SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Five years ago, Jason Boltus dreamed of playing quarterback at a major college, but coming out of high school he just didn’t have the numbers.
“Nobody would take that gamble because he didn’t have the statistics,” said Boltus’ dad, Greg, who played tight end at North Carolina State in the 1970s.
He does now. As Boltus nears the end of his senior season at Hartwick College, NFL scouts are plenty interested in the 6-foot-3, 225-pound star. Just about every team has sent somebody to the tiny campus (enrollment 1,480) in Oneonta, N.Y.
They come to see a player whose highlight tape shows him throwing a ball from the 25-yard line that hits a player’s facemask in the far end zone, then ricochets off the crossbar and back out to the 20.
“The Ravens are coming tomorrow, the Giants on Friday, and the Colts on Saturday,” Hartwick coach Mark Carr said at mid-week.
“I’m not shocked. I thought he was a legitimate NFL prospect after his junior year.”
In 2007, Boltus won the Melberger Award as the outstanding player in Division III. He was 237-of-443 for 3,986 yards and 38 touchdowns passing with 12 interceptions and also rushed for 418 yards and seven TDs, leading the Hawks to the NCAA playoffs for the first time.
That prompted Carr to call two scouting services. They held a junior day with Boltus and sent scouts to work him out.
“At the end of the day, they said, ‘Coach, you’re right.’ ” Carr said. “It’s kind of snowballed from there. The majority of them give positive feedback. We’ve never had anyone that’s drawn this type of attention.”
“It’s exciting. I’m glad how things turned out,” said Boltus, who is 203-for-336 for 3,265 yards and 35 touchdowns passing with eight interceptions and has rushed for 139 yards and two scores this season.
“You have to go out and just play. Everything will take care of itself. It’s a stressful process. You want to make sure you’re making the right choice.”
