Ten(ish) Questions With … is a weekly series where we chat with a Detroit Lions player or coach about whatever. Sometimes it’ll be football related. Sometimes, it’ll be about their dogs or something completely different. Want to hear from a particular subject, send an email to Michael.rothstein@espn.com.

Previous Ten(ish) Questions With...: Golden Tate; James Ihedigbo; Jerome Couplin. The entire series.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Nevin Lawson had an insane three weeks. He started the season as a special-teams player and a depth cornerback. Within a half, he was a key cog as the Detroit Lions slot corner.

Then, less than two games into his career, his rookie season ended when he dislocated the toes in his left foot, requiring surgery and placement on injured reserve. His road to the NFL, though, started when he was born in Jamaica and wound through Utah and eventually Detroit.

We sat down with him before he suffered his season-ending injury to chat a little about the influential moments and people in his life in this week’s Ten(ish) Questions With ...

Finish this sentence for me: The thing that scares me the most is ...

Nevin Lawson: The thing that scares me the most is failing.

Why?

Lawson: Because I don’t want to let my family down and myself down.

What’s the best moment of your life?

Lawson: Best moment of my life was when my mom came to America.

When was that?

Lawson: When I was in the sixth grade.

Did you go with her?

Lawson: No, she came (over). From Jamaica. And she stayed here after.

That had to change your life.

Lawson: Yep. Definitely was. I knew my mom. It was just my dad came to America and at first he could only bring he and my brother here. After me and my brother were here, he ended up being able to get my mom here to America, so she came over when I was in the sixth grade.

Do you remember the first time you saw her when she got off the plane?

Lawson: Yeah, she got off the plane. Before that, I’d see her each summer (in Jamaica). Every summer and Christmas. But I remember that moment. It was a very special moment. Just hugged. I wasn’t crying. I was too happy. I was too happy to cry.

Switching things, what’s your favorite thing to do away from football?

Lawson: Play video games. I’m a homebody so I like to relax a lot. Watch movies. Just chill with my girlfriend.

Are you any good at video games? What do you play?

Lawson: Yeah. I play FIFA, Madden, Call of Duty.

What’s it like to see yourself in Madden?

Lawson: It’s crazy. I haven’t even played it yet. But my cousin sent me a picture, like, 'Cuz, you on Madden now.' That was pretty tight.

So when you would play NCAA in the past, would you always be Utah State?

Lawson: Nah. I wasn’t always Utah State. Definitely not. You switch it up.

Did you play as them, though?

Lawson: Yeah. All the time. Definitely.

Going back to what we were talking about before a little, what was the most influential moment of your life?

Lawson: I think I was in the 10th grade and at the time, I was doing really bad in school and I met my high school coach and he saw the talent that I had and he basically just talked to me about it. He told me to go home, look around and see if that’s the life that I want for my family or do I want better? That really clicked in my head, knowing that I could do better for my family and help my family out. That’s the most influential moment.

What was the message?

Lawson: He was like, 'Man, you got a heck of a talent. You could help your family a lot. You could go to college without them paying for it and God willing, if you get good enough, you’ll be able to play in the NFL.'

How much did that stick with you?

Lawson: It stuck with me a whole lot because I always used it as motivation to help my family. Whenever there’s rough times or before games or whenever to help me get motivated, I would always think about that.