Quotes about Ikaika from the Detroit Free Press

About his reaction to finding out he was drafted by Detroit while he was on the driving range, Ikaika said:
"I'm screaming; I'm going crazy. Everybody thinks I'm on drugs or something, and I'm like, 'No, I just got drafted by the Detroit Lions.' " (DFP)


Ikaika's Dad Joe gave him good advice after he was drafted, Ikaika said Joe told him:
"He said, 'The work starts now.' " (DFP)


Detroit DC Joe Barry said that the 280-pound Ikaika:
"bounces around on his feet like he's 230 pounds." (DFP)


About all of the personal tutoring he's been getting for Lions head coach Rod Marinelli, Ikaika said:
"I never would have imagined that. Coming into here, I heard so much about him, how he's such a great D-line coach. ... I just try to soak it all in. I'm so inexperienced. His knowledge is just unbelievable. I'm excited just to be under him." (DFP)

DFP Note: "Marinelli was a defensive line coach his entire career before he became a head coach last year. He tutored the likes of Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp in Tampa Bay. And in Alama-Francis, he has raw clay to mold.

Alama-Francis did not play football in high school. He walked onto the basketball team at the University of Hawaii in 2002. He walked onto the football team in 2003. It wasn't until 2005 that he became a starter.

Marinelli raves about everything from the quickness of his hands, to his tip-top conditioning, to how big his eyes get. He sees him as a young Cory Redding -- a guy with the ability to play either end and move inside to tackle.

While the defensive linemen have gone through their drills, Marinelli often has pulled aside Alama-Francis for one-on-one work.

Sometimes it looks like martial arts training. Marinelli turns into Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid," the old master waving his hands, challenging the young pupil to react, teaching technique. Wax on, wax off.

Sometimes it looks like a mini-scrimmage. During the second session Saturday, Marinelli set up a couple of aides as offensive linemen and called over chief operating officer Tom Lewand to mimic a running back. Then he started instructing Alama-Francis on the intricacies of the Tampa Two run defense."


Joking about Detroit's indoor practice facility to Detroit's sun-starved reporters, Ikaika said:
"We don't have this kind of stuff in Hawaii. In Hawaii, it's all outdoors because it's 85 degrees every day. It's a miserable 85, of course." (DFP)


About the special tutoring he's been getting from Marinelli, Ikaika said:
"I'm having fun with it. I just smile and enjoy it. This is the experience of a lifetime. So I'm just going to go with it, give it everything I've got and hopefully play a few downs for the Detroit Lions." (DFP)

DFP Note: "At the end of one of his sessions with Marinelli, Alama-Francis let out a loud, exaggerated "Whew!" and took a long drink of water."


About facing former Michigan State QB Drew Stanton (and fellow Detroit rookie) when they played UH, Ikaika said:
"I got my hands on him a couple times. I brought him down a couple times. But he's a little nifty. He eluded me a couple times." (DFP)