Bolles gets Positive Vibe from MSU

Snow College offensive lineman Garett Bolles is 6-5, 295-pounds and the reigning Western States Football League offensive player of the year.

You heard that right, an offensive lineman was the "nearly unanimous" player of the year.

To Snow College head coach Britt Maughan, that wasn't a surprise at all.

"You watch any game we have played and he's the one person - and we've got three players in the top 50 junior college recruits - and he is by far the most explosive on film," Maughan said. "Each coach gets to nominate a guy, I nominated Garett and I had other coaches nominate other players on my team."

He added, "We all got to talk and then we voted and it was pretty much a unanimous decision. Very rarely, are you game planning against an offensive lineman, but you had to with Garett."

The Badgers had an impressive season overall, finishing the year ranked third in the NJCAA with a 9-1 record and a conference championship. Next up is the Salt City Bowl, one of only seven junior college bowl games and a potential college decision from Bolles.

Schools of interest include Michigan State, which he visited a week ago, Oregon, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona State, and Georgia.

"He's about finding a coach, a staff, and a place that is more about a person and the personal development of a player and individual than maybe the glitz and the glam that attract many top recruits," Maughan said. "He took the trip to Michigan State because they showed interest and he liked talking to the coaches."

He added, "And part of the draw and the allure is it's the Big Ten and that's where lineman want to be."

The coaches and players really stood out to Bolles about his trip to East Lansing.

"I know he is heavy on how he is treated by coaches and also by the players, and that was one of the more positive trips he's been on as far as the payers and the environment," Maughan said. "And enjoying what they have created and what they do. He walked away with a very positive view of Michigan State."

A decision is likely coming soon for Bolles, after official visits to see the Spartans, Oregon and Arkansas.

"He will want to make a decision in about two weeks because there is the early junior college signing day. I don't know if he is really committed to getting done by then but I know he would like to know, and he is whittling it down," Maughan said.

Whatever school that Bolles chooses, is getting a lineman who is ready for the division one ranks.

"The greatest thing about him is that he is so young in the game, he didn't play a lot and barely graduated high school. He was a young man who was struggling and out here in Utah he went to serve his Mormon mission for two years, and I think that two years really helped him mature," Maughan said.

The rest, was history for Bolles and Snow College.

"He came home and didn't have the grades to play at BYU so he came down to talk to me and I told him he could come down and try the team even with no film, within two weeks we realized he was our best player. He knows what he wants and he will work hard and everything he learns right now he soaks it all in and learns from it," Maughan said.