BYU star Zach Wilson is declaring for the 2021 NFL draft.

Wilson released a statement Friday thanking his teammates and coaches:

The move was widely expected since the 21-year-old is pegged as one of the top quarterbacks available.

His stock couldn't have gone up much higher with another season in college. Improving upon the Cougars' finish would've been tough, too, because this year reinforced how Group of Five schools and independents not named Notre Dame are staring at a glass ceiling. 

BYU finished 10-1 and sat 16th in the final College Football Playoff committee rankings. That all amounted to a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl.

As much as Wilson might have wanted to compete in a New Year's Six bowl, that's a long shot in any given year for a program that isn't in a Power Five conference.

The Draper, Utah, native finished his college career with 7,659 passing yards and 56 touchdowns. He also ran for 642 yards and 15 scores.

His standout performance of 2020 came in a September victory over Troy, when he finished 23-of-27 for 392 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilson has the opportunity to become the highest BYU player selected in the NFL draft, an honor that currently belongs to Jim McMahon (1982) and Ezekiel Ansah (2013), who went fifth overall in their respective years. 

In his most recent mock draft for B/R, Matt Miller projected the Cougars standout at No. 4 to the Carolina Panthers.

On Dec. 16, Miller ranked Wilson as the fourth-best quarterback available and described him as a "bigger, less athletic Kyler Murray." He also shared this assessment from an NFL college scouting director: "He fits where the league is headed—playmaker with a big arm who makes a lot of wow throws and can win with his legs. I have no idea how ready to play he is because the scheme is backyard football and he hasn't played anyone."

Every year, a quarterback surges up draft boards as the regular season and pre-draft process unfolds. Sometimes you wind up with Murray or Patrick Mahomes; other times you get Blake Bortles or Daniel Jones.

Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is widely considered the best draft-eligible player, and he'll almost certainly be the top pick if he declares. After that, the position gets a bit murky. Wilson, Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Trey Lance can all stake a claim to be No. 2.

The next few months for Wilson will be important toward alleviating the fears that his talent has been inflated by a perceived lack of competition at BYU and nudging him ahead of the pack.