Andrew Billings carried a second-round grade and first-round hopes as the NFL draft started Thursday.
By the time his wait ended Saturday with a phone call from the Cincinnati Bengals, the Baylor All-American nose tackle had gotten his introduction to a fickle business. Billings went with the 122nd pick in the fourth round.
"This is something I'm going to carry with me my whole life," Billings said in a conference call. "It's actually a good thing for me, I believe."
Billings wasn't the only Baylor player going through a draft roller-coaster. Defensive end Shawn Oakman, the school's all-time sack leader and now facing a sexual-assault charge, wasn't selected.