Former Utah tailback Mike Anderson felt he'd hit it off well in a 45-minute interview at the Indianapolis NFL combine with the Denver Broncos' running-backs coach. "I had a feeling Denver might draft me," said Anderson. "I had a good feeling when I left Indianapolis."
His feeling was tested a bit as the Broncos left him waiting until late in the sixth round, picking seven players ahead of Anderson but finally taking the 26-year-old former Marine with the 23rd pick of the sixth round, 178th overall — the middleman of the three Utes selected in the last two rounds on Sunday.
The Ute trio spent a lot of anxious hours watching the picks go by on TV Saturday and Sunday, but eventually Anderson, defensive end John Frank and defensive tackle Richard Seals got their rewards in becoming bona fide NFL draftees.
Frank, the Ute record-smasher and native Salt Laker who was named the Mountain West Conference most valuable defensive player, went to the Philadelphia Eagles as the 12th pick of the sixth round (178th overall).
Anderson, who set Las Vegas Bowl and Utah records with his 254 yards rushing and two TDs despite a broken hand, hopes to earn a spot behind Bronco Terrell Davis, the 1998 NFL player of the year.
And Seals, who came on strong in his senior season with 13 tackles-for-losses, nine sacks and 11 quarterback hurries, was taken by the New York Jets exactly one round after Frank, with the 12th pick of the seventh round (218th overall).
Frank sat through about 12-13 hours of the draft, watching TV at his parents' home, until he was picked. "It was awful. I'm sitting here with couch sores," he said Sunday. "I don't think I'll ever watch TV again." He was surprised to get the call from the Eagles, a team he'd never had any contact with until Sunday. They asked if he wanted to be selected by them. He said, "'Just take me quick!' When I hung up the phone, my family went nuts."
Frank said his father wore a Ute shirt and his mother was dressed in Ute red Sunday as they waited. "I'm sitting here in my pajamas. I'm almost embarrassed," a worn-out Frank said.
"Everything fell into place for me," said a most-grateful Anderson, admitting he got less than five hours sleep combined from Friday till Sunday because he was so nervous. He, too, watched every minute of the draft with his family. "I got the opportunity. That's all I want — that's all anybody can ask for. It's up to you to take advantage," said Anderson, delighted that Denver finally came through and sounding like a little kid as he anticipated his first meeting with Davis, who almost went to Utah.
Anderson said Davis and ex-Ute Jamal Anderson (Atlanta Falcons) are players to whom he looks for inspiration as both have become among the best at their position after being drafted in about the same place he was. And Denver is "right around the corner, right next door, close to Salt Lake City," Anderson said. He adds, "I think of them as one of the organizations with class."
Anderson is from South Carolina, but most of his family moved to Salt Lake for his years with the Utes. He said they've discussed it, and he probably will want them to return to South Carolina for his first season as a pro because, "I want to go focus on what I have to do to make the team." He has been told to report April 27.
Frank and Anderson were both projected as maybe fourth-round picks, and both did well in private workouts for a number of teams at the Ute practice facility but had age against them. Seals also worked out for several teams, as did some undrafted Utes like cornerbacks Jay Hill and Teneil Ethridge and running back Omar Bacon. They'll have to hope for free-agent invitations.
Frank, also 26 after having served an LDS mission to the Mediterranean, had the third-best bench-press total of any player in the draft, putting up 32 presses before giving in. At 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, he ran one of the best 40 times (4.84) by any lineman in the combine and then lowered that to the mid-4.6s in his personal workouts for scouts. He had a 37-inch vertical jump at the combine.
Not long after he was selected, Frank got a call from a not-yet-drafted Seals, who told him to pick the number that U. defensive-ends coach Steve Kaufusi wore when he played for Philadelphia (1988-91).