'Skins draft USU's

ey
Aggie tight end goes in 3rd round, 81st pick overall
By Jay Hinton
Deseret Morning News
Saturday was arguably the biggest day in Chris

ey's football career, and he missed seeing his selection in the National Football League Draft to the Washington Redskins because he was outside waiting for service on his cell phone.
"My phone lost service inside my house 20 seconds before the pick,"

ey said. "I went outside to get service and everyone in my house started screaming."

ey was the 18th pick in the third round (81st overall) to the Redskins.
"It's a dream come true, especially for the last couple of years because I have been working so hard," he said.

ey, who shot a 78 on the golf course earlier in the day, was getting a bit worried that his name hadn't appeared. Many prognosticators tabbed

ey to go in the third round and as the draft went deeper and deeper into the round, he wasn't so sure.
"I still went where I was predicted to go," said

ey, who was with his wife, mother, brother and some of his brother's friends when his named was finally called.
"I think I would have been disappointed (by not going in the third round). I kind of thought fourth round all along to not get my hopes up too high, but I always thought I would go in the third round," he said.
He was the second player Washington drafted Saturday. Miami free safety Sean Taylor was the fifth pick overall. The Redskins didn't have a second-round pick.
"I love the coaching staff. Joe Gibbs is one of the greatest coaches in the NFL, I think,"

ey said. "It will be an exciting environment to play in."
He was the only player with Utah ties to be taken on the first day of the draft. The final four rounds of the draft will be held today.

ey, 6-foot-5, 265 pound, appeared on the radar screen of NFL scouts when he made 22 of his 31 catches in the last four games his junior year two seasons ago.
He led the Aggies with 62 receptions for 732 yards and six touchdowns this season, despite missing two games with a broken ankle.

ey entered his senior season on the preseason watch list for the John Mackay Award (the nation's best tight end) and was one of eight semifinalists. The award eventually went to Miami's Kellen Winslow Jr. , who, as expected, was the first tight end taken at No. 6 Saturday by the Cleveland Browns.

ey was the sixth tight end selected. Winslow and Georgia's Ben Watson (New England) were taken in the first round. Florida's Ben Troupe (Tennessee) and Pittsburgh's Kris Wilson (Kansas City) were chosen in the second round. Ohio State's Ben Hartsock (Indianapolis) was selected 68th, then

ey at No. 81 to Washington.
"I went on a trip there and really like it a lot there,"

ey said. " . . . Northern Virginia will be a nice place to live."
He will report to mini-camp Thursday.

ey is the second Aggie to be selected in the draft in two years. Wide receiver Kevin Curtis was taken in 2002 draft by the St. Louis Rams. He was the 74th pick overall.