Five questions for Boise State's 2009 Fall Camp
by Kevan Lee on Aug 4, 2009 7:38 AM PDT
in Boise State football
11 comments
Boise State's fall football camp opens tomorrow, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't make it through this post without a couple dozen exclamation marks and rambling, incoherent sentences that are full of WAHOOOs.
Having football back is indescribably great, but it also is realistically business. The Oregon game is less than a month away, and there are questions to be answered all over the Bronco roster. Five questions, to be exact. These five.
1. Who will emerge along the offensive line?
C Thomas Byrd has already staked his claim to a starting spot, as well as a mention on the Rimington watch list for the nation's best center. Thank goodness something good came from last season's offensive line learning experience.
The good news is that the patchwork unit that "led the way" and "opened holes" for Bronco running backs returns with a lot of game experience. The bad news is that the "big" uglies never did enough to secure a starting job. "Nuts."
Nate Potter and Matt Slater are familiar faces. So, too, Kevin Sapien and Cory Yriarte. And while those four would make a strong, solid starting unit, I'm interested to see which newbies show up and make a play for a starting role.
My advice: Keep an eye on Will Lawrence, Faraji Wright, and Tom Swanson.
2. How will Winston Venable do on defense?
Replacing Ellis Powers is no easy task. The safety/linebacker was maybe the single biggest reason why the Bronco defense was so successful a year ago.
The news out of spring ball was that Venable is up to the challenge, but a lot can change before the month of August is over. I think he'll be fine. The Idaho Statesman thinks the job is still up for grabs. Which one of us do you believe?
3. Which true freshman might avoid the redshirt?
Last year, the top freshman in fall camp was George Iloka, whose rapid ascension into the starting lineup took everyone by surprise. By mid-August, coaches were sure he would have to redshirt. By mid-September, he was starting versus the University of Oregon.
There are a lot of strong candidates to pull an Iloka this summer, but I'm looking at three positions in particular: running back, linebacker, and wide receiver. As we've discussed before, running back is potentially very thin behind Jeremy Avery and D.J. Harper. There could very well be an opening for stud Oregon HS running back Malcolm Johnson if he plays his cards right in Fall Camp.
Linebacker will be another relatively thin area with some room for a freshie to sneak in. I like the chances of John Michael Davis. Others prefer Mr. Allen Mooney. You really can't go wrong with either.
And then there's this Kirby Moore fella at wide receiver, who I hear is pretty good.
4. What did Bronco Nation do before Canadian Bacon was around?
With Michael Atkinson out injured/suspended for at least the first three games of the season, Bronco fans are going to be without their rotund Canadian fix for awhile. More importantly, Boise State is going to miss some serious defensive line depth.
The D-line was already a thin spot before Atkinson's rendition of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to Hell. How the Broncos mend it in fall camp will be interesting to see. Last season, when injuries struck, BSU coaches started moving players around, giving us the gift of the Hout at defensive end. Will we see anything similar this fall? I think so. Don't be surprised if a linebacker (Aaron Tevis, maybe) shifts to defensive end and a defensive end (Shea McClellin, maybe?) moves inside to defensive tackle. If it works for the New York Giants, it can work for the Broncos.
5. How did Coach Pete spend his summer?
Of course, I could ask all the questions in the world, and Coach Pete would still find a way to surprise me. The great part of Fall Camp is that you never know what is going to happen, who is going to emerge, and what the opening day roster will look like on September 3.
Coach Pete and his staff have things under control - things I haven't even thought to ask.
Fall Camp scrimmage dates
- Thursday, August 13
- Friday, August 21
- Wednesday, August 26
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Burks
Aaron Burks will play. He graduated early, joined in January and contributed in Spring, like Mr. Iloka. I predict Lawrence will move back to DT and Ames will be in the OL 2 deep…on the other hand, I’m drunk right now, so…whatever.
by ty_ol on Aug 4, 2009 12:59 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Classy
I like everything you said. Will Burks and Kirby play? With how much Kellsy might be throwing it, it may not be a bad idea.
"We're not teaching them about sports. We're teaching them about life!" - Tony Perkis
Kirby is injured...
and might redshirt, per The Idaho Statesman.
6. Will you develop depth at WR? I know, I know but Shoemaker is under the radar and Potter is good is what you all will say. I have even heard you guys describe your depth as stacked. However, you are one Titus Young suspension or one injury away from having some serious issues at the wide receiving corp. Everyone is banking on the Pettis/Young tandem and thinking someone will emerge as viable third receiver.
I just remember wide receiver after wide receiver being subbed in last year. The wide receiver corp we faced last year was probably the best we saw from top to bottom.
Receivers...
Ah, injury shmin-jury. Kirby’s brother is divine, so shouldn’t he be also? I’m guessing the whole injury thing is just a ruse to keep the Bronco Nation from setting up his dais too early. ;)
In all seriousness though, I really am not too worried about our receiving corps. With a QB as accurate as Kellen, it takes some of the pressure off of them, and I’m confident that we’ll have plenty of guys ready to go for the game. They’ve had all summer to throw together, and unless fall scrimmages show us something we should be concerned about, it won’t be the first thing on my mind. *cough*O-line*cough*
Also, our receivers will be practicing against possibly the best secondary they will face all year, which will be great experience.
I think they’ll be ready.
"Well, we'll just have to get to know each other a little better then. I like Ferris wheels, college football, and anything that goes more than 200 miles an hour."
The bevy of wide receivers...
last year is gone and there is no doubt that Moore benefited from the experienced wide receiving corp. It has to be a question going into fall camp. Everybody is practicing this summer against good secondaries, so all things are equal except against many of your WAC rivals.
Mike Coughlin
My only other question would be, is Coughlin ready to play? No one wants to even think about it, but if Kellsy gets dinged, can Coughlin settle down and play like he did in high school? As well as the Broncos develop QBs, I cannot understand why Coughlin looks so lost when he comes into a game. He should know the playbook, and he has talent. I hope he gets plenty of second half playing time early on, so he can just settle down and have fun playing the game. At some point, he’s going to have to step up.
That’s my advice, settle down and step up, Mike!
Amen
That thought never crossed my mind, especially since Kellen is immortal, but if he let himself get injured then it would be nice to see Coughlin step it up!
The Intern
I know it's silly, but
I’m just playing with the thought of what might happen if two immortals collided. Let’s say Kellsy and T.J. Ward occupied the same space at the same time. Would the cryptonite hold, or would there be consequences, I wonder?
Backups
I think our staff will have Coughlin ready to go in on a second’s notice. Although I do not think Oregon’s coaches will condone it (and pre-warn against it), I believe (at least) one defender will take it upon him or herself to knock Moore out as retribution for the perceived cheap shots. I say we lock Moore up in the Pope-Mobile and let him toss fades to Pettis out of the top hole. It will also increase his mobility outside the pocket. Segway to my 2nd point, look for Tamburo to see time as a true frosh to run the read-option and speed options, much like Utah used Loucks last year.
The cure for the receiving corps?
RUNNING BACKS.
A good effective running game is the key to opening up the lanes and routes.
As one implied above…
*cough*O-line*cough*
Boise State - The best in all the land (The "land" being Idaho, and large parts of California, Oregon, and Nevada.)
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