Ndamukong Suh was entering the eighth grade when he decided it was time to switch sports.
He enjoyed playing soccer, but he had literally outgrown the game.
"I was getting too many red cards," Suh said with a smile Friday when he was introduced to the media at the Lions' offices in Allen Park. "I decided to play football. It was fun to beat up on the little guys."
As he was saying that, he smiled and pointed at his new teammate, running back Jahvid Best.
"I turned into a real physical guy and wanted a contact sport," Suh said. "I got the blessing from my parents -- as long as I took care of school -- to play football."
The rest is history.
Suh became a Parade All-American selection at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., went to Nebraska and became one of the best college players in the country and was selected by the Lions with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.
And he took care of school. He graduated last December with a degree in construction management.
"I ran out of superlatives talking about these guys (Suh and Best) yesterday," said Detroit coach Jim Schwartz.
Schwartz said he got his first glimpse of Suh when he was watching a Nebraska game on television in his hotel room during one of the Lions' road games.
"I was shocked at the way he dominated a game," Schwartz said.
The Lions picked Best with the 30th pick in the first round after making a trade with Minnesota.
Schwartz hadn't seen Best until he was talking with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, and Linehan said, "You should see that running back from Cal. What I would do for a running back like that. I don't know if he's coming out or not, but that guy is everything that we're looking for."
Schwartz was intrigued.
He Googled Best's name and could hardly believe his eyes.
"I was just amazed," Schwartz said. "And like with Ndamukong those highlight tapes translated well to coaching tapes. You see the explosiveness and you see the huge gains that he makes and the way he affects the game of football. He was the best player on the field and it was against good competition."
Suh was a dominant player and he expects to carry that over to the NFL.
"I don't think it'll be a tough adjustment," he said. "I think it's one that just has to come with hard work. I think it will be a smooth transition. Obviously, I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that I can only work to be the best person I can. That's how I've been brought up. If I want success, I've got to work for it. I know I'm going to hit the ground running and continue to run."
On the field, Suh becomes a different person than the gentle giant he portrays off the field.
"I don't know if it's the right choice of words, but I'm bi-polar," he said. "I'm low-key and just a subtle guy and I like to be around my family. When I'm on the field, I'm a totally different person. I'm angry and I want to impose my will on the running backs and quarterbacks.
"I think you have to have that correlation as a true football player to be able to come off the field and be your normal self. Then go on to the field and take care of business and become that caged, raged animal."
Suh is as impressed with defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham as Cunningham was with him.
"I love the man," Suh said. "He's definitely a great coach. I got a good feel for what he wanted to do with me and how he expects me to evolve in the program, the organization and the team."
Suh explained the origin of his first name.
"It means 'house of spears,'" he said. "I'm named after a street because of my great-grandfather, who was a police chief in Cameroon."
Suh comes from his size naturally. His great-grandfather was 7-foot-3.
Best plans to develop his own persona as a running back, but he said that the back he admired most while growing up was Priest Holmes, who was the NFL's offensive player of the year in 2002 with Kansas City.
Best said that he has the one attribute that every successful running back possesses.
"I would say that my biggest strength is vision, and as a running back if you don't have vision you're not going to be successful. You could be the strongest guy in the world or the fastest guy in the word, but if you don't have your vision you're never going to hit the hole."
Suh made headlines recently when he pledged $2.6 million to his alma mater after he signs his first pro contract.
"My plan wasn't to set an example," Suh said. "It's something I wanted to do. I believe wholeheartedly in that program, in that school. I've been wanting to give back to them because they gave me so much. My family has always been a giving family. You give and take in this world. That's how you progress."
Suh is just as proud of the degree he received from the engineering department of Nebraska as he is of the football awards he collected.
In fact, he downplays the individual statistics and honors.
"I really don't care for stats. I care for wins," Suh said. "We went to a bowl game and I had three tackles -- one for a loss -- and we beat a team 33-0. That's what I'm looking for."
So are the Lions -- and they think that Suh and Best can help give it to them.
