Landon Cohen was doing some homework yesterday when his phone rang.

The former Ohio defensive tackle was just trying to take his mind off yesterday’s NFL Draft when Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli called to say the Lions would be selecting him with the ninth pick in the seventh round and the 216th overall pick in the draft.

“I was elated,” Cohen said. “The first thing I did was thank God and then I hugged all my friends and thanked them for their support.”

Cohen is the first Bobcat to be drafted since Dave Zastudil in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2002 and only the second player from Ohio to be drafted since the NFL cut the draft to seven rounds in 1994.

He is the 27th player in Ohio history to be drafted and the first non-kicker drafted since wide receiver Dave Juenger was drafted in the 14th round by the Chicago Bears in 1973.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Cohen said. “I’ve been playing football since I was seven and I guess that dream has come true.

“I’m going to continue to make OU and my family proud.”

The Kansas City Chiefs signed former Ohio running back Kalvin McRae as an undrafted college free agent yesterday, his mother Cheral Hope said.

The Chiefs called him just minutes after the draft ended and signed him to a contract.

McRae, who is the Bobcat’s all-time leading rusher with 4,398 yards rushing, will report to Kansas City on Thursday for the Chief’s rookie mini camp.

Cohen collected 144 career tackles at Ohio and is tied for fourth in school history with 39.5 tackles for a loss. Last season, he had 59 tackles, including a team-high 12.5 tackles for a loss.

The Lions were one of about 15 teams that had expressed interest in Cohen and were one of several teams in attendance for Ohio’s Pro Day on March 7.

Cohen impressed teams by doing 32 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press, which was the highest of any person that participated and projected him into the top five among defensive tackles that participated at the NFL combine.

The Lions flew Cohen in for a visit where he watched film and took a physical, while getting to know the coaching staff.

“I’m very excited to be a Lion,” Cohen said. “They run the same defense that we do at Ohio. It’s going to be interesting to see.”

“I’ll probably have a little bit of an edge. I’m excited.”

The next step for Cohen will be to report to the Lions’ rookie mini camp Thursday.

Safety Todd Koenig is also fielding offers from several teams, according to his agent.