POCATELLO — As a 17-year-old freshman, Skyler Phillips played his first college road game at Washington’s newly renovated stadium, in front of 67,000 Husky fans and against future NFL stars.

Five years later, as a 22-year-old Idaho State University graduate, Phillips is weeks away from joining his past opponents at the next level.

Phillips, who starred on the Bengals’ offensive line from 2013-17, was in Pocatello this week participating in ISU’s pro day as he puts the finishing touches on preparing for the NFL Draft. Since he left the Gate City last winter to begin training for his professional career, football has taken Phillips across the country and back.

First was the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, in January. Then, the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in late February and early March. Next, on April 26-28 at the Dallas Cowboys’ state-of-the-art football palace, Phillips may be the first Idaho State player selected in the draft since Jared Allen 14 years ago.

If his name isn’t one of the 256 called that weekend at AT&T Stadium, Phillips has been told he’s a sure bet to get signed as an undrafted free agent.

All this for someone who played two years of high school football and earned his stripes against the likes of Danny Shelton, Shaq Thompson and Marcus Peters before he was a legal adult.

“I didn’t get recruited highly and I didn’t get a signing day,” Phillips said Friday at Holt Arena. “I had the same shot then to make a team, and I’m going to have another shot now. … Just as long as I learn my playbook and stay healthy, I’ll be playing professional football.”

Phillips’ standout career at ISU culminated with a first-team all-Big Sky Conference selection and spots on five FCS all-America teams after the 2017 season. He picked up an invitation to the Senior Bowl, signed with a Seattle-based sports management agency and headed south to train in Orlando, Florida. His exposure ballooned at the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine, which were crawling with NFL scouts, as he secured a spot in the top tier of offensive guards by excelling in most of the combine’s speed and agility drills.

It’s all led Phillips to a likely NFL future. He and former ISU teammates Chase Collins, Mario Jenkins and JonRyheem Peoples participated in a pro day Wednesday that was closed to media and the public. Phillips said he achieved 31 bench press reps at 225 pounds, which would have ranked fifth among offensive linemen at the NFL Combine. Phillips did not bench press at the combine due to an injured pectoral muscle.

“It went really well,” Phillips said. “I would’ve been happy with anything like 25 reps, and I ended up getting 31. … Then the position work was really easy.”

As for the draft, Phillips said he has no interest in sitting through the three-day, seven-round football gala. Instead, he’ll head home to Eugene, Oregon, and keep his phone within reach, in case an NFL team calls with good news.

“I’m probably not even going to watch it,” Phillips said. “I’m sure my mom will watch it. I’m sure my family will tune in and they’ll keep me posted. … My agents keep telling me, ‘Either way, if you get drafted or not, you’re going to be on a team by the end of that day.’”

Between leaving ISU and getting swept up in Senior Bowl and NFL Combine madness, Phillips trained with former NFL offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who was named to two All-Pro teams as an NFL offensive lineman and won Super Bowl XLI as a member of the Indianapolis Colts’ coaching staff.

Phillips also said his agents at Reign Sports Management helped him prep for life after college, setting him up with a financial advisor and teaching him how to present himself as a professional before he becomes one.

Phillips said he also trained alongside former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, who is projected to be one of the first picks in the upcoming draft.

“Who would think that would happen?” Phillips said. “I never thought I’d have his number and be cool with him.”

Phillips has described his journey toward the NFL as unconventional. After picking up the sport late in high school, he posted the top SPARQ rating among offensive guards in the 2013 recruiting class and verbally committed to play at Oregon State as a three-star recruit.

But OSU pulled its offer shortly before National Signing Day. Phillips scrambled to find a new team, and Idaho State jumped at the chance to scoop up the Pac-12-caliber lineman.

Now, Phillips appears to be ready to join Danny Shelton, Shaq Thompson, Marcus Peters and the 15 other NFL pros he shared a field with five years ago.

“It’s been a crazy ride,” Phillips said.

PHILLIPS ON THE NFL COMBINE

“You show up, and all the cameras are on, and it’s dead quiet in the stadium. You’ve got this huge stadium, and you can hear people breathing in the stands. It’s not something that you immensely prepare for because you’ve never been on that stage.”

PHILLIPS ON THE SENIOR BOWL

“The whole outside of the field was like two deep with reporters and cameras. That’s not something you get at Idaho State. It’s a whole other level. At that point, you’re not really a person, you’re just a player and everything they see you as is a player and what they’re going to get. You’re the business that you’re trying to sell.”

ON OTHER ISU PLAYERS AT PRO DAY

“Some people performed well, and some people would’ve liked to do better than they did. You could definitely tell the pressure go to some people, even though there wasn’t a ton of pressure. I think a lot of people build these events up in their head to the point where it’s almost crippling. You kind of just have to embrace the stage and just go for it, and I think that’s what I’m really good at is not getting overwhelmed.”