Zane Taylor’s college football career came to an end on Dec. 22, when the University of Utah Utes lost to the Boise State Broncos 26-3 in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl, but Taylor says he is already looking ahead to a possible future as a professional football player.

Taylor, a native of Moab, is one of more than 300 collegiate players nationwide who have been invited to participate in the National Football League Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) in Indianapolis in late February. The intense four-day event is essentially an extended job interview, during which players will be put through a series of physical and mental tests and evaluated by personnel from all 32 NFL teams, including top executives, coaching staffs, scouts, and medical personnel. Participants in the scouting combine are vying to be selected in the 2011 NFL draft, which will take place in New York City in April.

Starting in early January and for the next several weeks, Taylor will be working out and training at a specialized gym in Carlsbad, Calif.

“I will work out six days a week, focusing on speed, strength and mastering the drills I will be put through in the combine,” said Taylor, who signed with sports agent Steve Caric following the bowl game in Las Vegas on Dec. 22.

Taylor, a 6-foot-2, 309-pound center, was a three-year starter for the Utes football squad. Utah posted a 33-6 overall record those three years, counting bowl games. The outgoing senior class was the winningest team in school history, with a 42-10 overall record.

Taylor also recently was named to the 2010 all-Mountain West Conference first team, joining three other Utah teammates – offensive lineman Caleb Schlauderaff, placekicker Joe Phillips and defensive end Christian Cox – in receiving first-team honors. The all-conference team was selected by the nine league coaches and a media panel.

The Utes’ loss to Boise State at Las Vegas ended Utah’s bowl winning streak at nine games and tied the Utes for the second-longest bowl winning streak ever. Florida State won 11 bowl games in a row from 1985 to 1996 and Southern California won nine in a row from 1923 to 1945. The Utes now have a 12-4 all-time record in bowl games.

Taylor recently completed his studies at the University of Utah, earning a bachelor’s degree in consumer health, with an emphasis in health promotion and education and a minor in geography. He is a 2006 graduate of Grand County High School. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Kemrey Wells Taylor, a 2007 graduate of GCHS.

“I love the University of Utah,” Taylor said. “Besides asking Kemrey to marry me, it was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve made relationships that will last a lifetime.”