By Brandon Judd
For three former BYU players, the long wait of wondering where they would play football next came to an end on Sunday during the 2005 NFL Draft.
Outside linebacker Brady Poppinga, offensive guard Scott Young and defensive end Shaun Nua were selected during the draft?s second day.
Poppinga became the first Cougar taken when he was selected as the No. 24 pick in the fourth round (125 overall) by the Green Bay Packers. Going to the Frozen Tundra in Green Bay, Wis., will be welcome atmosphere for the Evanston, Wyo., native, who is used to chilly weather.
Poppinga, who was the seventh outside linebacker taken in the draft, said waiting around to hear his name was hard.
?It was difficult seeing some guys go off the board,? he said in a news release. ?It was like a roller coaster just trying to find out where I would end up. Luckily, everything worked out well. We?re excited to go to Green Bay. My wife?s excited ? she loves cheese.?
Poppinga became the fourth BYU player drafted by Green Bay and the seventh Cougar linebacker selected in the NFL since 1985. Last season, Poppinga, a three-time All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection, led the Cougars with six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. He finished his career with 193 career tackles ? including 99 solo tackles ? and 20 sacks, tops in the MWC.
Young was selected in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles, while Nua was drafted in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Young will be surrounded in Philadelphia by a few familiar faces as the Eagles? head coach, Andy Reid, a former BYU grad, and both Chad Lewis and Reno Mahe played on the Eagles team that reached the Super Bowl last season.
?I couldn?t be more excited about going to Philadelphia,? Young said in a news release. ?With the quality of team they have, and with that BYU connection, I couldn?t have picked a better place to go.?
Nua will join former Cougar defensive linemen Brett Keisel and Chris Hoke in Pittsburgh. Keisel recently signed a one-year contract with the Steelers, while Hoke has been with Pittsburgh since leaving BYU in 2000.
Three other Cougars joined NFL squads via free agency. Defensive end John Denney signed with Miami, safety Aaron Francisco signed with Arizona and cornerback Brandon Heaney signed with Atlanta.
