DETROIT, MI — Makena McGee glanced out at the record-breaking audience just before the Detroit Lions selected Terrion Arnold in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I could not see the end of it,” she explained. “It looked like how you look at an ocean – it just looked like it didn’t end.”
McGee was one of four female student-athletes from the Michigan Girls High School Flag Football Pilot League selected by the NFL at the draft on Thursday, April 25.
She is a running back for the Holly High School team.
McGee was one of six student-athletes, including Macy Tackabury from Lapeer High School, who appeared on stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the Detroit Lions’ first-round pick.
McGee said it was “really cool” to be backstage at the NFL Draft and meet both Goodell and the Lions’ pick, Terrion Arnold.
“(Arnold) was like the happiest guy you could ever see,” she told me.
During the draft, the Detroit Lions traded up from No. 29 to No. 24 to choose Arnold.
McGee never got a chance to feel uncomfortable before confronting the audience because they were ushered on stage by chaperones owing to the deal.
“We didn’t have enough time to think about it,” she told me.
McGee and the other student-athletes were seated in front of the stage when the trade occurred, and they immediately heard the clamor of Lions fans in the audience.
“We took off in a very, very fast sprint,” McGee explained.
Ellie Faglie, a Rochester High School student-athlete, announced the pick, and all she could hear was a “echo” of screaming people.
“I was completely in disbelief over what was happening. Like it was difficult to think about anything. “I was just in the moment, and it was an unforgettable experience,” McGee said.
The 2024 NFL Draft in downtown Detroit broke attendance records.
Over 700,000 people attended the three-day event.
Holly was one of four teams to compete in Michigan’s inaugural flag football league, alongside Lapeer, Madison Heights Bishop Foley High School, and Rochester Community Schools.
Nike provided clothes for the Detroit Lions, and USA Football provided the required equipment to stage competitions.
The Michigan Girls HS Flag Football League will play its second season at Ford Field on May 11 and 19.
Twenty-four schools will take part, including Carman-Ainsworth, Genesee, and Goodrich.
