Published: January 07, 2009 11:00 pm      

Boltus headed to NFL Combine

Hartwick senior Jason Boltus will be in select company next month.

The standout quarterback has been invited to the NFL Combine, an annual six-day workout for prospective professional players that begins Feb. 23 in Indianapolis, according to the website www.nfldraftscout.com.

More than 300 players attend the workout annually. Boltus was the lone Division III quarterback to be invited.

According to Consensus Draft Services, Boltus is the 23rd-ranked quarterback nationally of those eligible for this year's draft.

Boltus earned Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Northwest Region Division III Player of the Year honors and teammate Jack Phelan was named to the first-team Tuesday.

This marks the latest in a string of postseason honors for Boltus and Phelan, who led the Hawks to a 7-3 season that included a 70-68 loss to Brockport in the ECAC Northwest Bowl game.

They helped the Hawks become the top-ranked passing team in Division III this past season, averaging 397.3 yards. Hartwick trailed only Division III champion Mount Union in total offense, with its 544.2-yard per game output falling just short of Mount Union's 546.1.

Hartwick averaged 43.9 points this season, which ranked third nationally.

Boltus has already been named to the Associated Press Little All-American team, and the Empire 8 and d3football.com East Region Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive time. He was also a regional finalist for the Gagliardi Award for the second straight season. Boltus broke the NCAA Division III record for all-time yards and led the country in total offense and passing yards per game, duplicating the feat from his junior season.

Phelan caught 70 of Boltus' passes this season for 1,533 yards en route to being named an American Football Coaches' Association All-American, an Associated Press Little All-American, and a d3football.com First Team All-American.

His 26 touchdown catches in 2008 equaled a 10-year-old NCAA Division III record and he led the nation in receiving yards for the second straight year.