By Cody Stark
The road was tough and full of obstacles, but former Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
After two record-setting seasons as the Bearkats signal caller, Bomar is expected to hear his name called this weekend at the 2009 NFL Draft, which begins with the first two rounds today at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
“It’s been fun and a dream come true,” Bomar said Wednesday afternoon. “On one hand, it has been stressful. It’s been a long process and I’m ready to see were I’m going.”
Since playing in his final game at Sam Houston State back in November, Bomar has gone through a lot leading up to this weekend.
First came the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in January. Bomar was one of three quarterbacks selected to play for the North and got to work for several days with coaches from around the NFL.
Bomar completed 6-of-11 passes for 78 yards and led the North on a field goal drive in his first series.
“The Senior Bowl was cool,” Bomar said. “I thought it went well. It was fun being around the coaches and the players. I had coaches coming up to me at the Combine telling me that I did a good job at the Senior Bowl.
“It was tough once the game rolled around because you would play, then sit, then play. (Each quarterback) got two series then it was based on the number of plays we ran to see who would get to play. Because we were moving the ball well when I was in there, I didn’t get back in until the end of the game.”
After the Senior Bowl Bomar turned his attention to the NFL Scouting Combine where the top prospects for the draft work out and interview with coaches and executives from around the NFL.
Bomar hit the gym four times a week to get ready. He responded by running a 4.85 40-yard dash and had the fastest time among quarterbacks in the 20-yard shuttle run.
But there wasn’t any way to prepare for the interviews, which Bomar said was the toughest part.
“The Combine was long. It was four days of medical stuff and interviews and we didn’t work out until the last day,” Bomar said. “When you worked out, everybody was sitting in the stands watching you so it was a little intimidating. But it was nothing like the interviews.
“It was you sitting in a room with 12 guys all staring at you asking questions. That was nerve-racking.”
Bomar impressed several teams enough to garner private workouts. He worked out for the New England Patriots at Bowers Stadium, where he also had his Pro Day which drew more scouts.
Bomar also worked out for the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys.
“I have had several teams take an interest in me,” Bomar added. “I’ve visited with the (St. Louis) Rams, the Jets and I went and worked out for the Cowboys. (Dallas) had a workout for area players and I stayed and talked with head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
“The scouts have told me that they like that I’m athletic. They said I have a strong arm, I’m competitive and tough.”
Those traits are exactly what Sam Houston State fans got to see the past two seasons after Bomar transferred from Oklahoma in 2006.
He showed his athletism by becoming the Bearkats’ all-time leader in total offense with 6,159 yards and finished second in the nation in the Football Championship Subdivision with 354.2 total yards per game as a senior.
The two-time All-Southland Conference selection showed off his arm by throwing for 5,564 yards in 19 games to become Sam Houston’s all-time passing leader. He averaged 335.5 yards last season, which ranked fourth in the nation. He threw for 3,355 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2008.
Bomar, who graduated in December, showed he was tough when he rebounded from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee as a junior to put up the kind of numbers he did in 2008.
So some team is going to get a real competitive player this weekend.
“I don’t care where I go, it doesn’t matter,” Bomar said. “I want to get in a good situation. People get caught up in going high so they can get more money, but you want to be put in a situation to succeed. I want to go to a team that has good coaches that can help me develop into a good player.”
While it’s anybody’s guess as to where Bomar might land, there are plenty of so-called experts that have him all over the board. There are projections that have him going from as early as the second round to as late as the sixth. The last Sam Houston State player to get drafted was quarterback Josh McCown, who became the Bearkats’ highest selected player when he went in the third round to Arizona in 2002.
So where does Bomar think he will be selected?
“I think I’ll go somewhere in the third round,” Bomar added. “My agent thinks late second round, but it will probably be in the third.”
Since the day he first picked up a football, this has been Bomar’s dream. He has seen the ups and downs and been through stuff that would probably make a lot of people give up.
But he kept moving forward and now he can sit back and enjoy it.
“I’m just going to hang out with family and friends this weekend at my sister’s house in Fort Worth,” Bomar said. “Nothing big. I want the people close to me to be there because this is something I have been waiting my whole life for.”
