UTICA — A dream was realized late Saturday when the Houston Texans called Arkansas State tackle Derek Newton to tell him that he was their seventh-round draft pick.

Unfortunately, fulfilling the dream for the No. 214 overall pick will have to wait. The former Hinds AHS standout is locked out like the rest of the NFL players by the owners unless the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ultimately sides with U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, whose ruling last month had lifted the lockout for a day.

So Newton, all 6-foot-5, 315 pounds of him, must sit.

“Yeah, because of the lockout, all you can do is wait,” Newton said on a rainy Tuesday morning at his old high school gym.

Newton said he expected to get a call from a team. He had a standout senior season for the Red Wolves and was named to the first-team All-Sun Belt team at right tackle.

“For me, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when I would be drafted,” a confident Newton said. “I had heard from a lot of teams. Chicago showed a lot of interest. So did Houston and Miami. The Redskins were kind of so-so.”

In the end, it was the Texans that made the call.

New Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze, who served as the Red Wolves’ offensive coordinator during Newton’s three years in Jonesboro, felt the Texans liked what they saw on film. Arkansas State opened its 2010 season against eventual Bowl Championship Series national champion Auburn.

“We run a very similar offense to what the Texans run, especially in the passing game,” said Freeze, who was former Ole Miss left tackle Michael Oher’s high school coach. “Derek was very good on his one-on-one protections. He’s a good ft in their scheme.”

Newton said just because he played in the Sun Belt Conference, his playing ability should not be overlooked.

“We played some good teams while I was at Arkansas State,” Newton said. “We opened last year at Auburn. We played Louisville twice. Navy had a good team. We also played Nebraska and Iowa. We may not have played in the SEC, but every team has got some good athletes. The ones who separate themselves are the ones who play their hearts out.”

Freeze said that Newton made an impression against Auburn.

“Three of their linemen were taken in the draft and, yet, we still managed to get 370 yards in offense against them,” Freeze said. “Derek held his own against a talented front.”

One of those was Detroit’s first round pick, defensive tackle Nick Fairley.

“I remember seeing Fairley, but I don’t think I had to go up against him,” Newton said. “I mainly had to worry about their defensive ends. It was a good test for me to go up against a team from the SEC. I felt I did pretty good against their D-line.”

While on the sideline, Newton got to watch another Newton, a unrelated quarterback named Cam, go to work against the Red Wolves’ defense.

“He was crazy good,” Derek Newton said of the Auburn quarterback. “A couple of wide receivers had big games, too.”

Auburn earned a 52-26 win. Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy and was the first player taken in last Thursday’s NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

Arkansas State, meanwhile, struggled to a 4-8 record.

“We just couldn’t finish games at the end,” Newton said.

In March, Newton shined at his pro day and that got the NFL scouts’ attention.

“I ran a 4.9 40-yard dash and a lot of people said that was good enough to play in the league,” Newton said.

Hinds AHS coach Michael Fields felt Newton had the ability.

“All you had to look at was his athleticism,” Fields said. “Still, he’s the first player I’ve had drafted by the NFL. I’ve got one, Marcell Young, playing in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger Cats.”

Fields said Newton came out of a group of talented War Dawg players that won plenty of games from 2003-2005.

“In 2005, we went 10-0 in the regular season and averaged 50 points a game,” Fields said. “Marcel, Derek, Albert Williams, Austin Divinity and Anthony Mayes were all on that team.”

Williams was Nicholls State’s leading rusher for two seasons. Mayes was a standout wide receiver at Jackson State and helped the Tigers to an 8-3 record in 2010. Divinity was a starter at wide receiver at Mississippi College.

Newton, however, was the only one to play at the Bowl Championship Series level.

“Besides his size, Derek has a great work ethic, always had,” Fields said. “And he has a lot of intelligence. That goes a long way. His mom did a great job with him and he’s a great kid.”

Freeze echoed Fields’ comments about Newton’s desire to work.

“It starts with his dedication,” Freeze said. “Getting a redshirt year after we got him from Hinds did wonders for him. Derek was able to learn under Coach (Darren) Hiller, who is very technique driven. He also got dedicated to our weight room. He stayed all summer last year and that helped him increase his foot speed.”