Mouton, 3 others with isle ties drafted

Perhaps the anticipation made the waiting even harder.

Ryan Mouton had a pretty good idea he'd hear his name called when the Tennessee Titans' turn rolled around in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Still, the former Hawaii cornerback was "holding my breath," as the draft inched toward pick No. 94.

Then ...

"They called and asked how'd I like to be a Tennessee Titan," Mouton said yesterday from Houston. "I was overwhelmed. I really didn't know what to think."

Mouton was the second Warrior selected -- following defensive end David Veikune's second-round selection by the Cleveland Browns on Saturday -- and led a group of four players with Hawaii ties taken on the second day of the draft.

Veikune will be joined in Cleveland by Baldwin graduate and former USC linebacker Kaluka Maiava, the Browns' fourth-round pick.

Former Oregon State safety and Kahuku product Al Afalava was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round.

Former Hawaii long snapper Jake Ingram waited eight picks after Afalava before getting a call from the New England Patriots' special teams coach, who eventually put head coach Bill Belichick on the line.

"He said, 'We're about to turn your name in and welcome to the New England Patriots,' " Ingram said. "I'm trying to listen and just then everybody in my house started yelling and screaming."

Mouton's selection was the highest for a Hawaii defensive back since Jeris White was picked by Miami in the second round in 1974. He's the first since the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Kent Kafentzis in the ninth round in 1986.

Mouton had been hampered by a hamstring injury in the East-West Shrine Game, the NFL Combine and Hawaii's pro day. Officials from the Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers flew to Houston to meet with Mouton and watch a workout on Friday at Katy High School. Mouton said the Titans indicated they would take him with the 94th pick if he were still available.

"(Tennessee's) not too far from Houston and we play the Texans twice a year, so my family will get a chance to watch me at home," Mouton said. "The Tennessee Titans used to be the Houston Oilers, so they're still kind of the hometown team."

Maiava was the fourth USC linebacker taken in the draft and was caught a bit off guard by his pick. After watching some of the early-morning coverage, he had just jumped in the shower when his phone rang.

"It's a lot of stress off my shoulders," Maiava said. "My foot's in the door and like I told Coach (Eric) Mangini, I'm ready to go to work."

Maiava, a versatile linebacker with the Trojans, said he hadn't been told what his role in the Browns defense will be, and will leave Maui on Wednesday to report to a mini-camp that runs through Sunday, where he'll meet up with Veikune.

"He texted me this morning," Maiava said. "It's definitely going to be fun."

Afalava was taken with the 190th pick of the draft after recording 36 tackles and two interceptions with Oregon State last season. He had a visit with the Bears after his pro day.

"I had a feeling that I was going to come back to Chicago after my visit," Afalava said on the Bears' Web site. "I really enjoyed it. I got along with the coaches. I had that feeling. It's going to be a pleasure being a Bear."

Ingram will make his first trip to the Northeast this week after being picked by the Patriots, who have been to four Super Bowls since 2001.

"I thought if I got good at long snapping I might be able to get into a camp," said Ingram, who became a full-time snapper in 2005. "For this to happen is unbelievable."

Among those who went undrafted, former Hawaii defensive end Josh Leonard said he was headed to the Houston Texans as a free agent and will report in May. Cornerback Jameel Dowling is heading to the Arizona Cardinals mini-camp this week.

NFL ISLANDERS: THE NEXT GENERATION

Six players with Hawaii ties were taken this weekend in the NFL Draft, and two others signed free-agent contracts.

Player (school)	Pos.	Team	Round	Pick
Max Unger (Hawaii Prep/Oregon)	C	Seattle	second	49
David Veikune (Campbell/Hawaii)	DE	Cleveland	second	52
Ryan Mouton (Hawaii)	CB	Tennessee	third	94
Kaluka Maiava (Baldwin/USC)	LB	Cleveland	fourth	104
Al Afalava (Kahuku/Oregon State)	DB	Chicago	sixth	190
Jake Ingram (Mililani/Hawaii)	LS	New England	sixth	198

Free agents
Jameel Dowling (Hawaii), CB, Arizona; Josh Leonard (Hawaii), DL, Houston; Tavita Thompson (Saint Louis/Oregon State), OL, New York Jets

Veikune, Unger get the call

David Veikune put the phone down and lined up his shot on the 13th hole at the Mililani Golf Club yesterday.

Trying to get his ball onto the green, he shanked his shot way off to the left.

And with that, his professional football career was under way.

The former Warriors defensive end was selected by the Cleveland Browns yesterday in the second round (52nd overall) of the NFL Draft.

Center Max Unger, a 2004 Hawaii Prep graduate, was also drafted yesterday in the second round, by the Seattle Seahawks with the 49th overall pick.

Veikune got the call while playing golf with his father and his girlfriend.

"I'm excited that I'm going to be playing with Cleveland and relieved that this whole draft process is finally over," he said.

Veikune, who describes his golf game as "pretty bad," was just thankful he got picked so he didn't have to go back out on the course again today.

"I was thinking, 'Man, I'm going to have to golf two days in a row if I don't get picked,'" said the Campbell High School graduate.

At 6-feet-2, 257 pounds, Veikune impressed scouts at the NFL Combine by bench-pressing 225 pounds 35 times, the third-most among defensive linemen.

Veikune said he spoke with Cleveland coach Eric Mangini before the draft.

"They definitely were one of the teams I thought where I'd go, but you never know until you get that phone call," he said.

As the 52nd overall pick, Veikune is just the 10th former UH player to be selected in the first two rounds of the draft and the first to be chosen that early since Travis LaBoy was taken by the Tennessee Titans with the 42nd overall pick in 2004.

Ashley Lelie remains the only UH player to be picked in the first round.

Veikune heads to Cleveland for the first day of Browns rookie camp on Thursday.

Unger was a two-time All-Pac-10 offensive lineman at Oregon, where he started 50 consecutive games

The Seahawks traded their third- and fourth-round picks to the Bears to get Unger, who can play anywhere on the offensive line.

Players with Hawaii ties expected to be drafted today include former Warriors Ryan Mouton and Jake Ingram and Southern California linebacker Kaluka Maiava, a 2005 graduate of Baldwin High on Maui.

Former Warriors selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft

Name	Pos.	Year	Team	#
Golden Richards	WR	1973	Dallas	46
Jeris White	DB	1974	Miami	52
Walter Murray	WR	1986	Wash.	45
Adrian Klemm	OT	2000	N.E.	46
Ashley Lelie	WR	2002	Denver	19
Pisa Tinoisamoa	LB	2003	St. Louis	43
Travis LaBoy	DE	2004	Tenn.	42
Samson Satele	C	2007	Miami	60
Ikaika Alama-Francis	DE	2007	Detroit	58
David Veikune	DE	2009	Clev.	52

Cleveland Browns: David Veikune

The Browns completed their work on Day One of the NFL Draft by selecting a pass rusher, David Veikune of Hawaii, with the 52nd overall pick.

Veikune (6-foot-2, 257) had 16 sacks in his final two college seasons, 7 for Hawaii's Sugar Bowl team in 2007 and 9 as a senior last fall. He probably will play outside linebacker in the Browns' 3-4 defense.

He had 73 tackles last season, when he started all 14 games. He also had 3 pass breakups and 11 quarterback pressures last fall.

Veikune (pronounced Vay-koo-nay) was born in Alaska to a military family. He also lived in Arizona and New Mexico before settling in Hawaii. He has uncles and cousins from the Tongan Islands.

Browns General Manager George Kokinis said Veikune "is a guy we did some homework on. He's got a big-time motor. When you look at the tape the thing really jumps out is the way he finished plays and ran to the football. He can get to the quarterback."

"I love the guy's motor," head coach Eric Mangini said. "He has toughness, aggressiveness and I like his ability to change direction. There's a smoothness to the way he changes directions."

Motor-vated

Growing up, David Veikune was a young man on the move.

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Veikune spent time in Arizona and New Mexico before moving to Hawaii in high school.

Then came a post-graduation odyssey that led him from Campbell High to Colorado to Fresno City College and eventually back to the islands.

With a productive three-year stay in the Warriors football program complete, Veikune will soon be relocating again. His next stop determined by this weekend's NFL Draft.

"The main thing is it's always been my dream to play in the NFL, so moving to do that is going to be another journey and I'm going to enjoy it," the former Warriors defensive end said.

"It's been a crazy road. I'm just thankful for everything I've gotten."

The first two rounds of the draft will be held tomorrow in New York City. The third through seventh rounds will be completed on Sunday.

Veikune's high-revving motor powered him to 73 total tackles, including a team-high 16.5 for losses, in his senior season with the Warriors. He finished his career with 18 sacks and earned invitations to the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, where he made his case for a spot in the draft.

After participating in Hawaii's pro day on April 2, Veikune's schedule of team visits kept him on the go as he criss-crossed the country to Philadelphia, Denver, Tennessee and Miami.

"At least I got some frequent-flier miles off of it," Veikune said. "It was pretty tiring, plus the time change. I tried to stay in shape. I'd always try to run and lift everywhere I went."

Veikune's name has popped up as a possible third- or fourth-round pick, and he said he's received calls from most of the teams in the league making sure they have his contact information for the weekend.

As for his preference of destination ...

"Who doesn't like to be in a warm place?" Veikune said. "But if I'm in the cold, hey, I'm going to embrace it."

Veikune's size and athletic attributes could dictate a move in position depending on what team selects him. His agent, Kenny Zuckerman, said Veikune has drawn interest both as a defensive end in a 4-3 system or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment. He went through linebacker drills for the scouts at pro day, demonstrating his ability to drop into coverage.

As the draft stretches over the weekend, Veikune doesn't intend on staying stationary through the process.

"I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do, maybe golf or something like that," he said. "Just get my mind off stuff."

Josh Leonard, another former Warriors defensive lineman, could also get a call this weekend. Leonard put together an impressive pro day performance -- including 41 repetitions in the bench press -- to elevate his profile leading up to the draft.

"Before (pro day) I still had a good amount of teams interested," he said from his home in Sacramento. "The pro day helped solidify me hopefully as a late-round pick or a free agent."

Leonard said he's heard from about 20 teams since pro day and could play tackle in a 4-3 alignment, as he did at Hawaii, or end in a 3-4 front.

Veikune rough and ready for big day

The National Football League draft is this weekend, and David Veikune will be thinking about the greens.

"I'm going to go golfing," said Veikune, a former University of Hawai'i defensive end who might be selected as early as the third round.

Veikune has drawn strong interest from several NFL teams. The Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins brought him in for personal workouts.

The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys have had face-to-face interviews with Veikune.

Where Veikune will play is a two-fold question. The team and position will be known, most likely, on Sunday, when the third through seventh rounds will be conducted.

Veikune is an intriguing prospect. He was named to the 2007 All-Western Athletic Conference first team despite not starting any games that season.

He was one of the strongest Warriors, once bench pressing 500 pounds.

He played well in the Senior Bowl in January. He also had impressive numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

At the combine, he bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times, fourth-highest total among all participants.

He was officially timed at 4.87 seconds in the 40-yard dash, ninth-best among defensive linemen. But that was the slowest of the recordings by the three timers. One clocked him at 4.79 seconds.

Veikune also completed the L-drill, which was not recorded on the NFL Web site, in 4.20 seconds.

A common strategy is to take the best scores from the combine and pro day. Each NCAA team is permitted a pro day, in which its players go through several drills in front of NFL scouts.

Veikune decided to rest on his combine results, opting to only run the 40 and perform position drills at UH's Pro Day in Carson, Calif.

He ran the 40 in 4.81 seconds. Best of all, he impressed scouts with his agility, lateral speed and good hands during linebacker drills.

The Titans and Cardinals run 4-3 defenses, and envision Veikune as a defensive end.

The others that have shown interest run 3-4 defenses, and they view him as a linebacker.

Veikune said that at 260 pounds, he is at a middle weight. He believes he would need to weigh at least 270 to play end in a 4-3 alignment. He said he probably could play linebacker at 255.

"I can say that he's got first-day talent, but where he gets drafted depends on how teams draft players at his position," agent Kenny Zuckerman said.

Zuckerman said scouts like Veikune's potential. The Campbell High grad attended Colorado for a year and then Fresno City College for a semester. He was at UH for three years.

"He's only been a one-year starter," Zuckerman said. "His best football is ahead of him."

Veikune said he has no preferences, although his father is a fan of the Cardinals. Veikune lived in Arizona from the second through sixth grades.

Veikune said he is not nervous, and has no plans for a draft party.

"Why have a party when you're not sure where you're going to go?" he said.

Veikune said he will relax on the golf course. His handicap?

"Severe," he said. "The first time I played was on Friday. I'm not very good, but I had fun."