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Eric Rowe's father, Nelson, told The Tribune on Wednesday that until the end of Rowe's junior season, his family assumed he'd work a regular 9-to-5 for a couple years and return to school to earn his graduate degree.
That plan is on hold a while.
Rowe was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 47 overall pick of the NFL Draft on Friday, becoming Utah's 18th pick in the top two rounds, but just the second in the last five years (Star Lotulelei was taken No. 13 overall in 2013).
"He was the guy we wanted all along," said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly in a press conference Friday night. "I wouldn't have been surprised if he went a lot earlier."
Rowe told The Tribune by phone Friday night that the Eagles called him as soon as they made the deal with Miami: their 52nd-overall pick and two fifth-round picks for Rowe and the Dolphins' sixth-rounder.
They asked: Are you ready to be an Eagle?
"I was, man, I was too happy about that," Rowe said. "I felt like they showed the most interest out of all the teams."
A four-year starter at the U., Rowe was a freshman All-American at free safety and moved to cornerback as a senior, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors.
He recorded 261 tackles, and his 34 pass breakups are tied for third-most in school history.
Still, Rowe might have been a late-round draft pick if not for a busy offseason in which he showcased his versatility at the Senior Bowl and finished among his position's top performers in every category at the NFL Combine.
Kelly watched Rowe perform at Utah's pro day, and Rowe later visited a handful of teams with late first-round selections, including Philadelphia in late April.
Rowe said the Eagles told him they see him as a perimeter cornerback, not a free safety/cornerback hybrid or a nickel, as some had assumed.
Kelly said he feels Rowe "can do a lot of things," but that "he's that big, physical press corner we are looking for. He's over 205 pounds, long arms, physical, and I think that's why Utah moved him outside."
In recent weeks, Rowe moved up the boards of mock drafters, who reported that NFL teams were more enamored of Rowe than college football fans sometimes were.
Safeties coach Morgan Scalley acknowledged earlier this week that he perceived fans were sometimes frustrated with Rowe, who finished his collegiate career with just three interceptions. He wasn't the ball hawk that previous Utah safeties like Scalley, Eric Weddle and Robert Johnson were.
But Rowe — whose dad said he was a much better at basketball than football in high school — drew raves from NFL scouts for his natural athleticism, steady tackling and his professional demeanor.
Rowe graduated from the U. with a business degree. His dad is a chief accounting officer for a Houston energy company, and his mother, Denise, is a real estate investor.
Rowe watched the draft with family and, as you'd expect, there was yelling and frantic picture-taking when he got the call.
Among Utah defensive backs, Rowe is the third-highest selection in draft history. Norm Thompson was taken No. 17 by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971 and Weddle was taken No. 37 by the San Diego Chargers in 2006.
He's the seventh Ute drafted by the Eagles, and the first since Joe Kruger in 2013.
Teammate Nate Orchard was selected by Cleveland with the No. 51 overall pick, and Jeremiah Poutasi was taken No. 66 by the Tennessee Titans early in the third round.
Rounds Four through Seven will be held Saturday.
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
Utes taken in first, second rounds
1959 • Lee Grosscup, No. 10, N.Y. Giants
1962 • Ed Pine, No. 22, San Francisco
1965 • Roy Jefferson, No. 18, Pittsburgh
1971 • Norm Thompson, No. 17, St. Louis
1981 • Dean Miraldi, No. 55, Philadelphia
1982 • Darryl Haley, No. 55, New England
1995 • Luther Ellis, No. 20, Detroit
1998 • Kevin Dyson, No. 16, Tennessee
2001 • Andre Dyson, No. 60, Tennessee
2003 • Jordan Gross, No. 8, Carolina
2005 • Alex Smith, No. 1, San Francisco
2006 • Eric Weddle, No. 37, San Diego
2009 • Paul Kruger, No. 57, Baltimore
2009 • Sean Smith, No. 61, Miami
2010 • Zane Beadles, No. 45, Denver
2010 • Koa Misi, No. 40, Miami
2013 • Star Lotulelei, No. 14, Carolina
2015 • Eric Rowe, No. 47, Philadelphia; Nate Orchard, No. 51