Christian Covington is a Houston Texan.

Houston selected the Vancouver-born defensive tackle in the sixth round, No, 216 overall, in the NFL draft Saturday afternoon.

Covington, the son of former CFL star Grover Covington, was the first Canadian taken in the draft.

Covington played seven games (six starts) at Rice University last season, missing the school's final three games after suffering a disolcated knee cap.

The six-foot-three, 290-pound Covington underwent surgery in November that forced him to miss the NFL combine in February.

But the 21-year-old impressed at his pro day, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.89 seconds. He also registered 24 reps in the 225-pound bench press and a 30.5-inch vertical jump.

Grover Covington amassed a CFL-record 157 career sacks as a defensive end with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1981-'91) and was inducted in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2000.