Following is a list of the seven players selected by the Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft.
First round (first overall)
Defensive end (6-7, 290)
North Carolina State
* Highlights:* Holds school record with 26.5 career sacks and 55.5 tackles for loss. All-American first team selection by *Sports Illustrated *in 2005.
* Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak on Williams: *"I like everything about him. I can sit here and go through his physical talents that we all know. I love the fact that this young man is very young. I think he still has tremendous upside, and I think he's going to grow some more."
Second round (33rd overall)
Linebacker (6-4, 236)
Alabama
Highlights: Led the Crimson Tide with 76 tackles in 2005 and was named the 2005 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and 2006 Cotton Bowl Defensive MVP
Quote:Linebackers coach Johnny Holland: "DeMeco is a great athlete from the University of Alabama, and he definitely brings some leadership to our team as a young player. He has great character, and he's a young, athletic linebacker that is capable of playing all three linebacker positions for us. We are very honored to have a player like DeMeco. He comes from a great football tradition at Alabama. He was a three-year starter there, and he's been on winning football teams. So he can definitely bring a winning attitude to our team."
Third round (65th overall)
Tackle (6-4, 352)
Pittsburgh
Highlights: Two-time second-team All-Big East Conference selection. Helped Pitt's offense average 335.8 yards per game in 2005, and had 69 knockdowns and nine touchdown-resulting blocks.
Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak: "Towards the end of his season as a senior, (Spencer) probably played as well as any tackle that we studied. I'll tell you where he really jumped out at us is when he went to the Senior Bowl...On the biggest stage you could be on as a college player for that week, he really jumped out at us."
Third round (66th overall)
Tackle (6-7, 310)
Miami
Highlights: All-American first-team selection by Walter Camp, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and *Sports Illustrated *in 2005. Also named All-ACC first-team pick last season.
Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak: "A very high-profile lineman at the University of Miami...Tore his knee up as a junior and missed that season. He came back this year and was fine. Played throughout the whole season, so he's coming off that knee and he made it through the whole season and got better and better as the season went along. Probably had that not happened to this young man, we're talking about a first-round tackle this year. We're very fortunate."
Fourth round (98th overall)
Tight end (6-3, 247)
Wisconsin
Highlights:All-Big Ten conference selection as a junior in 2004. Caught 22 balls for 268 yards (12.2 avg) and four touchdowns as a senior.
Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak: "We like what he brings to the table, and if everything continues to come together for this young man, we feel like he has got an excellent opportunity to be a starter in this league for a long time."
Sixth round (170th overall)
Running back (5-10, 214)
Virginia
Highlights:Had a school-record 52 total touchdowns in his career. Left Charlottesville with 4,497 all-purpose yards and served as one of three team captains as a senior.
Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak: "What he does best as a player is that he's a zone runner. He fits our scheme perfectly. He's a sharp young man and I think what we do offensively is just going to help his career as a pro."
Seventh round (251st overall)
Wide receiver (5-9, 194)
Colorado State
Highlights: Holds the school career records with 200 receptions for 3,330 yards. His 20 career touchdown catches rank third in school annals. All-American third-team pick and All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection by The NFL Draft Report.
Quote:Head coach Gary Kubiak: "This guy is a battler. He was one of the most productive
receivers in his conference for many years. I just think he'll bring an attitude
to our team. I know he'll be a great special teams player. And when you have your
fourth, fifth, sixth receiver on your team, they have to help you in that category."
