Hunter, Sasa Go In Third

Washington State defenders rarely fell for the misdirection plays last fall, but a couple of them got juked out by the National Football League Saturday.

The NFL announced that the first two rounds would be conducted Saturday, but they went ahead and tabbed the third round as well.

It left Cougar cornerback Torey Hunter up in the air - in transit between Tacoma and Los Angeles, and sent defensive tackle Don Sasa out to the backyard grill.

So, Hunter didn’t hear of his third-round selection (95th pick, to Houston) until he touched down in L.A. late Saturday, and Sasa finally got word from San Diego of his selection (93rd pick) as he sat down and saw his name flash on TV.

“He has no idea about it, we’re going to meet him at the airport and give him the news,” agent Josh Luchs said of Hunter Saturday evening.

Luchs said the draft went according to his expectations. “We thought he’d go in the third, we just weren’t sure what team he’d go to. It seems like (Houston) will be a great system for him, in fact, I don’t think there could be a better system for him. They play indoors, on the artificial turf, so they need that speed and don’t care so much about size.”

Sasa, too, got caught by surprise. “I was thinking there would only be two rounds so in the middle of the second round, I went out to the grill and started fixing dinner - some chicken barbecue and short ribs.”

All the while, San Diego was apparently dialing the wrong number to contact him and it was only when the phone finally rang that the Chargers reached him with news that he was their choice.

The Chargers had shown the most interest in Sasa, so he wasn’t fazed by the team, but he was amazed that he was picked so soon.

“I was thinking free agency,” he said from his home in Pullman. “I saw all that talent out there and figured I’d be a late-rounder or a free agent. So, right now, I’m kinda overwhelmed.”

With linebacker Mark Fields going in the first round to New Orleans, it meant that three members of the vaunted Cougar defense were taken on the draft’s first day.