ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Division III players are generally prohibitive long shots when it comes to getting to the NFL.
Chris Greenwood, a fifth-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions, doesn't look at himself that way.
"Not really," Greenwood said. "I feel like if I work hard and do the things I know I can do, I'll have a good shot."
Greenwood, a 6-foot-2, 193-pound cornerback from Albion (Mich.) College, is the first player from his conference – the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – to be selected in the NFL Draft in 45 years.
The last MIAA draft pick was Albion defensive back Barry Siler in 1967, an eighth-rounder by New Orleans.
The last three Division III players taken in the draft have made the league. They are Washington receiver Pierre Garcon (Mount Union), Jacksonville receiver Cecil Shorts (Mount Union) and Kansas City linebacker Andy Studebaker (Wheaton), all selected between 2008-11.
Greenwood, a Detroit native, attended Northwood University and Eastern Michigan before transferring to Albion.
He said his high school team, Detroit Martin Luther King, played at Ford Field – the Lions' home – in the city championship.
"This is like a dream come true," said Greenwood, wearing a blue-and-silver tie he purchased a couple weeks ago in hopes of wearing it on draft day. "They were the hometown team, so I always rooted for the Lions."
Although he took what appears to be a difficult, less-likely road to the NFL, Greenwood said he felt he was always on the right path.
He was told by a coach that if a player is talented enough, pro scouts will find him.
And they did.
"I just knew working hard and staying focused on the things I need to do would get me here," he said. "It's got me here."
Greenwood was at his mother's home in Flint when he got the call from the Lions on Saturday afternoon.
"They (his family) were all gathered around and they saw my name scroll across the bottom of the screen," Greenwood said. "There was an eruption."
Lions general manager Martin Mayhew considers Greenwood as more of a "developmental prospect," partly because he's coming from lower-level competition.
"But he's really physically gifted," Mayhew said. "His measureables are off the charts. He's got height, he's got speed.
"They (opponents) didn't challenge him very much. It's sort of a projection and a developmental project, but we really like his skill level."
