Seeking to jump-start a running attack that statistically ranked as the league's second worst in 2002, the Houston Texans on Thursday afternoon invested a second-round choice to select former Georgia Tech tailback Tony Hollings in the NFL supplemental draft.

The round in which Hollings was chosen was surprising, but only mildly so in the case of the Texans, since general manager Charley Casserly had suggested last week the speedy back would likely have projected as a No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft were he fully healthy and still in school.

Most teams felt Hollings, who was declared academically ineligible for the '03 college season, would be chosen in the third round of Thursday's special-cases lottery. Now, he'll be able to provide a potential big-play weapon to Houston's youthful arsenal.

"But this is a kid," Casserly pointed out, "who was ranked among the top 10 (rising) seniors by both scouting combines. Is there some risk involved because he is coming off knee surgery? Sure, there's some risk, but we felt he was worth it."

By choosing Hollings, in a draft delayed two hours by technical difficulties, the Texans must now surrender a second-round selection in the 2004 draft. But the choice forfeited by the Texans is a second-rounder acquired from the Oakland Raiders in a swap of picks consummated during this year's draft. Given that the Raiders figure to again be a playoff team, the choice likely will be late in the second round next April, and Casserly noted that is a more than fair price if Hollings is as good as assessed by the Houston scouts.

By essentially "bidding" the pick acquired from Oakland, in a process that's conducted by e-mail, Casserly gained a big advantage over other potential suitors. In the weighted lottery held before the supplemental draft, and which determines the order of selection, both the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears were ahead of Houston.

Those two teams had both demonstrated considerable interest in Hollings and Casserly did not want to be outbid. The extra second-round pick proved to be his trump card.

This marks the second consecutive summer that Houston chose a prospect in the supplemental draft, as the Texans exercised a sixth-round selection in 2002 on guard Milford Brown, who could challenge for a starting job in training camp. Hollings was clearly excited, when reached by phone, at the prospect of pumping some life into the Texans' moribund running game.

"I know they've got a young stud at quarterback (David Carr) and some good, young receivers, and they need help at tailback," Hollings said. "And I think I can give them the kind of help they need. I kind of had a hunch, because they had showed such interest and kept in touch by phone, that they might be the team."

Hollings gauged that his knee is about 90 percent rehabilitated and that he has regained nearly all his speed. He will fly to Houston on Sunday to begin a last-minute cram course before training camp in the Texans' offense.

While the Texans can certainly use immediately the big-play potential that Hollings might provide, the team is not expected to rush him as he continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery, one Houston assistant coach said on Thursday afternoon. Casserly reiterated that stance when reached later in the day.

"If we have to put him on the physically unable to perform list, so be it," Casserly said. "We don't know that yet. Our medical people definitely feel he'll come back fine from the surgery. But we're not going to push. Hey, we essentially spent a pick in next year's draft on a guy we're not even counting on to play this season. And with where that pick will be, we think it's a good trade-off, definitely."

Most teams interested in Hollings felt he would be ready for full participation at the outset of training camp, but there were a few who emphasized they might adopt a more cautious approach. Casserly noted that, in most cases, running backs coming off serious knee surgeries don't retain stride until the second year after the procedure.

Houston currently has a crowded depth chart at tailback and the addition of Hollings now could make the training camp competition even more interesting.

The team returns its top two rushers from 2002, Jonathan Wells and James Allen, and the Texans also signed former Jacksonville Jaguars backup Stacey Mack to a one-year deal as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Wells rushed for 529 yards in '02 as a rookie and Allen posted 519 yards.

The Texans averaged just 84.2 rushing yards per outing and the 3.2-yard average per rush was by far the lowest in the league.

Both of the combine services providing scouting reports to subscriber franchises -- National Football Scouting, Inc., and Blesto -- had Hollings as the second highest-rated tailback prospect on their spring reports. In each case, Hollings was ranked among the top 10 prospects overall. But the ratings are for "rising" seniors and assume that a prospect is healthy and plays in his senior season.

A little-used defensive back until 2002, when Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey moved him to offense, Hollings has very little game exposure to the tailback position. He played in just four contests in '02 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

"I see the four-game issue, though, as a positive," Casserly said. "Because he still has just scratched the surface and he doesn't have many miles on him yet."

Hollings led the nation in rushing and scoring through four games, posting 633 yards and 11 touchdowns, before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and also the lateral meniscus cartilage in his right knee against Brigham Young.

One conundrum in appraising Hollings' value was that he is a speed back coming off a severe knee injury. Because he did not run a 40-yard dash at his workout last week, scouts could not accurately project how much speed might have been lost to the knee injury. Before the injury, Hollings was clocked at 4.45-4.47 in the 40, an excellent range. From a size standpoint, Hollings (5-feet-10 ¾ and 216 pounds) possesses NFL-type dimensions.

National Football Scouting had given him a 7.0 grade on its nine-point system. His grade on Blesto's five-point system, in which lower scores are superior, was 1.23. Among the senior tailback prospects, only Greg Jones of Florida State was rated higher, and by both of the combine services.

None of the other five prospects available were selected and all become free agents.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.