Last Friday night is one that Brady Christensen, his family, his friends, and his long-time fans will never forget. The Bountiful High graduate and star offensive tackle for Brigham Young University was chosen in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He was the 70th player chosen overall in this year’s NFL Draft, and the first BYU offensive lineman drafted since Scott Young was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for the 25-year-old Bountiful native, who became a new father when his wife Jordynn gave birth to their son Ledger on March 16. At his first press event in Charlotte on Saturday, after taking a 6 a.m. flight to meet the media at his new home, Christensen joked that Ledger “has ginormous feet! We got a lot of baby socks for him but they’re all too small, and the next size up is a little baggie on him. Guess that’s not the biggest news here today.”

It was a big day for the BYU football program, with five players drafted and seven more signed as free agents. Of course quarterback Zach Wilson was the big news – chosen number 2 by the New York Jets. Christensen will now be working to protect newly acquired Panther quarterback Sam Darnold, who the Jets traded in anticipation of drafting Wilson.

Despite the early morning flight, Christensen was engaging with the Charlotte media, saying he will now get out of debt and “maybe buy a set of golf clubs I’ve been looking at.” He completed a stellar season for the Cougars, who went 11-1 and finished ranked 11th in postseason polls, but it may have been his performance at BYU’s pro-day in April that tipped the scale. The 6-6, 300 pound Christensen did a standing broad jump of 10 feet 4 inches, blowing away the previous NFL Combine mark of 10-1 set by Iowa’s Tristin Wirfs in 2020. Scouts were wide-eyed after seeing that leap. He also ran a 4.89 second 40-yard dash.

Following his graduation from Bountiful High, he served a two-year church mission to New Zealand before attending BYU. It’s a well-known story that for some time, he wasn’t sure he was good enough to play for the Cougars. That story is long gone by now. Last season, he was BYU’s first consensus All-American since 2001.

He’ll be joined in Charlotte by former BYU receiver Micah Simon, who signed a free-agent contract last month. NFL training camps will open in July prior to the league’s longest season ever – with 17 regular season games scheduled.