Proving that spring also is a season of joy, two more former University of Hawai'i football players were drafted yesterday and two others agreed to free-agent contracts with National Football League teams.

A day after rush end David Veikune was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the NFL draft, the Tennesee Titans picked cornerback Ryan Mouton in the third round and the New England Patriots chose long-snapper Jake Ingram in the sixth round.

Later, defensive tackle Josh Leonard agreed to a free-agent contract with the Houston Texans and cornerback Jameel Dowling accepted the Arizona Cardinals' offer.

"I'm back with them," Mouton said after he was picked 94th overall.

Mouton, who was raised in the Houston area, was "8 or 9" when the Houston Oilers relocated to become the Tennessee Titans.

"You always root for the hometown team," Mouton said. "Even though we're big Cowboy fans in my house, when the Oilers played, we rooted for those guys. When they moved to Tennessee, I still followed those guys."

Mouton had private workouts with about a half-dozen teams. The past Friday, the Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers watched Mouton work out at his alma mater, Katy High School.

After that, a coach from the Titans told Mouton: "You're my guy."

Saturday, Mouton was told by Tennessee reporters that he would be taken with the 94th overall pick. When the 93rd selection was on the clock, Mouton received the call.

He was asked: "How would you like to come out and be a Tennessee Titan?"

His expression sparked a loud celebration among the 25 guests in his house.

"Everybody went crazy," Mouton said. "It's a great feeling. I couldn't be in a better place."

Mouton had a pass breakup in the end zone in the East-West Shrine game, during which he suffered a pulled left hamstring. He had a 39 1/2-inch vertical jump at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and an 11-foot broad jump at the April 2 UH Pro Day in Carson, Calif.

But he aggravated his hamstring running the 40-yard dash at the combine and pro day. He finished those sprints in 4.48 seconds and 4.42 seconds, respectively.

Mouton said the Titans were not concerned about his hamstring. An electronic test showed his hamstring was at 93-percent strength last week.

"They saw what I could do on tape," Mouton said. "They never questioned my speed."

Mouton will report to the Titans Thursday to participate in rookie camp. He is being looked at as a cornerback, nickelback and special-teams player. Kickoff returner? Punt returner?

"Whatever it is, I'm willing to do it," Mouton said.

Ingram was preparing for a nap at his Mililani home when he received a call from Scott O'Brien, the Patriots' special-team coordinator.

"He was kind of playing with me," Ingram said. "He told me, 'How are you doing?' I said, 'I'm good.' It was like that for about four minutes. Then he asked, 'Can you play in the cold? Do you want to play here?' I was like, 'yeah, yeah.' "

Then O'Brien said somebody wanted to speak. O'Brien handed the phone to Bill Belichick, the Patriots' head coach. Belichick said: "Welcome to the Patriots.

"I was star-struck," Ingram said. "Now it's NFL time, you have to get over that, and get to work."

Ingram praised former UH head coach June Jones, who promised a scholarship if Ingram would move from defensive end to long-snapper. Ingram agreed, but often tried to sneak into defensive meetings. Finally, Ingram accepted his role, becoming one of the most accurate long-snappers in the country.

Still, Ingram, who joined UH as a walk-on, never imagined he would one day be drafted.

"I thought if you do good at this, you can get a free-agent deal," Ingram recalled. "It would be like walking on to the NFL."

Ingram, who was invited to the NFL combine, impressed scouts with his accuracy and athletic ability. At Pro Day, the Cincinnati Bengals' special-teams coach supervised Ingram's workouts.

O'Brien, meanwhile, watched from a distance, never letting Ingram know he was in attendance. The Patriots, poker players in NFL scouting, were seeking to replace Lonie Paxton, who signed with the Denver Broncos.

"I want to thank coach Jones," Ingram said. "If it weren't for him, I don't know what I would be doing now."

Ingram leaves Wednesday for the rookie camp. He weighed 230 pounds at the combine and pro day.

"They told me I'd better show up at close to 240," Ingram said. "I'm going to eat right now."

Leonard drew interest from 20 teams after bench pressing 225 pounds 41 times at Pro Day and running the 40-yard dash twice in under 5 seconds.

While watching the draft wind down, Leonard said, "it got a little tense." He received some offers, but decided the Texans presented "the best opportunity."

Leonard will play the three-shade (defensive tackle) in the 4-3 scheme. Because the Texans do not have a rookie camp, he reports May 15 for a mini-camp.

Dowling played one season at UH after transferring from Oregon. His size (6 feet 1 7/8) and speed (4.5 seconds in the 40) attracted the Cardinals, who were seeking big corners.

He is awaiting the paperwork, but he already has accepted the offer.

Linebacker Solomon Elimimian, meanwhile, was mulling offers from the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills last night.