SALT LAKE CITY — Garett Bolles spent the Denver Broncos’ bye week on the football field that helped him launch that NFL career.
“I love it here,” said the offensive lineman, who signed autographs, posed for pictures and even offered a monster hug to one patient young man before Utah kicked off against Stanford Saturday night. “This is the greatest university in the world, and it really truly is. I’m just beyond blessed that I get to represent this university at the highest level.” The Westlake High alum played for Snow College after serving an LDS mission to Colorado Springs, and then transferring to Utah last season. He was a first-round pick for the Denver Broncos and started as a rookie this season. He said his time at Utah is a huge factor in him earning a starting job his first season in the NFL.
“It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it was going to be because this program prepares you so much for the NFL,” he said. “It gives you the resources you need physically wise and mentally wise, and I think that’s why I’m starting so fast.”
Bolles said his advice to his former teammates was the same that was offered to him when he was wearing crimson.
“Good luck and get nasty,” he said. “That’s what they used to tell me when I was here.”
One of his favorite aspects of playing professional football is that it gives him the opportunity to inspire young people, just as others players once inspired him.
“I love giving back,” he said. “Little kids and the generation that has to grow up with this world changing so fast, and now I get to give back to the people who gave to me; I get to give them the love and support. I get to show them the way to get to where they want to reach their dreams.”
He said he sees himself as a resource for “anyone that needs help or encouragement. I’m just letting people know I’m there for them. That’s how people were there for me.”
Bolles said his wife, Natalie, and his son, Kingston, have changed his perspective on playing football.
“I play for them,” he said of his wife and 9-month-old son. “In college you play for your brothers. … That’s how the NFL is, but it’s a job. … I get to play the game I love for the people that love me, and I’m doing everything possible to make them proud.”
Former Utah safety Marcus Williams, who is playing for the New Orleans Saints, was also on the sideline of the Utah game Saturday night.