Cole Bishop, one of the most dependable safeties to ever suit up for the University of Utah, declared for the NFL Draft on Friday. The junior safety played in 35 career games with 29 starts. He was recently a 2023 College Football Network Second Team All-American.

This wasn’t an easy decision for Bishop. He’s coached by one of the best safety coaches in college football and NIL can be enticing. However, the three-time Pac-12 All-Conference honoree didn’t have much left to prove.

During the 2023 season, he sacrificed for the team by playing free safety, despite strong safety being his likely future NFL position. Still, the honors have flooded in. He led the secondary with 60 tackles, 6.5 TFL, and 3.0 sacks. He recorded five passes defended with two interceptions and three pass breakups. He also led the team with 9.5 third-down stops.

Over Bishop’s Utah career, he had 39 QB pressures, 8 sacks, 197 tackles, 21.5 TFL, 3 INT, 12 PBU, and has given up 59 catches on 91 targets (64.8%). His best year by PFF standards was 2022, when he was playing his true position. PFF rated him 65.5 on 587 snaps in 2023, 75.5 on 740 snaps in 2022, and 62.8 on 399 snaps in 2021.

With the loss of Bishop, the defense will not only have big shoes to fill from a production standpoint, but from a leadership standpoint as well. Bishop is a film room junkie who put in endless hours of watching film that he wasn’t required to do. That preparation showed on the field with not just him, but how he read the opposing offenses and guided his teammates. These are all traits that should lead to a long and successful NFL career.

The departure of Bishop leaves a thin 2024 safety group, especially if Sione Vaki takes a similar path. Bishop will also not be playing in the upcoming SRS Las Vegas Bowl.

Good luck to Cole. An NFL safety room is about to get better just by having his presence in their locker room.