Football

Boltus Invited to NFL Scouting Combine, Texas Versus Nation Game

ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick's Jason Boltus (Baldwinsville, NY) will get an opportunity to showcase his talents to professional scouts and National Football League personnel at two ideal venues in the upcoming months as the senior quarterback has been invited to both the NFL's Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN and the 3rd Annual Texas Versus Nation All-Star Challenge in El Paso, TX.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Jason," said Hartwick Head Coach Mark Carr after receiving the news. "As a college football player trying to make it to the National Football League, there's really two big things that you want to happen to get the process started - play in an all-star bowl game and receive an invitation to the combine. Both have materialized for Jason."

The Texas Versus Nation Game will be the first event on Boltus' docket, which will take place Saturday, January 31st at 3 p.m. (EST) at Sun Bowl Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas El Paso. The game pits the top collegiate seniors originally from Texas or who play college football in Texas against the best players from around the country.

Up to this point, Boltus is one of just four players invited to play in this season's game hailing from a non-Division I or I-AA team. He is also currently the only Division III player receiving an invitation.

Participants are selected from a rigorous evaluation and selection process with only the elite players in the country participating in the event. Last year, 124 players took part in the Texas Versus Nation All-Star Challenge with 102 of them receiving opportunities to participate in NFL training camps.

CBS College Sports Television will air the game live beginning at 1 p.m.

Following the game in El Paso, Boltus will ready himself for the NFL Scouting Combine slated for Feb. 18-24 at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. He will join roughly 300 of the top football players in the country with coaching staffs, team executives, and medical personnel from all 32 NFL teams in attendance to evaluate players prior to the draft in late April.

Each participating player will attend one of four four-day time slots according to their position on the field. Over the course of the participants' four-day period, they will undergo extensive physical workouts and drills, as well as psychological testing and medical examinations. In addition, players will be interviewed by executives, scouts, and coaches from each of the NFL teams.

"It's such an honor for Jason to be invited," Carr added. "Typically between 20-25 elite college quarterbacks are asked to participate and to be one part of that group is really quite phenomenal."

Boltus finished the last chapter of his four-year career at Hartwick in November as the all-time NCAA Div. III leader in career yards with 14,231 (13,276 passing, 955 rushing). His career passing yardage puts him 2nd in Division III history and his 134 career touchdown passes ranks 3rd all-time.

Boltus' numbers also place him in the top 10 in the history of the NCAA which includes all four football divisions (FBS, FCS, II, III). He ranks sixth all-time in touchdown passes, 9th in total yards, and 10th in career passing yards.

In 2008, he was as a Gagliardi Regional Finalist for the second straight time as well as the Empire 8 and d3football.com East Region Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was also selected as an Associated Press Little All-American and was tabbed the ECAC Northwest Player of the Year.

For the second straight year in 2008, he led Division III football in total offense (415.5 ypg) and passing yards per game (393.40 ypg). He was tops in the country this season in points responsible for averaging 28.80 points per contest, finished second in total passing yards, and third in passing efficiency.