“What Up Doe” is the official greeting here in Detroit. Donning a pair of “Buffs,” Sauce Gardner took it to another level while accepting his Defensive Rookie of the Year Award on Thursday night.

In a proud moment for all who live the 313, Gardner not only shouted out Detroit but more specifically 7 mile.

“Last but not least, I got to thank Detroit.  Eastside of Detroit man, 7 mile. It was hard growing up man, it really was in the neighborhood I stayed in. A lot of violence going on, but, that was just the adversity.  That’s what it took to get me here man. I appreciate it”

According to NFL.com “A starter from Week 1, the Cincinnati product led the NFL with 20 passes defensed, generated two interceptions and compiled 75 tackles. Sauce allowed just two TDs, per Next Gen Stats, and earned a -28.8 target EPA, second-best among all corners in 2022. The rookie allowed a 48.1 completion percentage and a -8.4 completion percentage over expected, per NGS, best among rookie corners.” Pretty impressive for the year 1 cornerback.

Sauce Gardner, a graduate of Martin Luther King High in Detroit, beat out another local high school product in Dearborn Devine Child’s Aidan Hutchinson for DROY.

Some people were calling for the Detroit Lions to Draft Sauce at #2 in last years NFL Draft.  But after spending the #3 overall pick on Jeff Okudah 2 year prior you knew that Brad Holmes could not take the risk.  It also helped that Hutchinson is a beast and was available at the #2 spot.  After year one its safe to say either of those picks would have been a successful one for Holmes and the Lions.

But for now lets all tip our cap to the Detroit Native who gave a shout out to 7 Mile on ESPN.  Sauce deserves all the flowers he can get for this performance this past season and for representing the 313 to the fullest.

Photo: © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports