SALT LAKE CITY — When John Penisini saw several Utah teammates coming off the board during Friday’s second day of the 2020 NFL draft, he just had to give a shoutout.
“Uboyz baby,” he tweeted.
Penisini got his reward, too, when the Detroit Lions selected the defensive tackle in the sixth round with the 197th overall pick Saturday. He’s the seventh former Ute taken in the 2020 draft.
The West Jordan High product who played one year at Snow College was a stabilizing force on the defensive front for the Utes, particularly over the past two seasons, when he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in back-to-back years. Penisini finished his Utah career with 80 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Penisini becomes the third West Jordan alum to reach the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, and just the second to be drafted — defensive end Travis Hall, who played at BYU, was a sixth-round pick by Atlanta in 1995.