Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala was on the phone with Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher when his small Mayor Wright Housing residence erupted with noise at 8:30 yesterday morning.
"I think we woke up the neighborhood," the 5-foot-11, 248-pound former University of Utah running back said.
What set off the noise inside Fuamatu-Ma'afala's four-room dwelling? ESPN reported that he was the 25th pick of the sixth round in the National Football League draft.
"This has got to be a gift from God," Fuamatu-Ma'afala said.
"They got The Bus (All-Pro running back Jerome Bettis) there and a good offensive line," said Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who took a risk by declaring for the draft after a junior season marred by injury.
Fuamatu-Ma'afala and 6-3, 297-pound junior center Olin Kreutz of Washington, who went to the Chicago Bears as the third pick of the third round Saturday, were among 32 underclassmen and three local players -- all from St. Louis -- taken in the weekend draft.
The other former Crusader, Colorado nose tackle Viliami Maumau, was the seventh pick of the seventh and final round by the Carolina Panthers.
Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Kreutz said they will attend mini-camps hosted by their new NFL employers on Thursday.
University of Hawaii safety Eddie Klaneski, who was told he might be taken by the New York Giants in the sixth round, was not drafted. He hopes to get a chance as a free agent.
Kreutz said he wouldn't be surprised if he is moved to guard.
"Center has to make all the calls, and to be a first-year guy in the NFL and do that would be hard," he said.
But when Bears' line coach Tony Wise spoke to the Star-Bulletin yesterday afternoon, he said Kreutz is expected to play center. Wise said the team's current center, 6-4, 305-pound Chris Vilarrial, will move to guard.
''He'll compete for the starting center job with our other center, (6-3, 290-pound) Casey Wiegmann," said Wise.
Carolina head coach Dom Capers told the Charlottesville (N.C.) Observer that Maumau is the perfect nose tackle for Carolina's 3-4 defense. He said Maumau wasn't rated highly by teams that use the 4-3 defense.
Arizona: 1, Andre Wadsworth, de, Florida St. (3); 2, Corey Chavous, db, Vanderbilt (33); 2, Anthony Clement, ot, SW Louisiana (36); 4, Michael Pittman, rb, Fresno St. (95); 5, Terry Hardy, te, Southern Mississippi (125); 6, Zack Walz, lb, Dartmouth (158); 7, Phil Savoy, wr, Colorado (193); 7, George Cousins, de, Florida A&M (209); 7, Pat Tillman, db, Arizona St. (226); 7, Ron Janes, rb, Missouri (233).
Atlanta: 1, Keith Brooking, lb, Georgia Tech (12); 2, Bob Hallen, c, Kent (53); 3, Jammi German, wr, Miami (74); 4, Omar Brown, db, North Carolina (103); 4, Tim Dwight, wr-kr, Iowa (114); 6, Elijah Williams, db, Florida (166); 7, Ephraim Salaam, ot, San Diego St. (199); 7, Ken Oxendine, rb, Virginia Tech. (201); 7, Henry Slay, dt, West Virginia (203).
Baltimore: 1, Duane Starks, db, Miami (10); 2, Pat Johnson, wr, Oregon (42); 5, Martin Chase, dt, Oklahoma (124); 5, Ryan Sutter, db, Colorado (133); 6, Ron Rogers, lb, Georgia Tech (154); Sammy Williams, ot, Oklahoma (164); 7, Cam Quayle, te, Weber St. (241).
Buffalo: 2, Sam Cowart, lb, Florida St. (39); 3, Robert Hicks, ot, Mississippi St. (68); 5, Jonathan Linton, rb, North Carolina (131); 6, Fred Coleman, wr, Washington (160); 7, Victor Allotey, g, Indiana (198). 7, Kamil Loud, wr, Cal Poly-SLO (238).
Carolina: 1, Jason Peter, dt, Nebraska (14); 3, Chuck Wiley, de, LSU (62); 3, Mitch Marrow, de, Penn (73); 4, Donald Hayes, wr, Wisconsin (106); 5, Jerry Jensen, lb, Washington (136); 6, Damien Richardson, db, Arizona St. (165); 7, Viliami Maumau, dt, Colorado (196); 7, Jim Turner, wr, Syracuse (228).
Chicago: 1, Curtis Enis, rb, Penn St. (5); 2, Tony Parrish, db, Washington (35); 3, Olin Kreutz, c, Washington (64); 4, Alonzo Mayes, te, Oklahoma St. (94); 6, Chris Draft, lb, Stanford (157); 6, Patrick Mannelly, ot, Duke (189); 7, Chad Overhauser, ot, UCLA (217); 7, Moses Moreno, qb, Colorado St. (232).
Cincinnati: 1, Takeo Spikes, lb, Auburn (13); 1, Brian Simmons, lb, North Carolina (17); 2, Artrell Hawkins, db, Cincinnati (43); 3, Steve Foley, lb, NE Louisiana (75); 3, Mike Goff, g, Iowa (78); 4, Glenn Steele, de, Michigan (105); 6, Jason Tucker, wr, Texas Christian (167); 7, Marcus Parker, rb, Virginia Tech (202); Damian Vaughn, te, Miami, Ohio (222).
Dallas: 1, Greg Ellis, de, North Carolina (8); 2, Flozell Adams, ot, Michigan St. (38); 4, Michael Myers, dt, Alabama (100); 5, Darren Hambrick, lb, South Carolina (130); 5, Oliver Ross, ot, Iowa St. (138); 6, Izell Reese, db, Alabama-Birmingham (188); 7, Tarik Smith, rb, California (223). 7, Antonio Fleming, g, Georgia (227). 7, Rodrick Monroe, te, Cincinnati (237).
Denver: 1, Marcus Nash, wr, Tennessee (30); 2, Eric Brown, s, Mississippi St. (61); 3, Brian Griese, qb, Michigan (91); 4, Curtis Alexander, rb, Alabama (122); 5, Chris Howard, rb, Michigan (153); 7, Trey Teague, ot, Tennessee (200); 7, Nate Wayne, lb, Mississippi (219).
Detroit: 1, Terry Fair, db, Tennessee (20); 2, Germane Crowell, wr, Virginia (50); 2, Charlie Batch, qb, Eastern Michigan (60); 6, Jamaal Alexander, db, Southern Mississippi (185); 7, Chris Liwienski, ot, Indiana (207).
Green Bay: 1, Vonnie Holliday, dt, North Carolina (19); 3, Jonathan Brown, de, Tennessee (90); 4, Roosevelt Blackmon, db, Morris Brown (121); 5, Corey Bradford, wr, Jackson St. (150); 6, Scott McGarrahan, db, New Mexico (156); 6, Matt Hasselbeck, qb, Boston College (187); 7, Ed Watson, rb, Purdue (218).
Indianapolis: 1, Peyton Manning, qb, Tennessee (1); 2, Jerome Pathon, wr, Washington (32); 3, E.G. Green, wr, Florida St. (71); 4, Steve McKinney, g, Texas A&M (93); 5, Anthony Jordon, lb, Vanderbilt (135); 7, Aaron Taylor, g, Nebraska (190); 7, Corey Gaines, db, Tennessee (231).
Jacksonville: 1, Fred Taylor, rb, Florida (9); 1, Donovin Darius, db, Syracuse (25); 2, Cordell Taylor, db, Hampton (57); 3, Jonathan Quinn, qb, Middle Tennessee St. (86); 4, Tavian Banks, rb, Iowa (101); 4, Harry Deligianis, dt, Youngstown St. (118); 5, John Wade, c, Marshall (148); 6, Lemanzer Williams, de, Minnesota (179); 6, Kevin McLeod, rb, Auburn (182); 7, Alvis Whitted, wr, North Carolina St. (192); 7, Brandon Tolbert, lb, Georgia (214).
Kansas City: 1, Victor Riley, ot, Auburn (27); 3, Rashaan Shehee, rb, Washington (88); 4, Greg Favors, lb, Mississippi St. (120); 5, Robert Williams, db, North Carolina (128); 6, Derrick Ransom, dt, Cincinnati (181); 7, Eric Warfield, db, Nebraska (216); 7, Ernest Blackwell, rb, Missouri (224).
Miami: 1, John Avery, rb, Mississippi (29); 2, Patrick Surtain, db, Southern Mississippi (44); 2, Kenny Mixon, de, LSU (49); 3, Brad Jackson, lb, Cincinnati (79); 3, Larry Shannon, wr, East Carolina (82); 4, Lorenzo Bromell, de, Clemson (102); 5, Scott Shaw, g, Michigan St. (143); 6, Nathan Strikwerda, c, Northwestern (171); 6, John Dutton, qb, Nevada (172); 7, Jim Bundren, g, Clemson (210).
Minnesota: 1, Randy Moss, wr, Marshall (21); 2, Kailee Wong, lb, Stanford (51); 3, Ramos McDonald, db, New Mexico (80); 4, Kivuusama Mayes, lb, North Carolina (110); 5, Kerry Cooks, db, Iowa (144); 6, Matt Birk, ot, Harvard (173); 7, Chester Burnett, lb, Arizona (208); 7, Tony Darden, db, Texas Tech (225).
New England: 1, Robert Edwards, rb, Georgia (18); 1, Tebucky Jones, db, Syracuse (22); 2, Tony Simmons, wr, Wisconsin (52); 2, Rod Rutledge, te, Alabama (54); 3, Chris Floyd, rb, Michigan (81); 3, Greg Spires, de, Florida St. (83); 4, Leonta Rheams, dt, Houston (115); 5, Ron Merkerson, lb, Colorado (145); 6, Harold Shaw, rb, Southern Mississippi (176); 7, Jason Andersen, c, Brigham Young (211).
New Orleans: 1, Kyle Turley, ot, San Diego St. (7); 2, Cameron Cleeland, te, Washington (40); 4, Fred Weary, db, Florida (97); 4, Julian Pittman, de, Florida St. (99); 5, Wilmont Perry, rb, Livingstone (132); 6, Chris Bordano, lb, Southern Methodist (161); 7, Andy McCullough, wr, Tennessee (204); 7, Ron Warner, lb, Kansas (239).
New York Giants: 1, Shaun Williams, db, UCLA (24); 2, Joe Jurevicius, wr, Penn St. (55); 3, Brian Alford, wr, Purdue (70); 5, Toby Myles, ot, Jackson St. (147); 6, Todd Pollack, te, Boston College (177); 7, Ben Fricke, c, Houston (213).
New York Jets: 2, Dorian Boose, de, Washington State (56); 3, Scott Frost, db, Nebraska (67); 3, Kevin Williams, db, Oklahoma St. (87); 4, Jason Fabini, ot, Cincinnati (111); 5, Casey Dailey, lb, Northwestern (134); 5, Doug Karczewski, g, Virginia (141); 5, Blake Spence, te, Oregon (146); 5, Eric Bateman, g, Brigham Young (149); 6, Eric Ogbogu, de, Maryland (163); 6, Chris Brazzell, wr, Angelo St. (174); 6, Dustin Johnson, rb, Brigham Young (183); 7, Lawrence Hart, te, Southern U. (195).
Oakland: 1, Charles Woodson, db, Michigan (4); 1, Mo Collins, ot, Florida (23); 2, Leon Bender, dt, Washington St. (31); 3, Jon Ritchie, rb, Stanford (63); 4, Gennaro DiNapoli, g, Virginia Tech (109); 5, Jeremy Brigham, te, Washington (127); 5, Travian Smith, lb, Oklahoma (152); 7, Vince Amey, de, Arizona St. (230); 7, David Sanders, de, Arkansas (235).
Philadelphia: 1, Tra Thomas, ot, Florida St. (11); 3, Jeremiah Trotter, lb, Stephen F. Austin (72); 3, Allen Rossum, db, Notre Dame (85); 4, Brandon Whiting, dt, California (112); 4, Clarence Love, db, Toledo (116); 5, Ike Reese, lb, Michigan St. (142); 7, Chris Akins, dt, Texas (220); 7, Melvin Thomas, g, Colorado (240).
Pittsburgh: 1, Alan Faneca, g, LSU (26); 2, Jeremy Staat, dt, Arizona St. (41); 3, Chris Conrad, ot, Fresno St. (66); 3, Hines Ward, wr, Georgia (92); 4, Deshea Townsend, db, Alabama (117); 4, Carlos King, fb, North Carolina St. (123); 5, Jason Simmons, db, Arizona St. (137); 6, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, rb, Utah (178); 6, Ryan Olson, lb, Colorado (186); 7, Angel Rubio, de, Southeast Missouri St. (221).
St. Louis: 1, Grant Wistrom, de, Nebraska (6); 2, Robert Holcombe, rb, Illinios (37); 3, Leonard Little, lb, Tennessee (65); 4, Az-Zahir Hakim, wr, San Diego St. (96); 4, Roland Williams, te, Syracuse (97); 5, Raymond Priester, rb, Clemson (129); 6, Glenn Roundtree, g, Clemson (159); 7, Jason Chorak, de, Washington (236).
San Diego: 1, Ryan Leaf, qb, Washington St. (2); 2, Mikhael Ricks, wr, Stephen F. Austin (59); 5, Cedric Harden, de, Florida A&M (126); 6, Clifford Ivory, db, Troy St. (155); 7, Jon Haskins, lb, Stanford (194); 7, Kio Sanford, wr, Kentucky (234).
San Francisco: 1, R.W. McQuarters, db, Oklahoma St. (28); 2, Jeremy Newberry, c, California (58); 3, Chris Ruhman, ot, Texas A&M (89); 4, Lance Schulters, db, Hofstra (119); 5, Phil Ostrowski, g, Penn St. (151); 6, Fred Beasley, rb, Auburn (180); 7, Ryan Thelwell, wr, Minnesota (215).
Seattle: 1, Anthony Simmons, lb, Clemson (15); 2, Todd Weiner, ot, Kansas St. (47); 3, Ahman Green, rb, Nebraska (76); 3, DeShone Myles, lb, Nevada (108); 6, Carl Hansen, de, Stanford (162); 6, Bobby Shaw, wr, California (169); 7, Jason McEndoo, c, Washington St. (197).
Tampa Bay: 2, Jacquez Green, wr, Florida (34); 2, Brian Kelly, db, Southern California (45); 3, Jamie Duncan, lb, Vanderbilt (84); 4, Todd Washington, g, Virginia Tech (104); 6, James Cannida, dt, Nevada (175); 6, Shevin Smith, db, Florida St. (184); 7, Chance McCarty, de, Texas Christian (212).
Tennessee: 1, Kevin Dyson, wr, Utah (16); 2, Samari Rolle, db, Florida St. (46); 3, Dainon Sydney, db, Alabama-Birmingham (77); 4, Joe Salave'a, dt, Arizona (107); 5, Benji Olson, g, Washington (139); 6, Lee Wiggins, db, South Carolina (168); 7, Jimmy Sprotte, lb, Arizona (205); 7, Kevin Long, c, Florida St. (229).
Washington: 2, Stephen Alexander, te, Oklahoma (48); 3, Skip Hicks, rb, UCLA (69); 4, Shawn Barber, lb, Richmond (113); 5, Mark Fischer, c, Purdue (140); 6, Pat Palmer, wr, NW Louisiana (170); 7, David Terrell, db, Texas-El Paso (191); 7, Antwaune Ponds, lb, Syracuse (206).
