Zach Wilson: The Bronco Who Got Away

It's a tale older than time, man or woman; we all wonder about the one who got away. Years from now, the name Zach Wilson will conjure up images of what could've been if Wilson had kept his commitment to play quarterback for Boise State.

Years later, Wilson is destined to be the number two pick in the NFL Draft this Thursday. He guided BYU to an impressive 11-1 in 2020 and has gone from an afterthought to perhaps the quarterback with the most upside in this year's draft.

Before he was a Cougar, Zach Wilson was a Boise State Bronco for too short of a time. The day was Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, when the Broncos lost perhaps one of the most significant quarterback prospects in the Mountain West. BSU coach Bryan Harsin received the call from Wilson's high school coach that he wouldn't be coming to the Blue, reports the Deseret News.

2017 was the year of Montell Cozart and Brett Rypien. The Broncos would finish the season 11-3, winning the Mountain West Championship and beating Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Broncos coaching staff were so confident in landing Wilson that they hadn't recruited another quarterback.

Wilson comes from a family of Utes, not Cougars. Utah passed on him, preferring to believe that their internal candidates were superior to anything Wilson could provide them. BYU began their serious run at Wilson only after BYU Icon Ty Detmer was relieved of his duties as Cougar Offensive Coordinator.

BYU was not a sure thing as other Power Five schools offered Wilson a chance to play grown man football. His family was not a fan of the Cougars since they took so long to make him an offer. The game-changer in Wilson's timeline was that he wanted to play close to home, he told the Deseret News.

Wilson's coach at Corner Canyon High School in Utah explained to the Deseret News how BYU pulled off the recruiting comeback. “I was really surprised that BYU came in because I thought Zach was pretty solid with Boise State,” said Kjar.“BYU hadn’t really recruited him at all. Then they came in and offered him, almost out of the blue. I honestly thought that it was too little, too late. I didn’t think he would give them the time of day. Like, ‘There is no way he will do it.’”

Analyst Chris Simms tells the brother from another podcast/YouTube that Wilson is better than Trevor Lawrence.   He compares Wilson to Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. You can see his analysis in the video below.

Fortunes have changed for Zach Wilson, BYU, and Boise State since that fateful day in 2017. Bryan Harsin is now at Auburn, BYU is looking for a replacement for Wilson, and so is Boise State. However, for a brief moment when Wilson is selected next Thursday by the New York Jets, some in Bronco Nation will still ponder, what could've been?