We're already nearing the end of June and the countdown marches headlong into the heat of summer. I do believe I've got my second wind.
We've got 68 days until kickoff...so today we'll be taking a look at number 68 on the Boise State roster—David Cushing
#68, David Cushing, rsFreshman, DL
Stats
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 267 lbs.
High School: Vallivue High School, Caldwell, ID
How'd he get to The Blue™?
Cushing walked on the Bronco squad after a nice little career as a Vallivue Falcon. Cushing earned two varsity letters at Vallivue and was named first team all-conference as a senior D-lineman after recording 75 tackles and 11 sacks. Cushing was also voted to the Idaho Press-Tribune all-league team and played in the Idaho Shrine game his senior year. As a junior, he was second team All-conference after racking up 53 tackles and 3 sacks. Beside his gridiron talents, Cushing also excelled on the diamond—earning 3 varsity letters in baseball.
Nickname
"Tiny"
Something about the ill-fitting suit jacket in his picture just screamed "tiny" to me. Sometimes you have to go with your gut.
Look-a-like
Chase Baker, with a touch of Buzz from Home Alone
Career highlights
Spots on the first and second team All-SIC squads as a senior and junior, respectively. Second in voting as a senior for SIC Defensive Player of the Year.
Career lowlight
Being made to wear a neck tie for his team picture.
2011 prospectus
Cushing should certainly take no offense when I state that he's probably not long for this season on the Bronco D-line. After all, the Broncos are pretty solid for the year with proven talent like Billy Winn, Chase Baker, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, Mike Atkinson and Greg Grimes. It's just a wealth of depth and talent, really—far too much to ask Cushing to overcome as a redshirt freshman. No, 2012 will be the year to make a move on the D-line as Baker and Winn move on and spots free up. Of course, incoming DTs Robert Ash and Jeff Worthy will be vying for roles then as well, but Cushing might be able to crack the two-deep against a less-experienced corps of tackles. Cushing's cross-sport prowess at Vallivue and high tackle numbers tell me that he's got a decent motor for an interior D-lineman, and I'll be interested to see how he inserts himself into the positional race this Fall and more importantly, next year. For now, I think he can improve his stock by lighting things up on the scout team and absorbing knowledge from Baker and Winn, two of the best tackles we've fielded in a while.
Completely made up fact
The reason that Cushing looks so non-plussed in his bio pic is because he'd just fallen victim to the "Hurtz Donut" gag at the hands of team bully, Kellen Moore.