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Watch: Seattle Seahawk Will Dissly reflects on the NFL Draft

Posted at 2:13 PM, May 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-05 15:46:10-04

BOZEMAN – Last week was one of the craziest in Will Dissly’s life. He was back home in Bozeman, watching the NFL Draft, where he was one of the top tight ends in his class.

“Going through the whole thing I didn’t want to have any expectations, I just wanted to enjoy the moment,” said Dissly.

The first round came on Thursday, and the University of Washington Husky didn’t hear his name. Friday rolled around, again, no call came to his phone. He woke up Saturday morning, knowing he had one last shot.

“Day 3 kind of hit and I was like, ‘Ok, here we go, this is going to be a fun day.’ And I was just really blessed to have a bunch of people share that moment with me,” said Dissly.

Round 4 kicked off the day and two tight ends were drafted out of the gate: Ian Thomas of Indiana went to the Panthers with the first pick and Chris Herndon just six selections later to the Jets. Twelve teams passed by until Dissly’s phone began to ring.

“I recognized the Renton 425 area code, so I kind of knew it was Washington,” Dissly recalled.

Dissly answered to a familiar voice. It was Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider.

“(Schneider said) ‘Hey, Uncle Will, we are going to take you here at (pick) 120.’ I kind of looked at the TV and I was like, ‘Wow, this is really a thing,’” Dissly smiled.

After speaking with head coach Pete Carroll, Dissly’s dream came true. The Seahawks took Dissly with the 20th pick in the fourth round. The former Bozeman Hawk is now a Seattle Seahawk. After playing for Washington in college, he would be right at home.

“I couldn’t dream of a better place. I mean, I picked it. That’s where I wanted to be for four years, and I’m just excited to be there for however many years to come,” said Dissly.

More and more, Montanans are finding their way into the NFL, and Dissly hopes it continues to be that way.

“We used to be known for kickers, we used to have a bunch of kickers in the NFL,” laughed Dissly. “But now we are getting recognized and hopefully this sparks a little scouting. Coaches just want guys who work really hard, and that’s kind of our blueprint to success. I’m excited. I’m proud to be where I’m from. And hopefully we can take that tradition and build on it.”