BYU Quarterback Zach Wilson Declares for 2021 NFL Draft

Zach Wilson threw for 3,699 yards and 33 touchdowns during his junior season and is likely to be a first-round pick.
BYU Quarterback Zach Wilson Declares for 2021 NFL Draft
BYU Quarterback Zach Wilson Declares for 2021 NFL Draft /

After a record-setting junior season that resulted in a No. 8 finish in the Heisman Trophy vote, BYU junior quarterback Zach Wilson announced Friday he is declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Content is unavailable

“To the greatest fan base in the world. Thank you for the three best years of my life," Wilson wrote in a statement. "On our own home turf, or on the road, there was no question that the Blue Wave would be fierce. BYU is a special place. I’m forever blue.”

zach wilson
Rick Bowmer/USA Today Network

In 12 games this season, Wilson completed a school-record 73.4% of his passes for 3,699 yards, 33 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He led the Cougars to an 11–1 record and a win over UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl, in which he threw for 425 yards and three scores. He also added two touchdowns on the ground.

A three-year starter, Wilson threw for 56 touchdowns and 7,659 yards in 30 career games, including a 2-1 record in bowl games. He's considered one of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft class, and will likely be taken in the first round.

If selected among the first 32 picks, Wilson would be the third BYU quarterback taken in the first round in program history, joining Jim McMahon (No. 5 in 1982) and Marc Wilson (No. 15 in 1980). Hall of Famer Steve Young was picked first overall in the 1984 supplemental draft. Only two BYU players have been taken in the first round since 2000: defensive end Ezekiel Ansah (No. 5 in 2013) and linebacker Rob Morris (No. 28 in 2000).


Published
Nick Selbe
NICK SELBE

Nick Selbe is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about baseball and college sports. Before joining SI in March 2020 as a breaking/trending news writer, he worked for MLB Advanced Media, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. Selbe received a bachelor's in communication from the University of Southern California.