[media-credit name=’MATTHEW KUTZ/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Brian Calhoun played games of darts, horseshoes and ping-pong. Jonathan Orr went shopping for new suits with his fiancée. Owen Daniels chose to simply mock the "so-called experts" on television.

Each University of Wisconsin player had his own way of keeping busy while waiting for his named to be called during the 2006 NFL Draft, and it was a good thing, as the Badgers had to wait a little bit longer than usual before being plucked and placed onto NFL rosters.

It might've taken quite a bit longer for the first UW player to go off the board this year, but in the end, the 2006 NFL Draft proved to be a fruitful one for Wisconsin, as five players were selected overall.

After waiting longer than six hours, running back Brian Calhoun became the first Badger drafted. He was later followed by Brandon Williams (3rd round 84th overall), Daniels (4-98), Jason Pociask (5-150) and Orr (6-172).

For the first time since 1994, the Badgers did not have a player selected in either of the first two rounds of the Draft, as it took until midway through the third round for the first UW player to have his name called when the Detroit Lions, with the 74th overall selection, picked up Calhoun.

"Obviously it was an all-day wait; I was up early and couldn't sleep much last night," said Calhoun, who was disappointed in how long he hung around the draft board, indicating he was expecting to be picked earlier. "But finally, in the third round, Detroit decided to pull the trigger, and I'm happy I'm headed there."

Calhoun said that just being selected on the first day justified his decision to leave school a year early after a record-setting junior season, which saw him score 22 total touchdowns, run for 1,636 yards and total 571 receiving yards.

Calhoun expressed excitement at the opportunity to work with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who oversaw a very potent offense in St. Louis, highlighted by the use of a multi-dimensional running back, like Calhoun.

"It's a good situation," Calhoun said. "With Mike Martz, I could definitely be used much in the same way that Marshall Faulk was, and I think I can pair up pretty well with Kevin Jones."

Lions president Matt Millen echoed Calhoun's sentiments from a press conference outside of Detroit's war room, even saying that Calhoun could find himself fielding kicks and punts in the NFL.

"You can move him around," Millen said. "He could be all over the place. And don't minimize the return part."

The return game was a key factor when Williams was soon picked by the San Francisco 49ers. The 'Niners believe that Williams can contribute by returning both kicks and punts, as well as working in the slot wide receiver position.

"He is a very good receiver; certainly not one of the bigger players, but he's a very good receiver, and just as important, he is a very good return guy," said 49ers head coach Mike Nolan at a Saturday press conference archived on the team website. "What I like most about him probably is his competitiveness, he's a very tough little guy that plays extremely hard and competes very well, which is what got my attention more than anything else."

It wasn't until the first pick on day two of the Draft (which breaks at the end of the third round) that tight end Daniels was picked by the Houston Texans. Uncharacteristically for this group of Badger draftees, Owens found out early he would be picked.

"I got a call from them about quarter to 10 (in the morning) … telling me that they were going to take me with the next pick," Daniels said. "It was a good start to the day."

Daniels had also hoped to be picked on day one and thus watched the entire first day of the draft, over 10 hours worth of coverage. He admitted he wasn't looking to be picked during the first two rounds but that he was interested in seeing how the draft was shaking out and what the draft experts had to say.

"I like to see what is going on and what the draft experts don't really know," Daniels joked. "They can't even get the first draft pick right. You have to expect they could at least get something right, but not even the first pick? C'mon!"

Surprisingly, Daniels' backup and partner in crime, Pociask, was the next Badger off the board. Pociask was expected by many to go undrafted, but the Jets took him in the fifth round and are expected to use him as an H-back, a hybrid position between tight end and fullback.

"I actually took a visit out to New York a couple weeks ago, and they mentioned [working as an H-back]," Pociask related, adding that even he was a little surprised to be drafted and so early. "If you would've asked me a year ago, no, I probably wouldn't have put money on myself being here."

Wide receiver Orr was the last Badger taken, going to Tennessee in the sixth round. It was later than Orr had expected, but he expressed happiness in finding a home.

"I was expecting to go a little earlier," Orr said. "But it is what it is, and I'm very excited just for the opportunity of just being drafted and having to opportunity of going out and showing what I have."