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SALT LAKE CITY — The NFL draft begins Thursday, but only one local player is expected to hear his named called in the first round in primetime.
Garett Bolles’ career at Utah was shorter than expected — he played just one season on the Utes’ offensive line and helped them to a 9-4 record and a win over Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl before a trip to the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.95 40-yard dash.
Even after just one year of Division I college football, Bolles is on plenty of draft boards.
"I'm just grateful to go around and see all 32 teams and get to know them and see their type of organizations and what it represents,” Bolles said. “It's too early to tell, so I'm just going to put a smile on myself and get ready for the draft."
The 24-year-old Bolles is already older than many players still in the draft, thanks to a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Colorado Springs.
He was also an NJCAA first-team All-American at Snow College, the No. 1 junior college prospect in 2015 by Scout.com, and the Western States Football League offensive player of the year.
Now he’s ready to make history: Bolles will be on hand at the draft’s green room Thursday night, and he could be Utah’s first primetime pick since Alex Smith in 2005.
"It's a great honor to represent this great university that has done so much for me this past year,” Bolles said. “I’m grateful to be there with my family; this has been a dream come true. I'm looking forward to walking on stage, shaking the commissioner's hand and getting to my city and getting work."
He won’t be alone, either; Kyle Whittingham will also be at the draft, something the Utes’ head coach has never experienced.
"I'm excited about that, and congratulations to Garett," Whittingham said. "To think where he was a year ago to where he is right now is incredible."
Whittingham’s support — and that of the university — means a lot to Bolles. No matter where he goes, he says he’ll always be a Ute.
"I bleed red, and I wish them nothing but the best," Bolles said. "They have all the greatest coaches in the country, and they are going to do great this season."
