Hansen Headlines 11 Locals To Participate In NFL Draft Combine

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NFL announced the 338 prospects that will participate in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft Combine.

The Combine will be held February 26 to March 4 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The state of Utah will have 11 representatives that will participate in the Combine, 6 players from Utah, 2 high school football standouts that played college football out of the state. BYU, Utah State and Weber State will each have one player that will be a part of the Combine.

338 individual players, 1 unified dream

The 2019 NFL Combine participants list: https://t.co/6pGCLHW0pL pic.twitter.com/Hvjd17yRhJ

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) February 7, 2019

BYU

Linebacker Sione Takitaki had a great end to his career at BYU with 19 tackles against Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. He started all 13 games during his senior season as a captain and led the Cougars with 118 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. NFL.com has projected the BYU linebacker to go in the third round to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Utah

The Utes had four players invited to the combine last year that included wide receiver Darren Carrington, defensive end Kylie Fitts, defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei and offensive lineman Salesi Uhatafe.

Linebacker Cody Barton will go into the combine as the leading tackler for the Utes from the 2018 season with 116. He was named Pac-12 Honorable Mention after the season. Barton had 10 and a half tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 6 pass deflections.

Cody’s brother Jackson will head to the combine after a season where he started every game in 2018 at left tackle and was named first team All-Pac-12.

Safety Marquise Blair will represent the Utes at the NFL Draft Combine after two seasons in Salt Lake City. He was named second team All-Pac-12 after both seasons. Blair had 59 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups in 2018.

The 2017 Lou Groza award winner Matt Gay had a great three seasons with Utah. He was a consensus All-American twice, two time first team All-Pac-12 and finished his career at Utah with 56 career field goals, which is third all-time in program history.

Linebacker Chase Hansen was named an All-American and first team All-Pac-12 after the 2018 season. He collected 164 career solo tackles, which is tied for seventh in school history and 33 and a half tackles for loss. Hansen was a quarterback as a freshman, safety for two seasons and linebacker as a senior.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky is a three time All-American and was the Ray Guy Award winner in 2016. He was a finalist for the award three times, the only punter in award history. Wishnowsky had 175 career punts, which is fourth most in school history.

Utah State

Tight end Dax Raymond played three seasons with the Aggies before skipping his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. He played 32 games for the Aggies and had 72 catches for 873 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Congrats to @dax_raymond on being invited to the @NFL Combine!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/qxK2My01Xl

— USU Football (@USUFootball) February 2, 2019

Weber State

Offensive lineman Sua Opeta earned All-America honors by six different organizations. He played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl after a successful career with the Wildcats where he played 50 games.

Last season, defensive back Taron Johnson was invited to the combine.

Weber State’s Iosua Opeta invited to the NFL Draft Combine!

Congrats @iosuaopeta55!https://t.co/mpYMjKLBh3#WeAreWeber #BigSkyFB

— Weber State Football 🏈 (@weberstatefb) February 7, 2019

Local High School Standouts

Former Herriman High School offensive lineman Andre James has been invited to the Combine after starting 12 games at left tackle for UCLA. He decided to skip his senior season and enter his name in the NFL Draft.

Former Salem Hills High School linebacker Porter Gustin is heading to the combine after a productive career with USC. He had 109 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and 4 deflections in 31 games, with 17 starts.