ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- AShawn Robinson said he had enough skills on basketball courts to draw offers to play at UCLA, Boise State and Holy Cross.When he was a 6-foot-4 freshman at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, he had hoop dreams.When I got bigger, I didnt anymore, Robinson said.Taking his talents to football fields, and keeping them there, has panned out for him and the Detroit Lions.The 6-foot-4, 320-pound rookie defensive tackle is emerging as a key player for the NFC North-leading Lions (7-4) as they surge into contention for their first division title since 1993 .Robinson started in his first game on Thanksgiving when Detroit beat the Minnesota Vikings, breaking a first-place tie.Hes been good and steady, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. Hes made some plays for us and does a good job of when he doesnt get to the passer, getting his hands up. Hes got a bit of a knack for that, but hes also made plays in the running game. Hes coming along.Robinson has knocked down five passes, tying him for third among NFL defensive linemen.Despite not being an every-down player this season, it is an impressive feat to rank among league leaders in any category and Robinson credits his hoops history.I think it helps my ability to know when the ball is going to get released from the quarterback and when to get my hand up and bat it, he said.When the New Orleans Saints (5-6) host the Lions on Sunday, theyve got a plan to combat Robinsons knack for knocking down passes when Drew Brees is throwing.Anytime a guy puts his hands up, we like to try to get back into his chest and get him to lower his hands, Saints right tackle Zach Strief said.But ultimately if a guy stops and jumps, all you can really do is push him. Theres been more and more of an emphasis of guys doing that as the passing game has gotten a little quicker over time. Sometimes you cant get home, and thats what you do.Lions defensive line coach Kris Kocurek puts his players through drills designed to rush and sack quarterbacks, not bat down passes.So when Robinson is hailed for his ability to do it, he makes it clear his coach isnt celebrating.If I cant get a sack, a batted ball takes a down away from the other team and I see it as a great thing, Robinson said. Coach Kris doesnt like it. He wants sacks instead. But you cant always get to the quarterback, so the next best thing is to bat the ball down.Robinson has two sacks this season and is credited with two quarterback hurries. He has made 17 tackles, including four for losses.Knocking down passes, though, has become his best asset because he clearly has a feel for passing lanes and the timing of throws.Hes reminded me a couple times that he was a basketball player and offered a scholarship by a couple schools, Caldwell said with a grin. So, hes a pretty good athlete.---AP freelance writer Guerry Smith in Metairie, Louisiana, contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Boston Celtics Shirts . PETERSBURG, Fla. Celtics Jerseys 2020 . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. https://www.cheapceltics.com/ . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Cheap Celtics Jerseys . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. As a freshman, Rennia Davis played basketball with the physicality of a butterfly. The only contact she wanted was a high-five from a teammate. Stay away from the post, she thought. The backcourt, that was the place to spread her wings.But Kimberly Davis Powell, coach of her Florida Essence AAU team, wasnt about to let that fly. She wanted to toughen Davis up, inside and out, so she could become a versatile talent.I was almost defiant, Davis said of giving the post a shot. I would just stand there. I didnt want to touch the ball down there. I was tall, but I didnt have that much weight on me (130 pounds at the time). If a point guard was looking to throw the ball to me in the post, I was like, No. Go the other way. Reverse the ball. Do something else. I dont want it. Davis mother, Sheretta Davis, had her daughters back.I said, Oh my God, my baby doesnt hardly weigh more than 100 pounds. Theyre going to kill my baby, Sheretta Davis said.Turns out, Davis Powell knew what she was doing.Davis, now a 6-foot-1, 150-pound senior wing at Ribault (Jacksonville, Florida), is the No. 16 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2017 class. Last year, she was the Class 5A player of the year in Florida after posting double-doubles in 29 of Ribaults 31 games. She averaged 20.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. She led her team to a state title and then the championship of the Dicks Sporting Goods High School Nationals at New York Citys Madison Square Garden.Ribault finished 30-1, and Davis was the MVP of the Dicks tournament. She had 23 points and eight rebounds in a finals win over Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland). Davis had 20 points and 13 rebounds in a semifinal win over Seton Catholic (Chandler, Arizona).If Rennia didnt have a good game, it would have been hard for us to win, said former Ribault guard Kayla Rogers, now a freshman playing for FIU in Miami. The potential that I had always seen in her came out in that tournament.Mystery talentWhere that potential came from, nobody knows.Davis has no brothers. She has three sisters, and none of them play sports. Sheretta, a single mom, wasnt an athlete, either.But when Davis was in sixth grade, she asked her mother to sign her up for basketball.I said, No, girls dont play basketball, Sheretta said. I had only known basketball as a mens sport.Thats when little Rennia explained to her mother about the WNBA and how basketball can actually be a career for women. Somewhat convinced, Sheretta took her daughter to the local Police Athletic League. Unfortunately, they had missed the sign-up deadline and were told to come back next year.Davis insisted her mother mark the next sign-up date on the family calendar. Sheretta did so, but -- deep down -- she was hoping her daughter would forget.A year later, Davis asked her mom to put a basketball hoop in the driveway, and that became her Christmas gift.Ribault coach Sheila Seymour-Pennick saw Davis play during her eighth-grade year and was impressed.ddddddddddddEven though the other girls werent at her level, the coach said, she still shared the ball.By freshman year, Davis was an obvious talent. But Davis Powell wanted more out of her.For starters, the coach thought Davis could play up a level or two in AAU ball, against older girls, a move that her mother fought. Sheretta admits she didnt know much about basketball, but that didnt stop her from voicing her opinions.I told [Davis Powell,] If it aint broke, dont fix it, Sheretta said. I was pretty upset.Davis Powell, though, stood firm about playing up and also about working in the post.I always knew Rennia was a guard, the coach said. But she wasnt physical. She hated contact. We had epic battles with her and her mom. It took about [18 months] to convince them.It was constant communication. I told Rennia, Im not asking you to be a post player. Just turn and face, and take girls off the dribble. Her persistence paid off.During her junior year, when college coaches were allowed to start calling her, Davis Powell said, her mother contacted me to thank me. College coaches loved how versatile Rennia had become.Colleges lining upDavis said she no longer minds playing in the post or guarding bigger players. She said she has gone from being one of the two weakest Ribault players in the weight room in her freshman year to one of the two strongest.This Saturday -- in part because of the all work she has put in -- Davis will get a home visit from Tennessee coaches. On Sunday, Kansas coaches will swing by, and on Monday it will be Rutgers turn. Depending on the vibes she gets from those coaches, Davis will pick two of those three schools to add to her list of finalists. She already has official visits lined up for Georgia Tech later this month and Maryland and Oklahoma in October.With a 3.8 GPA, Davis seems like a sure bet to succeed as a student-athlete. And, because of her participation in Ribaults early-college program, Davis will enter college with an associates degree and a two-year head start on most freshmen.She plans to use her four-year scholarship to finish her bachelors degree and start work on her masters in business and restaurant management.After shes done playing basketball, Davis said she wants to own her own restaurant, where another one of her talents -- cooking -- can be on full display.Davis said her chef skills are mostly self-taught. She watched her mom as a child and did the rest on her own. Her specialties are seafood and soul food.And because shes a self-described neat freak, there is a certain order to how she prepares her meals and how they look.Shes an awesome cook, her mother said. Her food is not only tasty, but its pretty, too. I dont know where she gets that. ' ' '