Georgia Tech's Philip Wheeler will soon be able to afford that silver Lamborghini he wants to drive.

Indianapolis made Wheeler the first player from a Georgia university chosen in this year's NFL draft when they selected him Sunday in the third round. Wheeler was the Colts' second pick and the draft's 93rd selection overall.

Pouya Dianat/AJC (ENLARGE)

Tech's Philip Wheeler, the Colts' second pick and the draft's 93rd selection overall, was the first player from a Georgia university chosen. He was the 10th linebacker drafted.

More on the draft Bios: Wheeler • Choice • Brooks RELATED STORIES On Twitter, golfer Cink hits straight to the point  Tech's Roddy Jones optimistic he'll start season  Tech gearing to play Siena next three seasons  Tech reports four secondary violations to NCAA  Lady Jackets will host Winthrop in preseason Women's NIT         • More Tech coverage

Last year's 93rd pick, running back Garrett Wolfe, got a $623,000 signing bonus — that's more than three Lamborghinis — as part of a four-year, $2.3 million contract with Chicago.

Tech running back Tashard Choice of Riverdale went in the fourth round to Dallas. Yellow Jackets punter Durant Brooks of Macon was the first kicker drafted; he went to Washington on the second pick of round six.

Wheeler considered going pro after his junior season but said in January 2007 he could wait another year to drive his dream car. He had to wait longer than he expected to find out which state's license plate that car will have. The draft party in his hometown of Columbus began on Saturday.

"I did expect to go a little sooner," Wheeler said in a teleconference with reporters. "I'm still happy the Colts picked me up. I can't wait to be a Colt."

Wheeler ended his Tech career at middle linebacker after beginning on the outside. He might soon be competing for playing time at outside linebacker in Indianapolis with former fifth-round pick Tyjuan Hagler, who started seven games in 2007. The Colts badly needed a linebacker in this draft after cutting one veteran and losing another to free agency.

Wheeler, the 10th linebacker drafted, had 19 sacks at Tech and projects as a quality pass-rushing linebacker in the NFL.

Choice, the 12th running back drafted, will face competition from another rookie, one picked three rounds ahead of him. The Cowboys took Arkansas' Felix Jones 22nd overall.

"It's going to be a good situation," Choice said. "We're different kinds of running backs."

Choice said he has friends on the Cowboys, including Terence Newman, Pacman Jones and Roy Williams, an Oklahoma alumnus Choice met when Choice was an Oklahoma freshman.

Choice expected to be picked higher, but he said the Cowboys assured him they believe in playing the best player, regardless of where he was drafted. Choice led the ACC in rushing as a junior and a senior and became the first player in Tech history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, but he was passed over for first-team All-ACC until his senior year.

"People slept on me in college," Choice said. "I just have to go out and prove myself again."

Brooks, the Ray Guy Award winner as college football's best punter, will help the Redskins, who ranked 27th out of the NFL's 32 teams in punting average last season.