Former Utes offensive lineman and current Denver Broncos starting left tackle Garett Bolles spent a large chunk of this weekend on campus for homecoming. The Broncos have a bye this weekend.
“I’m just out here showing the the boys that this is a university that can help you reach your dreams as long as you put in the time and the effort and take care of the classroom, and [I’m here] to just come back and pay tribute to all the loved ones that helped me get to this point, all the academic people, all my coaching staff, all my teammates that are still here,” Bolles said. “I’m just very grateful to be back.”
The football program’s official Twitter account posted a picture of Bolles, his wife Natalie and their son along with Utes coach Kyle Whittingham. Saturday morning, Bolles, who is from Lehi and attended Snow College before coming to Utah, spoke to the university’s lacrosse team during halftime of its Red/White scrimmage.
The Broncos’ first-round draft pick this past spring, Bolles won the starting left tackle job out of training camp. He credited the Utah program for getting him ready. He said he still watches the Utes play every Saturday, and he and Broncos running back Devontae Booker, another former Ute, always talk about their former team.
“The line is doing great,” Bolles said of the Utes offensive line featuring four new starters. “When I left and everyone asked me is the line going to be OK, I said absolutely because of coach [Jim] Harding and the man that he is, the teacher he is of the game and the man he is to help us become better men. I love coach Harding. I’m where I’m at because of him, and I always will tell people that.”
Esteemed visitors
This was a big recruiting weekend for the Utes with a bevy of top high school players on campus for official visits. The group included four-star quarterback commit Jack Tuttle from San Diego as well as Desert Hills’ 6-foot-5, 335-pound star offensive lineman Penei Sewell.
The two actually played against each other earlier this season when Desert Hills went to California to play Tuttle’s Mission Hills squad.
“I’ve been up here a couple of times so the home feeling is there and the family atmosphere is there,” Sewell said. “When I was hanging out with the boys and the coaches, the whole environment just felt so comfortable.”
Sewell, one of the most highly-touted recruits ever from Utah, said he has a visit to Alabama lined up in two weeks and plans to visit UCLA, though he didn’t have a date scheduled for that trip.
Among the other recruits on campus were some talented wide receivers including Erik Ezukanma, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound four-star wide receiver from Forth Worth, Texas, and Solomon Enis, 6-foot-4, 191-pound four-star receiver from Phoenix, Ariz.
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