The biggest cheer of the weekend at Radio City Music Hall may have been for a seventh round draft pick. When Army’s Caleb Campbell was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 218^th pick in the draft, the place went crazy.

Campbell will be the first Army football player to benefit from a new policy that allows athletes to play professionally instead of going overseas, as reported by Rick Freeman of The Associated Press:

Campbell will still be on active duty. He’ll serve as a recruiter, spending his Tuesday off days from the Lions visiting high schools and working. If his career lasts more than two seasons, he will have the option of buying out the last three years of his active-duty commitment in exchange for six years in the reserves.

Meanwhile, his former teammates and classmates all face the prospect of going to war in Iraq, where more than 4,000 servicemen and women have been killed in the war that’s been going on for more than five years with no end in sight.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli, who served a tour in Vietnam, said on TV that picking the 6-foot-2, 229-pound Campbell was no flyer, and that the former Black Knights defensive back would be used as a linebacker, at least initially. The son of GM Matt Millen is a cadet at West Point.

For more news on the Lions reported by the Biz of Football check here.

More recent news from around the league can be found here. 

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