Loren Strickland

Loren Strickland
No. 24 – Detroit Lions
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (2000-05-31) May 31, 2000 (age 24)
Carpentersville, Illinois, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Jacobs (Algonquin, Illinois)
College:Indianapolis (2018–2021)
Ball State (2022–2023)
Undrafted:2024
Career history
Roster status:Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-GLVC (2019)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Loren Strickland (born May 31, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Indianapolis Greyhounds and Ball State Cardinals and signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2024.

Early life

Strickland was born on May 31, 2000, in Carpentersville, Illinois.[1] He attended Jacobs High School in Algonquin, where he won 10 varsity letters in three sports – track and field, football and wrestling.[2] In football, he played as a running back, linebacker and safety, being selected first-team all-conference and all-area.[3] He graduated from Jacobs in 2018 and committed to play college football for the NCAA Division II Indianapolis Greyhounds (UIndy).[4]

College career

Strickland redshirted as a freshman at Indianapolis in 2018, then won a starting job as a redshirt freshman in 2019.[2] He started the final 10 games of the 2019 season and was named first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) after totaling 46 tackles and four pass breakups.[2] He appeared in one game during the COVID-19-shortened 2020–21 season and served as a team captain in 2021, recording 33 tackles and a team-leading 10 pass breakups.[2] He received a finance degree from UIndy in December 2021.[5] Strickland transferred to the Ball State Cardinals, playing 12 games as a backup in the 2022 season while making 19 tackles.[3] As a senior in 2023, he appeared in all 12 games, five as a starter, and made 31 tackles with two tackles-for-loss (TFLs).[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9+1⁄8 in
(1.76 m) 		199 lb
(90 kg) 		30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.56 s 1.58 s 2.58 s 4.40 s 6.95 s 38.0 in
(0.97 m)		 10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		 18 reps
All values from Pro Day[6]

After going unselected in the 2024 NFL draft, Strickland signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent.[4] He made the team's initial 53-man roster for the 2024 season, being the first alumni of UIndy to make an NFL team in the modern era.[5][7] He was waived on December 4, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Loren Strickland Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Loren Strickland". Indianapolis Greyhounds.
  3. ^ a b c "Loren Strickland". Ball State Cardinals.
  4. ^ a b Stevenson, Joe (April 29, 2024). "Jacobs' grad Loren Strickland agrees to deal with Detroit Lions as undrafted free agent". Shaw Local.
  5. ^ a b Thorpe, Ryan (August 28, 2024). "UIndy Alum Loren Strickland Secures NFL Roster Spot". Indianapolis Greyhounds.
  6. ^ "Loren Strickland College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Maakaron, John (August 27, 2024). "Lions Announce Initial 2024 53-Man Roster". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ^ Risdon, Jeff. "Lions waive rookie DB ahead of Week 14 matchup with the Packers". Lions Wire. Retrieved December 5, 2024.