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SALT LAKE CITY — Five players from the University of Utah received invites to this year’s NFL Combine.
Seniors Dres Anderson (WR), Kaelin Clay (WR), Nate Orchard (DE) and Eric Rowe (DB), and junior Jeremiah Poutasi (OL) were included in this year’s 323 players invited to show off their skills in front of scouts from all NFL teams.
Orchard and Rowe both participated in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in late January, with Orchard being named the North’s Most Outstanding Player for his team-leading five tackles and one tackle for loss. Rowe finished the game with two total tackles.
In some of the early draft projections, Orchard and Poutasi are expected to be selected in either the second or third round, with Anderson, Clay and Rowe unknown. However, participating in the NFL Combine and the school’s pro day will provide a better understanding of where Utah’s players were fall in relation to the rest of the prospective draftees.
The five Utah players represent 43 Pac-12 players invited to this year’s combine. Each school in the Pac-12 was represented but Arizona, California and Colorado. Oregon had the most players invited to the combine with seven, followed by Stanford (6), USC (6), UCLA (5), Utah (5), Arizona State (4), Washington (4), Oregon State (3) and Washington State (3).
Related:
Nate Orchard: the undisputed leader of 'Sack Lake City'
As a skinny wide receiver coming from Highland High School, where his team won a state championship his senior year, Nate Orchard (then Fakahafua) embarked on a new path to the University of Utah in hopes of continuing his football career.The NFL Combine begins February 17 and goes through Feb. 23, with Utah’s Pro Day slated for March 26. The NFL Draft will take place April 30 - May 2.
Pac-12 players selected:
Arizona State - 4 (Jaelen Strong-WR, Jamil Douglas-OL, Marcus Hardison-DE, Damarious Randall-FS)
Oregon - 7 (Marcus Mariota-QB, Jake Fisher-OL, Hroniss Grasu-OL, Arik Armstead-DE, Tony Washington-OLB, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu-CB, Troy Hill-CB)
Oregon State - 3 (Sean Mannion-QB, Obum Gwacham-DE, Steven Nelson-CB)
Stanford - 6 (Ty Montgomery-WR, Andrus Peat-OL, Henry Anderson-DE, David Parry-NT, Alex Carter-CB, Jordan Richards-SS)
USC - 6 (Javorius Allen-RB, Nelson Agholor-WR, Leonard Williams-DT, Hayes Pullard-ILB, J.R. Tavai-OLB, Josh Shaw-CB)
UCLA - 5 (Brett Hundley-QB, Ellis McCarthy-DT, Owamagbe Odighizuwa-DE, Eric Kendricks-ILB, A.J. Jefferson-CB)
Utah - 5 (Dres Anderson-WR, Kaelin Clay-WR, Nate Orchard-DE, Eric Rowe-DB, Jeremiah Poutasi-OL)
Washington - 4 (Danny Shelton-NT, Hau’oli Kikaha-OLB, Shaq Thompson-OLB, Marcus Peters-CB)
WashingtonState - 3 (Connor Halliday-QB, Vince Mayle-WR, Xavier Cooper-DT)
