from the sideline. He threw two interceptions; on the first, safety Dan Jackson made a fantastic diving play to come down with the turnover. Later, as Altmyer fired to Dominic Lovett on a slant route, nickelback Christian Izien jumped the route for an easy pick. Altmyer had a zone read that went for a touchdown during a red-zone period.
Even with cornerback D.J. Reed sidelined because of a groin injury, cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. has been taking a lot of reps with the second team. Detroit has mainly run out Nick Whiteside and Ya-Sin at outside corner, with Rakestraw splitting reps between the first and second team, both at outside corner and in the slot.
Shortly after Lions coach Dan Campbell said that Rakestraw needs to start stacking some positive days, Rakestraw put the duality of his camp performance on display. He gave up a completion to wide receiver Tom Kennedy, but punched the ball out before Kennedy reached the sideline.
“He’s had some ups and downs,” Campbell said of Rakestraw. ” He needs to string a few days together here of some good stuff, but he can do that and he’s gifted.”
Edge defender Aidan Hutchinson was a monster on Monday. He had several sacks and a few added pressures, including one rep where he flushed Goff during a red-zone period and forced him to make an errant throw — Hutchinson might honestly have had the sack — that was intercepted by Clark.
Goff had an additional interception to Whiteside that was tipped up into the air by Clark as Goff tried forcing the ball to tight end Brock Wright in a tight window. Despite the picks, Goff had an excellent day — and really, has had an excellent camp. His most impressive throw of the day was to tight end Sam LaPorta, which went through three defenders before reaching the target for a big completion.
Linebacker Joe Bachie was very noticeable on Monday and has gotten some first-team reps this week as he makes his case for making the 53-man roster. Bachie nearly intercepted Altmyer and had several run stops on the day. On the play where Hassanein threw up, Bachie and safety Thomas Harper stuck the ball carrier at the goal line for no gain. He just continues to be around the football when the ball carrier goes down.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was heavily involved in first-team reps during the start of practice, but it’s clear the team is slowly ramping him up as camp goes on. He had a nasty juke against Whiteside during a red-zone run that completely left the cornerback in the dust and led to an easy score. About halfway through practice, he exited from team drills.
Running back Kye Robichaux arguably had the best run of the day. He had a huge gain during team drills in which he broke two tackles, including a violent stiff arm of safety Loren Strickland.
Linebacker Erick Hunter, who had an interception in Friday’s practice, had a sick pass breakup in which he hammered tight end Jackson Meeks to force an incompletion.
Lions safety Avonte Maddox was absent for Monday’s practice, which opened the door for Harper, who started nine games for the injured Kerby Joseph last season, to get some first-team reps.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions training camp observations: Hassanein hurls; center battle begins
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
