Notes: Michigan native stands outside Lions’ practice facility asking for a tryout

Every other year or so we seem to stumble across a player standing outside the Lions facility looking for a shot. This year that player is ex-EMU and Arena League CB Freddie McGee III. Video: pic.twitter.com/sBHbDHvLmV

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) April 13, 2026 “I’ve had this dream of going to the NFL since I was 5 years old,” he told **FOX 2’s Brandon Hudson**. “I always knew I had what it (took). I just needed that exposure, that opportunity.” The defensive back said he woke up early Monday morning and wanted to go work out, but instead decided to head to Allen Park. He stopped at Walmart to get a poster and some pens. “I would say God put it on my heart that morning, just to go do it,” he said. After getting there around 8:45 a.m. that morning, he said the plan was to wait for a few hours and see if he could catch any staff members entering or leaving the building. His phone ended up dying, so he had no idea that someone had snapped a photo of him and it was circulating online. “Somebody came and was like, ‘Hey man, we just saw you on Twitter. Stay here, don’t go anywhere — whatever you’re doing is working,’” he said. McGee, a homegrown talent from Canton, played football at Salem High School, then at Eastern Michigan, and in the AFL, where he said he made the most of his experience and even earned a Defensive Player of the Year title. “Met a lot of good coaches, good people, and it’s a blessing to be able to do what we did in that league,” he said. McGee said he was grateful for all the support from comments online to people honking as they drove by on Monday. Since then, he’s shown up on all sorts of podcasts and shows, including national programs like the CBS Evening News and Good Morning Football. Freddie McGee III was overlooked out of high school, walked on at Eastern Michigan and fought through the Arena Football League with no NFL offer. Now at 27, he’s standing outside the Detroit Lions’ facility, cleats around his neck, asking for one shot to prove he belongs.