Being selected by the Dallas Cowboys helped ease the pain of all the waiting former Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee had to do over the weekend while watching the NFL draft.

McGee had hoped to go by third round and thought there was a chance to go late in the second, but it wasn't until a couple hours into the second day that the Cowboys made him the first pick of the fourth round, No. 101 overall. Former A&M running back Mike Goodson was picked ten spots later by the Carolina Panthers.

With the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots showing the most interest in McGee and those teams having a surplus of second- and third-round draft picks, each time they were on the clock McGee felt he would be the likely choice, but it never materialized.

"I had actually gone outside because I was so frustrated, and then I got a call from [Cowboys owner] Mr. [Jerry] Jones," McGee said. "Since [the phone] call was from the Cowboys it was a great day. If it was anybody else I probably would have still been frustrated."

McGee's frustration was building when a call from a 214 area code went dead before Jones got in touch with him. He then got another call from an unknown number and it was Jones.

"I've definitely grown up a Cowboys fan and as I put it earlier today, there is the Cowboys and then there are the 31 other NFL teams," said McGee, who starred at Burnet High School. "There's definitely more pride when you put a star on your helmet when you are a Texas kid."

McGee said he remembers video of him in a Cowboys uniform when he was 6 or 7 years old, and he had a poster on his wall of Dallas stars Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

He also has kept an autographed Wheaties cereal box that featured the Cowboys after one of their Super Bowl titles in the 1990s.

McGee will join a Cowboys team that has all-pro Tony Romo starting at quarterback and that picked up veteran Jon Kitna over the offseason.

"[Kitna] is a great guy, what a great guy to learn from," McGee said. "He's been in the NFL 14 years now, he's played for a lot of different teams, a great family guy and when I got to talk to him he had a lot of advice for me."

McGee was as much a running threat as a passer in his 27 starts at A&M. He threw for 5,475 yards while completing 485 of 815 passes for 28 touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder added 11 rushing touchdowns while running for 1,750 yards on 387 carries.

McGee was limited to three starts last season because of a shoulder injury. He was known for his leadership skills, something brought up every time analysts talked about him. Most had McGee as the No. 4 quarterback in the draft.

He knows he'll have to wait to display those skills as he becomes a part of the team.

"First and foremost you go in there ready to work, you keep your mouth shut and do whatever it takes to make the team better," McGee said. "I may not get a whole lot of reps early on, obviously, so you have to show you can follow before you are a leader. You have to earn your stripes."

McGee will join former Aggie teammate Martellus Bennett in Dallas. McGee said he talked briefly to Bennett, a tight end, but with "180 text messages on my phone in about 3 seconds, it was pretty exciting."

One of the calls McGee took was from Dat Nguyen, a former A&M great who is now coaching at Dallas.

"There are a lot of Aggies up there, so it will be a good deal for me," McGee said.

Goodson, who skipped his senior season at A&M to enter the draft, ran for 1,964 yards with the Aggies, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. His best season was as freshman, when he totaled 847 on 127 carries for a 6.7 average. He rushed for 13 touchdowns.

"There is no question Mike Goodson has the talent to fulfill what the Panthers hope to attain with that pick," A&M coach Mike Sherman said. "We are all hopeful Mike has great success in the NFL."

Goodson, a 6-foot, 208-pounder, also was a threat in the passing game with 90 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. His best receiving season was his junior season under Sherman, when he had 37 catches for 386 yards.

The Panthers plan on using Goodson, who graduated from Klein Collins High School, as a slot receiver.

"He's an explosive player who makes big plays," Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. "He has good hands and can be a receiver out of the backfield and move around and make big plays."

McGee and Goodson were the only two Aggies selected in the two-day draft. Defensive end Michael Bennett, brother the Cowboys' Martellus Bennett, was thought to be a late-round possibility but was left unselected and signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

Michael Bennett, a 6-4, 274-pound defensive end, was one of the Aggies' most productive performers on defense in 2008. He totaled 42 tackles, 12 of which were for losses of 44 yards. He also had two sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries.

A&M punter Justin Brantly, an all-Big 12 selection, averaged 45.7 yards per punt last season. He pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line on 18 of his 51 punts, but the numbers weren't good enough to be drafted as only three punters were selected.

Rockdale graduate and Missouri star defensive end Stryker Sulak was picked by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round. The 6-5, 251-pounder known for his pass-rushing skills had 10.5 sacks his senior season and led the NCAA with six forced fumbles. He is projected to move to linebacker with the Raiders.