ALLEN PARK — The current Detroit Lions regime have played things incredibly loose each year in the war room during the NFL draft.

Last year, the entire group rocked head coach Dan Campbell’s #89 Lions jerseys in the team’s new black alternate jersey. This year, the spiced things up a little bit, paying homage to general manager Brad Holmes and his collegiate playing days.

In an effort led and orchestrated by team president Rod Wood, everyone in the Lions leadership will be donning Holmes’ blue and gold No. #95 North Carolina A&T (NC A&T) Aggies jersey. The gesture is also a nod to Holmes’ selection as the commencement speaker for his alma mater’s graduation on May 10.

At NC A&T, Holmes was a four-year letterman at defensive tackle, where he was not only a team captain, but was instrumental in the Aggie winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Black college football national championship in 1999.

Football has always been in Holmes’ DNA. He is the son of Melvin Holmes, who also played at North Carolina A&T and spent three seasons as a guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1971-73), and the nephew of former Lions defensive back Luther Bradley, a first-round pick in the 1978 NFL Draft.

In 2002, Holmes graduated from the university cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Mass Communications.