Welcome to the beginning of the end.

Yes, since next week will be my last column for the semester, I just want to prepare you for the end as I introduce a special something to wrap up the semester. I’ll just say it will be fun.

Now to the topic at hand for this week. This past weekend, as we were getting sloshed during Veishea, the NFL draft was held in New York. During the mass chaos that occurred, two former Iowa State players were picked, one signed as a special free agent and several noteworthy college players went off to greater fortunes on the pro teams.

To begin with, our main man here in Ames for a couple of seasons, RB Troy Davis, was picked in the third round with the 62nd pick by the New Orleans Saints. Why he didn’t go before that, especially since Iowa (AWA SUX) RB Sedrick Shaw went in the second round to the New England Patriots, is beyond me. However, this does prove that the former coach of Da Bears and current Saints coach, Mike Ditka, still knows his stuff. Davis should fill a big hole in New Orleans and maybe remind people of when Walter Payton played for Ditka in the 1980s.

Also in the third round, graduating senior and my hometown favorite (He played his high school ball at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, Ill.) OT Tim Kohn went to the Oakland Raiders. Though he was more of a second choice after the Raiders’ failed attempt to land Orlando Pace (He went first overall to the St. Louis Rams in an expected move by new coach Dick Vermeil), he should fill in nicely as Oakland attempts to plug up some holes in their offensive line to protect Jeff Hosteler a little better.

Our final local favorite signed as a free agent with the New York Jets earlier this week.

I’m talking, of course, about former ISU QB Todd Doxzon.

His role will be unique, as Bill Parcells attempts to mold the scrambling QB into another Kordell Stewart-type player, splitting time between wide receiver and quarterback. He probably won’t play much quarterback unless Parcells feels the need to expose a fresh young body to the rigors of playing behind the Jets’ offensive line, though he might fill in nicely on occasion at wide receiver for bad-mouth, second-year hotshot Keyshawn Johnson.

As for a couple of other noteworthy non-Iowa Staters, Florida State RB Warrick Dunn was drafted in the first round by the new-look Tampa Bay Buccaneers and could unseat disgruntled starter Errict Rhett sometime in the near future. Also, our Heisman Trophy winner, QB Danny Wuerffel from Florida, was drafted in the fourth round by Ditka’s Saints. Who knows? Maybe he can take over for starter Jim Everett in the near future when Coach Ditka sees the need.

To wrap things up here for this week, I’ll make a couple of comments about the draft of my team, the Chicago Bears. First of all, who are most of these guys? They had no first-round pick since they traded to Seattle for QB Rick Mirer, though they did take noteworthy RB Darnell Autry from Northwestern in the fourth round.

This should be interesting.

ROB DANIEL is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Zion, Ill..