With the NFL Draft starting three months from today, Hermiston High School graduate Jared Zabransky may have increased his stock with a storybook finish on his college career in front of a national TV audience.

But less than a month from now, Zabransky will have an opportunity to increase it more at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback said he’s heard different things from scouting experts about where he may end up in the draft, maybe the second-biggest event on an NFL fan’s calendar behind the Super Bowl.

“Right now, the NFL is figuring out what personnel they have,” said Zabransky, who grew up in Stanfield. “Right now, it’s hard to tell.”

Scott Wright’s Draft Countdown (nfldraftcountdown. com) and Draft Ace (draftace.com) have the former Bulldog ranked 13th and 17th among quarterbacks, but not on the main mock draft boards. A participant on a draft blog even suggested Zabransky is the quarterback the Detroit Lions – 3-13 this season – need.

“It really depends what teams feel like they need,” Boise State quarterbacks coach Bryan Harsin said. “I think that’ll be key to his success.”

But, where does Zabransky want to go?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’ll have more to think about when that day comes. I just want to put myself in a position to get more training.

“If I had a choice, I’d like to stay in the North. Seattle’s a great place to play, and hopefully I’ll play close to home, but I have no preference.”

Zabransky had another opportunity to show his stuff to the nation since throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns in an amazing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl. In the Jan. 14 Hula Bowl at Honolulu, he was 6 of 11 for 63 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Kai (West) team in an 18-10 loss to the Aina (East).

“It was quite an honor being with some of the nation’s best,” Zabransky said. “The weather was unbelievable. Just really exciting to get an opportunity like that.”

Zabransky said how he did at the Hula Bowl won’t have an effect one way or another on where he gets drafted.

“(The Hula Bowl) probably prepared me more for what I’m going to see at the combine,” he said.

What scouts will see in him at the combine is “a winner,” Harsin said.

“The first thing that stands out is that he’s a winner,” he said. “Look at his record (33-5 as a three-year starter) and the things he’s done. He doesn’t measure up; he’s not 6-4, 225 pounds. Just the size is not there, but his arm is good, better than most.

“The one thing he has that others don’t is he has mobility in the pocket. He’s shown he can create some plays by moving out of the pocket.”

That Zabransky rebounded from throwing an interception Oklahoma returned for a go-ahead touchdown to engineering two scoring drives for the win, shows teams he can win in the clutch on a big stage. It also says a lot about his confidence, Harsin said.

“In a situation where you’re like the guy who let everybody down, you’re saying to yourself: ‘I have a minute left; I need to do something to make things up,’ ” Harsin said. “I think that was a defining moment for himself. It’s not that he did that, it’s how he did that. It’s so easy to say, but 10 times harder to do.”

Meanwhile, Zabransky is sitting out this semester of classes at Boise State and has been training at a facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., where his agents at LLN sports agency are based. (He hopes to complete his bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2008.) He finished his move after a Jan. 20 parade in Boise held in honor of the BSU football team.

Zabransky said he met his agents while he was in Arizona preparing for the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale. He said LLN is the same group that a few years ago represented his cousin, Justin Ena of Hermiston, who spent the past five years with the Eagles and Titans.

Whatever happens to Zabransky in the near future, he’s always believed he can succeed on any level.

“I don’t know what instills that (belief) in a kid,” Zabransky said. “The older you get, the more intangibles you see. But I always felt like it was capable.

“It’s just my manner personally to strive to be as good as I can be.”