Laken Tomlinson

Early life

Tomlinson was born on February 9, 1992, in Savanna-la-Mar, a town in the Westmoreland Parish of Cornwall County, Jamaica. He immigrated to the United States with his family at a young age, settling in Chicago, Illinois in March 2003. He grew up in the Rogers Park neighborhood and attended Lane Technical College Prep High School in Roscoe Village, where he was a two-sport star in both football and track. He was an All-state selection as a senior by both the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association and Chicago Tribune. He was named the team MVP as a senior. He was a two-time All-city selection. He was also a four-time first-team All-conference selection. He helped lead his high school team to the 2008 Chicago Public League football championship.

In addition, Tomlinson lettered in track & field at Lane. At the 2009 Chicago Public League T&F Championship, he placed first in the discus throw (140-06 or 42.9m) and second in the shot put. In the 2009 Illinois 3A State T&F Championship meet, he threw personal-bests of 43.01 meters (141-1) in the discus and 14.58 meters (47-7) in the shot put to place 17th and 22nd, respectively, in the preliminary heats.

College career

Tomlinson attended Duke University from 2010 to 2014. He became a starter his freshman season and started 52 games during his collegiate career. As a senior, he was named an All-American by Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). He was named the men's ACC Athlete of the Year by winning the Anthony J. McKevlin Award in 2015.