12 players to watch at Boise State's spring practice
by Kevan Lee on Mar 7, 2011 8:00 AM PST
in Boise State football
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PrintFootball is back, Bronco fans. Well, at least for those with media passes it is. Boise State spring football kicks off today with practices for the next six weeks, culminating in the annual Spring Game on April 16.
After the jump, find out the 12 players I'm most interested in seeing, and feel free to share your favorites I may have missed in the comments.
The Idaho Statesman had the same story idea in its issue today with a list of 10 players of interest this spring.
12 players to watch at Boise State's spring practice
Kellen Moore. What will Moore work on this spring? Last year, he mastered the deep throw to go with his mastery of most everything else. This year: the option, maybe ... and Minesweeper.
Doug Martin. Man sigh.
Raphiel Lambert. With D.J. Harper out injured and Matt Kaiserman out to stud, Lambert will see plenty of carries this spring. I want to know if he's capable of being a Jarvis Hodge-type closer for the Broncos because, let's be honest, there's going to be that void in all our lives.
Allen Mooney. He of the Vegas Bowl trash talk, Mooney was also a really good linebacker, once upon a time. He should have plenty of opportunity to shine this spring with Byron Hout and Aaron Tevis out.
Geraldo Hiwat. A future Titus Young or a future Julian Hawkins?
Kirby Moore. This spring will be the first time Bronco fans have seen Moore play football since I don't know when. His last game was the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, and he was either injured or redshirting (or both) for almost all of 2010.
Michael Atkinson. Bacon was reinstated to the team a couple months back, and just in time to make Grant Hedrick his personal beanbag chair.
Jeremy Ioane. I vaguely remember him from 2010 fall camp, which just doesn't seem possible. I must be confusing him with Brad Elkin (which also doesn't seem possible).
Troy Ware. Some thought Ware would be the best player to come from Boise State's 2010 recruiting class (that person, if I remember correctly: Graham Watson). Well, Ware is coming off a grayshirt, so this spring will be Bronco fans' first chance to see him. Does Graham Watson know what she's talking about? Don't answer that.
Ebo Makinde. He was the surprise star of last spring, nearly taking a spot atop the CB depth chart headed into fall. With a CB spot open again, will this be Makinde's year? The "Year of Makinde" has a nice ring to it. Like an Ayn Rand novel.
Dextrell Simmons. The Winston Venable of 2011, Simmons will be the only member of Boise State's 2011 recruiting class to appear in spring camp.
Kyle Efaw. Can he block half as well as Tommy Gallarda could (or Chandler Koch can)?
Eight players not to watch
Nuts to you if the following players were on your spring watch list. They're out injured:
- D.J. Harper, Byron Hout, Aaron Tevis, Kharyee Marshall, Mitch Burroughs, Cedric Febis, Jonathan Brown, and Chandler Koch
In addition, Mikey Tamburo has transferred and Matt Kaiserman has retired due to concussions.
Your turn
Who is on your list of players to watch? Anyone I left off? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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I don't think he is.
At least I haven’t heard anything, and he was not listed in the list of players not participating in spring ball.
I just read the statesman's article.
That is the first thing i have heard about Simmons being injured, good news is they didn’t say he would be out, just that he might be limited.
"Kellen" is it?
I’ve also heard he’s a quick learner. I think he’s a lock to sew up the punting duties this Spring.
Pease seems to acknowledge lack of speed at WR. I think O will have to reflect loss of Titus.
I think he pulled the D’s out of position more than we have heretofore appreciated. Doubt we’ll know much through spring. Broncos seem to show less and less as years go by. I’m not being pessimistic however. We have one of the best QBs in the country who will be at the helm for an unprecedented 4th year. O-line will be solid; probably close to half a dozen guys who can make a credible stab at starting at RT and RG.
tvmunson
speed to stretch the D is key
I wanted to see a deep threat emerge last year —someone other than Titus. Now, this is even more important to give the running game some room.
Having Kellen in the captain’s chair reminds me of RD’s senior year. Gilligan wasn’t as good as the WRs who had graduated, but he got open and RD drove the offense.
by ElPepeGrande on Mar 8, 2011 11:42 AM PST up reply actions
agree with you about Moore
It’s about time that QB wanna-be starts earning his freakin’ scholarship! No wonder he only had offers from EWU and the Vandals! He acts like he’s a Heisman trophy contender! Let’s see some production, dammit!
Matt Miller
He’s someone that’s not getting talked about, but I think if he stays injury-free he’ll step up big-time for the Broncos. I seem to remember he’s got 4.5 speed, which is probably faster than any other receiver (except maybe Troy Ware). I think he’s going to have a break-out year.
Dallas Burroughs may be our fastest wideout next year.
Be interesting to see if his speed is worth burning his redshirt year.
by Drew Roberts on Mar 7, 2011 11:05 AM PST up reply actions
I thought Hiwat was supposed to be blazin'
yet no one is talking about him in this speed conversation.
by Future_Demagogue on Mar 7, 2011 12:15 PM PST up reply actions
"Football speed"
While Titus was very fast, I think his short bursts of quickness set him apart. Dallas and Hiwat have proven they have track speed, hopefully they have the quickness to get that separation in football. We’ll see what a full off season of conditioning and training can do.
by Rand McNalley on Mar 7, 2011 12:47 PM PST up reply actions
Exactamendo RM-TY just had that edge, no better example than his clutch near to last second catch in
The Game Which is Not Mentioned Against the Team with No Name. No other receiver in college ball could’ve gotten to it. Now I’m worried, but not disheartened. We have a super accurate QB. We bring the most complicated offense in the history of mankind; Einstein himself said " no way to figure out that offense-it’s a bitch!" In his 4th season Kellen will develop its full-on complexity as an accomplished field marshal. But note-we’re a little light in the RBs. May need to burn shirt on Ajayi. I love DJ, but 2 ACL’s?
tvmunson
Ajayi! Yes!
His video was awesome. But, the conundrum is, burn the shirt now for immediate gratification, or exhibit some patience for greater returns in the future. That’s what we pay those coaches the big bucks for: make the tough decisions. Me, I want it all and I want it now. Burn the shirt, go for any and all titles, and worry about 2012 in 2012. Did I mention I lost everything in the stock market? (If I’d had anything, I would have.)
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Maya Angelou
BSU changes the BCS! 2011
by boiseblues on Mar 7, 2011 11:12 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Coach Pete has interesting take on the "burn". He points out that IF (God forbid) a guy gets hurt,
he has a year to rehab if he has a ‘shirt" year left. Done this with Harper, couple others. Kirby is interesting; played as frosh, then year off. It will be interesting to see what having a year under your belt, albeit with limited action, then a year on sidelines. I’m expecting ti will be explosive. He’s a little different ‘cuz his brother’s QB.
tvmunson
Hiwat, I believe was the state champ or runner-up in the 100m
He’s fast, and can stretch the field, but doesn’t have Titus’ burst or quicks. Burroughs the Younger is supposed to have some of that burst and possibly better top-end speed than Geraldo. Of course, he’s much shorter, so there’s a give and take there.
I'm also really excited to see Southwick...
now that it’s Kellen’s last season. Hopefully they’ll let him air it out a bit more during garbage time or even give him more than just a couple of snaps with the 1’s early on in games (against Wyoming and New Mexico of course…maybe even Colorado State!)
by Future_Demagogue on Mar 7, 2011 12:23 PM PST reply actions
I saw that the Statesman ...
… listed Grant Hedrick on their watch list. Good choice.
"I did not send you to go-kart camp." - Maury Garner
Tamburo is transferring to Georgia. His home state.
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
That's all speculation and wishful thinking, Mikrino
I doubt that Tamburo will go to Georgia and ride pine again just so the Dawgs could get a peek inside Boise State’s playbook.
I know it. I just thought interesting that this guy ran with it.
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
Like/hate your new photo.
Let’s not forget about mr. prater’s past. He likes to spend his his time looking for dirt on Boise State, with his concubine murphy.
"Boise State football is now a Fargo winter. You know what's coming, and that information does you no good whatsoever". Matt James / The Fresno Bee
Can I be honest? Brotzman was always a crap shoot In Oregon II he miffed 2 FGs back to back in the 1st quarter.
I hope we get a Montgomery. We need a guy who’s $ at 35 yeard, regardless of whether he can hit the occasional
non-$ 50 yarder.
tvmunson
by tmunson on Mar 7, 2011 12:59 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Yes you can be honest.
People are too sensitive about Brotzman. He is not a good kicker. Good kickers are consistent, he was not. It’s not personal, he’s probably a great kid.
by 4EverBleedBlue on Mar 7, 2011 1:05 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Not a great kicker
But he was the best punter in the land and was a clutch punter too..
Well Kellen was better, so 2nd best punter.
"As soon as they're in the open field, nobody is going to catch them. Doug, even if somebody is right in front of him, he might run him over."
- Travis Stanaway
by TooMuchYoung on Mar 7, 2011 1:18 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
That's actually not true. Brotz was a good kicker.
Which is why he was named a Lou Groza award semi-finalist, for the nation’s top place kicker. TWICE, 2007 & 2010.
He was actually pretty consistent;
2007 – 16 of 18 on FG Att
2008 – 17 of 26
2009 – 18 of 25
2010 – 16 of 23
A career accuracy rating of 72.8% is pretty good for anyone.
PAT’s he was even better setting a record for most consecutive attempts without a miss.
2007 – 66 of 66
2008 – 50 of 50
2009 – 63 of 64
2010 – 59 of 61
People seem to only remember his last few games in which he sturggled. He did kick his way into the NCAA record books as well, becoming the all-time leading scorer for kickers. He’s also the Broncos all-time leading punter with a 44.6 yard avg.
I’d reassess your thoughts on his kicking ability. He was actually pretty good.
Championships should be earned on the field, not in newspapers or computers.
Yeah, not just thinking about his last couple of games
I was actually thinking about his 2009 season when he struggled terribly from the left hash (which is why I viewed him as so inconsistent). I remember going into the 2010 season it was a big topic of concern even here on OBNUG. The PAT thing doesn’t seem THAT impressive to me either. Maybe I just don’t pay attention to field goal kickers enough but that doesn’t seem that uncommon to me.
by 4EverBleedBlue on Mar 7, 2011 1:52 PM PST up reply actions
Game winners
That is where Brotz struggled. He missed two against VA Tech, otherwise the last drive heroics might not have been required. He missed two gimme’s in the biggest game of his life against Nevada. He missed two makable in the Poinsettia Bowl against TCU where we lost by one point. His biggest clutch kick was probably in overtime against Nevada in the 69-67 crazy game they kept BSU in it. He was a generally reliable, often called upon (but rarely in do or die situations), high production kicker who was a hero punter and good athlete. He was the all-time leading scorer because of his opportunities and longevity. Most kickers don’t start most of 4 years.
by HSridge on Mar 7, 2011 3:06 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
What did you exept?
What do you exect when you have the same kid do all of the kicking duities?
Most teams have have a punter and a kicker. Some teams even even beak up their field goals into short range and long range attempts. It is very rare to see a person take on field goals, PATs, kick offs and punts for even 1 year… let alone 4 years.
He cracked under pressure.
In every big game he missed a field goal. We were just extremely fortunate that he wasn’t put in the game winning situation very often… cause he would of missed.
by summitkopp on Mar 7, 2011 5:19 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Have to agree
Even though his numbers seemed pretty good, I was never confident when he came out to kick a field goal. I should, however give him the props he deserves on punting. Although I do believe that if it weren’t for his rugby style punts, he’d just be an average punter.
by 4EverBleedBlue on Mar 7, 2011 6:10 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
If he could punt for distance with hang time....
they wouldn’t make him kick it Rugby style.
Lots easier to find someone who can kick and roll, than it is to kick 50 yards in the air with hang time. The NFL gets the booming legs, and they don’t seem to use the rugby kick like they do in college.
A different example of the same point. The running QB in college is popular, basically because it is easier to find Tyrod Taylor or Z, then it is to find the next Moore. Especially if you want size at the QB position.
by ElPepeGrande on Mar 8, 2011 11:48 AM PST up reply actions
Maybe
The thing is, we don’t know for sure if he would have missed, or if he would have gotten used to the pressure and been better because of it. When I played basketball I ended up being a very good clutch free throw shooter because I was put in a lot of situations where I had to get better. At the beginning of my carreer I was a poor clutch shooter, but I was good when the game wasn’t on the line. The more you’re in situations like that, the better you get because you become accustomed to them…
Or he could have shanked them all. Good thing we don’t have to know for sure.
by ninjamonkey1 on Mar 8, 2011 3:00 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Wish I could join you. But Broz clutched consistently. Right off the top of my head there were the
2 to open the Oregon game. Those could have been momentum changers. There were many others. The kid got iced more often than a margarita pitcher.
tvmunson
In that case...
I blame the law of averages. When in doubt, blame math, that’s my motto. Or would be, if I had a motto.
by ninjamonkey1 on Mar 9, 2011 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
Kicking stats...
I thought anything under 80% was subpar for FG kickers. Example: 2010 he was ranked 71 out of 99 kickers, 2009 61 out of 111 kickers, 2008 he was 74 out of 99 kickers, his 2007 16 for 18 put him up there at tied for 4th out of 108 kickers.
I don’t believe he was on the 2010 Lou Groza semi-finalist list. He was on watch list, but fell off that list after he missed FG’s in back-to-back games in November.
I don’t believe he has the most consecutive attempts without a miss. 213 by Nick Calaycay is the Boise State record. If he doesn’t have the school record, then he definitely does not have the college record. I do believe he has a high school record.
I am almost positive Brotz has the school record for consecutive pats
Maybe it is just most pats but I would bet money he has the consecutive makes record?
He is without a doubt bsu’s best punter ever….average field goal kicker though.
"As soon as they're in the open field, nobody is going to catch them. Doug, even if somebody is right in front of him, he might run him over."
- Travis Stanaway
by TooMuchYoung on Mar 7, 2011 11:17 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Your right...
I just looked up his player profile for the Maaco Bowl:
http://www.broncosports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=9900&ATCLID=205056644
Page 24
He hold the record for most Career PATs and connective PATs for BSU.
kicking stats at Boise ST
Are always going to be a bit exaggerated. They get to the red zone a ton for field goal opportunities, and kick a ton of extra points.
Part of the appeal is Brotzman’s volume of work. Cut those numbers in half and they aren’t impressive.
He had a tough time in big games, but consider this…..how many game winning kicks did he have as a four year starter? I can’t think on one besides at San Jose a few years ago. In this case, the team is involved in so many blowouts, that you don’t really get to see if he can make a kick at the end of the game. Unfortunately, Brozman is going to have to wear a bit of the Bill Buckman curse—they don’t remember your whole career—just the crappy part at the end.
Imagine Z’s legacy if they lose the Fiesta Bowl?? We dump on him a bit with the win…..how bad would it be if they lost?
by ElPepeGrande on Mar 8, 2011 11:54 AM PST up reply actions
Oops.
there goes the single game winner—are there others??
I want to see if Kellen will be able to improve on one aspect of his game that he did so incredibly well at last year
His celebrations. How do you beat double pistols? Does he go sniper rifle on us this year? Does he take some ballet and gymnastic classes in order to give himself a bigger range of celebratory moves? I’m not sure, but I’m excited to see.
by 4EverBleedBlue on Mar 7, 2011 1:03 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Mike Tyson
He says you don’t celebrate. You expect yourself to be successful so celebration isn’t part of the program. If you aren’t successful, then you’ve failed. Expectations don’t merit celebration.
But that is just Mike Tyson. Like we want to emulate him? Nah.
What if Kellen were to twirl the pistols and reholster them? That would be cool. Or discreetly nod to the opponent’s head coach? Can you do that without being accused of collusion?
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Maya Angelou
BSU changes the BCS! 2011
So you're saying that Mike Tyson
Would have celebrated if he would have won any of his court cases? Because I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect to be successful with any of those.
I like the twirling and reholstering idea. However those could only come after he blows the smoke away from the pistols after firing them.
by 4EverBleedBlue on Mar 8, 2011 7:42 AM PST up reply actions
That is right
The new rules may really suck. They can take TD’s back now right?
"Every Damn Day."- Coach Pete
Yes; it pisses me off. It's very subjective. Until they can describe EXACTLY what is prohibited, I'm against the rule
entirely. Let tehm let off steam. hey the other team knows its part fo the game. Its political correctness taken to the field-I hate it.
tvmunson
I agree
Next they’ll stop keeping score because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. Political correctness needs to go away.
by ninjamonkey1 on Mar 9, 2011 10:18 AM PST up reply actions
Only at non-BCS schools
We are POOR as it is why keep score.
"Every Damn Day."- Coach Pete
by Broncograd96 on Mar 9, 2011 12:24 PM PST up reply actions
throwing a flag for touchdown celebrations...
on kellen?
could there be anything more unethical in college football??? I mean, besides all the other shady practices going on surrounding ohio state, usc, cam newton, bcs totalitarianism, etc…
by WildCard1989 on Mar 9, 2011 10:02 PM PST up reply actions
All of those other behaviors would pale in comparrison
to flagging Kellen for excessive celebration.
by ninjamonkey1 on Mar 11, 2011 8:08 AM PST up reply actions
Kirby
Injured on his ruled fumble during the home game vs. Nevada.
~ :: ~
"Everyone counted us out. I don't know why they keep doing that." -- Kyle Wilson
"It takes no talent to give great effort."
"We’re not going to play to the outside noise." -- Chris Petersen
"[Kellen] Moore is a walking Staples® button." -- Ivan Maisel
"I’ve been around football a long time and I’ve never seen a better prepared team than the Boise State Broncos and it was a privilege to watch them play." -- Lou Holtz
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2012 Boise State Football Schedule
@ Michigan State  |
Fri 08/31 | 6:00 p.m. MT |
| Miami (OH) | Sat 09/15 | 2:00 p.m. MT |
| BYU |
Thu 09/20 | TBA |
| @ New Mexico | Sat 09/29 | TBA |
| @ Southern Miss | Sat 10/06 | TBA |
| Fresno State | Sat 10/13 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| UNLV | Sat 10/20 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Wyoming |
Sat 10/27 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| San Diego State | Sat 11/03 | 8:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Hawaii | Sat 11/10 | 5:00 p.m. MT |
| Colorado St. | Sat 11/17 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Nevada | Sat 12/1 | TBA |
