Illinois-related draft notes from

sports editor Jim Rossow:

    For the third time in five years, Illinois

had only one player drafted (Dennis Stallings). Brad Hopkins was the lone pick

in ''93, Filmel Johnson in ''94.

    Recent Illini going in the sixth round:

Mel Agee in ''91, Mark Dennis in ''87, Thomas Rooks in ''86, and Don Thorp

and Dwight Beverly in ''84.

    Stallings is the 24th pure linebacker

from the UI drafted by the NFL. The first: Bill Burrell in 1960.

    Since its professional birth in 1960,

Houston has drafted nine Illini. The first: DeJustice Coleman in 1960.

    Stallings was 1 of 28 Big Ten players

drafted. Rose Bowl winner Ohio State led the way with seven picks, followed

by Iowa (4), Michigan (3), Northwestern (3), Penn State (3), Wisconsin (3),

Indiana (2) and Michigan State (2). Conspicuously absent from the draft:

1,000-yard rusher Alex Smith, who left Indiana after his junior year.

    Stallings was 1 of 5 players from the

state drafted, joining Northwestern''s Darnell Autry (Bears), Tim Scharf

(Jets) and Hudhaifa Ismaeli (Dolphins), and Southern Illinois'' Damon Jones

(Jaguars).

   Dennis Stallings knows what his next move will be.

   His former University of Illinois teammates aren''t as certain.

   Stallings was the lone Illini picked in the National Football League''s weekend draft, the Houston Oilers taking the inside linebacker in the sixth round (No. 181 overall).

   Stallings heads to Cincinnati today to meet with agent Richard Katz. Tagging along will be Rodney Byrd, also a Katz client and one of a handful of UI seniors left out of the draft.

   "You always want to see your name called on TV, but I still think things will work out for the best," said Byrd, who watched the second day of the draft Sunday at his parents'' O''Fallon home. "I can''t get discouraged. I''m still going to get my shot somewhere."

   Undrafted free agents such as Byrd, Ty Douthard, Jason Dulick and Chris Koerwitz could sign with the team of their choice once the draft ended early Sunday evening.

   Stallings is locked in with Houston, where he''ll be reunited with former UI assistant coaches O''Neill Gilbert and Sherman Smith.

   Stallings, in East St. Louis for the weekend, talked with Gilbert after the pick was announced.

   "Hey, I''m just happy I got drafted," Stallings said. "Few are chosen."

   Stallings talked with several teams before the sixth round, each club indicating they''d pick him. He was passed up each time, though.

   "They''d tell me, ''We''re going to get you,'' " Stallings said. "Then you know I''m looking up and my name wasn''t there. That ain''t right."

   The Oilers phoned, then kept their promise.

   "I got the call, and someone said, ''Do you want to play in the National Football League?'' " Stallings said. "I was like, ''Sure.'' "

   The Oilers, who lost starting linebacker Michael Barrow to free agency, need help at the position. And Stallings was the only linebacker Houston took with eight picks.

   "I knew Houston was interested," Stallings said. "But you never know what''s going to happen in the draft."

   Houston drafted for defense. The Oilers picked three defensive backs and two defensive ends, including first-rounder Kenny Holmes of Miami.

   Running back Douthard was in Katz''s office Sunday night fielding calls from NFL teams.

   "I''m in limbo right now," he said. "I''m waiting for the right opportunity, for a team that needs my talent. I have to find the right situation."

   Pittsburgh, Houston and the New York Jets have made free-agent offers to Dulick, a wide receiver who is expected to make a decision today in St. Louis. Byrd, a fullback, favors Washington and Houston.

   Offensive lineman Koerwitz, in Oshkosh, Wis., said no team had contacted him as of Sunday night.