(July 13, 2006) -- Linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who starred at Virginia for three seasons but was kicked off the team by coach Al Groh, was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the NFL's supplemental draft.
Brooks, a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker as a sophomore, was also a finalist for the Butkus Award given to the nation's top linebacker in 2004.
But he played only six games last season because of injury, then was dropped by the team just before spring practice this year. He subsequently applied for the draft.
Groh, the former head coach of the New York Jets and a longtime NFL assistant, did not specify the reason for the dismissal.
Six other players who applied for the supplemental draft were not chosen.
The Bengals, who used the 22nd pick of the third round to take Brooks, forfeit their third-round choice in the 2007 draft.
