Will these former BYU football players earn NFL opportunities? Desert News

While developments in the first round held Thursday night were encouraging for BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis' hopes of getting taken, it likely won't be a standout NFL draft for the Cougars' 2024 pro football prospects.

Offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia is a slot likely to be filled Friday night when the second and third rounds are held in Detroit and Slovis and punter Ryan Rehkow could hear their names called Saturday, according to some mock drafts. Slovis' prospects increased Thursday when six of the first 12 players drafted were quarterbacks.

Mel Kiper Jr. ESPN had Slovis ranked No. 3 next best quarterbacks available list on the way to the Friday selections.

The Deseret News has profiled Suamataia, Slovis and Rehkow in recent days.

Are there any other BYU players who could hear their names called?

Don't sleep on linebacker Max Tooley, the Bountiful High product who spent six seasons in Provo after a church mission to London.

Max is sitting there (on the edge), said his agent, Evan Brennan of United Athlete Sports Agency. I mean, if he was two years younger, he'd probably get drafted for sure. Even then he is there.

Tooley turns 26 this year after playing in 60 games for the Cougars. He made 311 tackles, forced two fumbles, broke up 15 passes, had seven interceptions and recorded two pick-sixes in his brilliant college career.

“We've had a lot of interest in him,” Brennan said. If he (isn't drafted) he becomes a highly sought after priority free agent.

Brennan said teams are intrigued by Tooley's ability to play on special teams, especially in kickoff and punt coverage. He showed up at the Big 12 pro days in Frisco, Texas, weighing almost 230 pounds, then ran a 4.58 40-yard dash.

The biggest was his weight (increased). A lot of teams had him as a very light prospect, Brennan said. So he ran that (40 times) at just under 230 pounds. Teams were like, Oh, we knew he could run. But we didn't think he could do that with that weight. That is very useful for Max.

Brennan said Tooley is a linebacker in the eyes of NFL scouts and no fewer than 27 teams have inquired about him.

Brennan also represents BYU cornerbacks Eddie Heckard and Kamden Garrett, and says both transfers from Weber State should get free-agent opportunities.

Heckard suffered a Jones fracture, a broken bone on the pinky toe side of his foot, during the season and then aggravated it while training for the draft. That forced the Las Vegas product to miss practices and testing for scouts in Frisco, but Heckard is now healthy and fully cleared and ready to star at minicamp, Brennan said.

He'll sign somewhere, Brennan said. He hasn't had the buzz like Max, but his film is good and he's been on there. Eddie gets a chance. We've had position coaches call on him. He's going to training camp.

Brennan said the 5-11, 182-pound Garrett tested better in Frisco than some teams expected, including a time of 7.01 seconds in the three-cone shuttle.

Kam doesn't quite have the (game) tape that Eddie has, but (Big 12 pro day) definitely put him on the map and he'll still have a great shot, Brennan said.

Other former BYU players from the 2023 roster who have gone through the pre-draft process and are hoping for opportunities to further their careers include running backs Aidan Robbins and Deion Smith, offensive lineman Paul Maile, tight end Isaac Rex, linebacker AJ Vongphachanh and defensive linemen Atunaisa Mahé and Jackson Cravens.

Former BYU players who finished their careers at other schools, Baylors Clark Barrington (OL) and Colorado States Dallin Holker (TE), are also hoping to be drafted or free agent opportunities.