Virginia Tech linebacker happy his name was selected #1 by the Texans
By "Chris Allen"

Off-Season 2091 (New York, NY) - Hiram Conover set at the edge of his seat at the 2091 draft, excited to hear his name called so he can begin his USAFL career.

As the envelope opened and the name of the envelope was about to be read off, Conover looked around at Cedric Petty and Greg Collins, who were expected to be the top pick in the draft.

'I couldn't believe what I heard next.' Conover said backstage at the draft when he was interviewed following his selection.

'With the first pick of the 2091 USAFL draft, the Houston Texans select.. Hiram Conover, linebacker, Virginia Tech!'

Conover then sprung to his feet, gave a very excited fist pump, hugged his parents, and sprinted to the stage. While previous Houston top picks didn't seem so excited to hold their jersey high in the air, Conover quickly raised the Texans jersey to the air and let out a very loud yell.

'Hey, I'm excited to get things going! What can I say? It's a HUGE honor to be selected #1 overall in this league and I'm liking what the Texans are doing!' Conover said when asked about the feeling of being the #1 overall selection.

Collins and Petty looked out over the stage in disbelief.

'I expected to go #1.' Collins said after the draft. 'But hey, I get a huge chance in Green Bay. They've had a fantastic history with defensive lineman and I'm extremely proud to be part of that tradition. I hope I can be the next great defensive lineman to play in Green Bay. That's all I can say about not going #1.'

Here's the list of the players that went in the top 5.

1) Houston Texans - LB Hiram Conover(5'11' 231 lbs - Virginia Tech) - The Texans didn't think they needed Collins that badly, so they addressed a need with Conover at #1. This was the start of a good night for the Texans as far as the draft goes. Conover is a very disciplined player, and there's no glaring weakness in his game unlike many other linebackers that were drafted in recent seasons. He's got good enough speed and strength to see decent playing time off the bench already.

2) Houston Texans - DL Greg Collins(6'1' 303 lbs - Boise State) - The Texans traded Collins to the Green Bay Packers following the draft for linebacker Patrick Jeffcoat, and this trade satisfied both teams' needs. Conover should learn from Jeffcoat and Jeffcoat is a huge upgrade for the Texans at linebacker. Collins was by far the best defensive lineman in the draft and has the potential to be yet another in a long line of Green Bay franchise player defensive linemen. Could see some time off the bench right away with an endurance camp.

3) Pittsburgh Steelers - OL Cedric Petty(6'2' 299 lbs - South Florida) - The Steelers were looking for a good offensive linement with the surprising retirement of Haywood Goff, and they got one. Petty reminded the Pittsburgh front office of Chester Hyche, and they needed another natural offensive tackle. Petty should be a great starter for this team in the next couple of seasons. He was probably the only draftable offensive lineman in this draft that didn't have any glaring endurance issues.

4) New York Giants - TE Bernie Washington(6'0' 228 lbs - Oklahoma) - The first surprising pick of the night goes to the New York Giants. It's rare that tight ends go this high in the draft but GM Joe Malloy must have seen something in Washington to take him 4th overall. Washington, however, does give Alexander a pretty good pass option in the new west coast offense. He even is a more effective blocker than Cortez Lehmann, who has to be on the trade block now. Expect Washington to take over for Melvin Raish in the upcoming seasons when his strength develops.

5) New York Giants - OL Chad Ayers(6'1' 308 lbs - Colorado) - The Giants shipped Ayers to the New England Patriots for 2092 picks following the draft. While this trade looks better for both sides than the last Giants/Patriots deal, at the time we were scratching our heads. The Giants did need an offensive lineman, as Lazar Kato isn't getting any younger. However, they did pick up a pretty good option in Steve Cadrez later in the first round. The Patriots should be very happy with Ayers if he camps well in strength and endurance camps, and as we said in the draft preview, he's flexible enough to be plugged in anywhere on the offensive line.