SALT LAKE CITY — Even though he caught 104 passes during his senior season for the Highland High Rams of Pocatello, no college football team was interested in 5-foot-7, 135-pound Griffin McNabb.
That is, if you don't count Montana Western and Carroll College.
Heck, not even the hometown Idaho State Bengals, who were a woeful 2-9 when McNabb was a senior in high school, could find room for a scholarship for the sure-handed receiver.
However, the University of Utah football team promised to give him a look, and four years after being ignored by nearly everyone, McNabb may be catching passes for a team that is ranked among the top 25 teams in the country, a couple of hundred spots ahead of Idaho State.
The 22-year-old McNabb is in the two-deep at receiver and has earned a spot on the travel squad of what may be the deepest receiving corps in Ute history.
He wowed everyone at the spring game when he caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, and this week receivers coach Aaron Roderick said McNabb "absolutely" would play a lot for the Utes this season. Coach Kyle Whittingham has also been singing his praises all month.
"Griff has been steady and solid since way back in spring," Whittingham said. "He's had a great camp."
So why did one of the better football teams in college football take a chance on McNabb when many smaller and less successful schools wouldn't?
It's another Whittingham-BYU connection.
It turns out that McNabb's father, Bill, was teammates with Whittingham at BYU nearly 30 years ago. The two have remained good friends, so Whittingham was more than willing to invite McNabb to walk on to the team, which he did after serving an LDS mission to Colombia.
"He was very productive in high school and caught over a hundred balls," said Whittingham. "He wanted to keep playing, and we welcomed him to our program."
McNabb returned home in the spring of 2009 and played for the Ute scout team last year. Although he is the shortest player on the team, along with starting receiver Jereme Brooks, McNabb has put on a few pounds of muscle since high school and is up to 168 pounds. Only freshman defensive back Wykie Freeman, at 160 pounds, is lighter.
Some of his teammates call McNabb "Wes Welker Jr." after the diminutive New England Patriots' receiver, who isn't much bigger at 5-9 and 185 pounds.
"I'm just working hard, trying to run great routes," said the soft-spoken McNabb, "I'm not very fast so I try to use my size to my advantage because if I run correct routes and do everything right, I can get open."
Both Whittingham and Roderick acknowledge that they probably wouldn't have given McNabb a second look out of high school based on his size and speed.
However, McNabb makes up for it in other ways.
"He does everything right, all the time," says Roderick. "He always puts himself in position for success. He has good technique and he's very tough. He's reliable — the same guy every day."
And what about his supposed lack of speed?
"He's not a real fast guy but has good quickness," Roderick says. "He's similar to Jereme Brooks in that he beats a lot of people with quickness and intelligence."
Roderick said Brooks, Shaky Smithson and Luke Matthews are the starting receivers right now, but McNabb is in the mix with DeVonte Christopher, JC transfer Reggie Dunn and redshirt freshman Fatu Moala as backups.
McNabb has been slowed a bit by shin splints, which are painful but don't keep a player off the field.
"We've had to limit his reps, but he can play in the game," says Roderick, speaking of Thursday's season-opener against Pitt.
Although he didn't return punts in high school, McNabb has also earned the backup returner spot behind senior Smithson.
"I've got to be ready to step in," McNabb. "I want to help out any way I can."
Just a redshirt freshman, don't be surprised if McNabb ends up being a big help for the Utes over the next four years.
e-mail: sor@desnews.com
Utes' season-opener
No. 15 Pittsburgh at No. 24 Utah
Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium
TV: VS Radio: 700 AMHeady
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