Austin Pettis and Titus Young are doing their prolific football catching thing in the NFL now, and this has caused preseason prognosticators great consternation. Is the sky really falling? Is Boise State really going to run the ball 60 times per game? Was that the Wing T I just saw?
Your fears are alleviated after the jump. Feel free to share your thoughts on the BSU wide receiver situation in the comments.
You are reading a position preview for the upcoming Boise State football season. Enjoy yourself immensely.
Position overview
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Shoemaker | |||||
| Geraldo Boldewijn | Geraldo Boldewijn | Geraldo Boldewijn | |||
| Chris Potter | Chris Potter | ||||
| Kirby Moore | Kirby Moore | Kirby Moore | |||
| Mitch Burroughs | Mitch Burroughs | ||||
| Aaron Burks | Aaron Burks | Aaron Burks | |||
| Matt Miller | Matt Miller | Matt Miller | Matt Miller | ||
| Troy Ware | Troy Ware | Troy Ware | Troy Ware | Troy Ware | |
| Anthony Clarke | Anthony Clarke | Anthony Clarke | Anthony Clarke | ||
| Tyler Jackson | Tyler Jackson | ||||
| Dallas Burroughs | Dallas Burroughs | Dallas Burroughs | Dallas Burroughs | Dallas Burroughs | |
| Shane Rhodes | Shane Rhodes | Shane Rhodes | Shane Rhodes | Shane Rhodes |
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Efaw | |||||
| Gabe Linehan | Gabe Linehan | Gabe Linehan | |||
| Chandler Koch | Chandler Koch | ||||
| Kyle Sosnowski | Kyle Sosnowski | Kyle Sosnowski | Kyle Sosnowski | ||
| Holden Huff | Holden Huff | Holden Huff | Holden Huff | Holden Huff | |
| Jake Hardee | Jake Hardee | Jake Hardee | Jake Hardee | Jake Hardee | |
| Hayden Plinke* | Hayden Plinke | Hayden Plinke | Hayden Plinke | Hayden Plinke | Hayden Plinke |
| Armand Nance | Armand Nance | Armand Nance | Armand Nance | Armand Nance |
Projected starters are in bold. Projected redshirts are in italics. Grayshirts are italicized and asterisk'd.
What are the odds ... ?
I have come up with a handful of scenarios that may befall the Broncos at the receiver position this fall. OBNUG's Nick and I will assign a prediction in the form of a percentage based on the likelihood that each scenario may happen. Everyone confused enough? Good. Let's begin.
Geraldo Boldewijn finishes with more yards and more touchdowns than Tyler Shoemaker
Kevan: Call me crazy (which some of you have) but I think Boldewijn is going to have a huge year, and I foretell a 90 percent chance that he outnumbers Tyler Shoemaker. The yards will come from Boldewijn running after the catch, and the scores will come from him taking on the Austin Pettis jump ball role in the red zone. Obviously I have thought a lot about this.
Nick: This one is tough. Is Boldewijn going to be more of a deep threat and Shoemaker going to be more of a red zone, possession receiver? If that's the case, I think that one leads in yards and the other in TDs like Pettis and Young did the last two years. The only way I see Boldewijn topping both categories is due to an injury to Shoemaker, so I'll put this at a low 15 percent.
Gabe Linehan finishes with more yards and more touchdowns than Kyle Efaw
Kevan: This Gabe Linehan fellow sure seems to be the second coming of Jeb Putzier. I'd put his chance of topping the Efaw at 50 percent. Efaw has always been a solid contributor, but the touchdowns and big yardage days have been few and far between. I wouldn't be surprised to see Linehan with multiple two-touchdown games this year. Did you hear that, fantasy team owner Rod Gilmore?
Nick: The Gabe Linehan tweets keep coming day after day and the kid seems to be having a great camp so far. Will that translate to on-field production this year? There's a chance - a 25 percent chance. Ask me again next year. I can't wait to see what he does in the future.
Chris Potter is the opening day starter at slot receiver
Kevan: This is going to happen because Potter has the experience and the blocking chops (chop blocking?) and the Vinny Perretta factor going for him. I'll add some wiggle room just to cover my rear end: 95 percent Potter is a starter. Now this doesn't mean that Kirby Moore won't be starting by midseason or by mid-nonconference-season. But opening day? The coaches are going to go with the well-seasoned vet.
Nick: With Tyler Shoemaker moving to the outside, the slot is open and I'm betting that Kirby Moore, Mitch Burroughs and Chris Potter will be filling that spot. As far as the opening day starter, I'm willing to go as high as 40 percent on a Potter prediction. He's shifty, you guys. Shifty sells.
Boise State puts one wide receiver on the All-Mountain West first-team
Kevan: The Broncos had zilch on the preseason team, so someone on the Bronco roster is going to have to usurp either UNLV's Phillip Payne or TCU's Josh Boyce. (The fact that one of the two players is a UNLV player is a good omen.) Since I'm pretty sure Geraldo Boldewijn is going to have a breakout year, I would give him a 35 percent chance of making the first-team. If he has 1,100 yards and eight scores, it'll be close. If he gets 1,400 yards and 10 scores, it'll happen.
I just get the feeling that the Mountain West isn't too fond of Boise State right now, you know?
Whatever do you mean, Kevan Lee?
Nick: This is happening. I'm putting this at 75 percent. Why so confident, you ask? Kellen Moore. He will make his receivers better by throwing one of the most catchable balls in the country. As to who this WR is going to be, I have no clue.
Completely arbitrary rankings
Rank the following receivers based on whatever criteria you deem important: Austin Pettis, Tyler Shoemaker, Jeb Putzier, Jerry Rice, Replaceable Hawaii guy.
- Jeb Putzier
- Tyler Shoemaker
- Austin Pettis
- Jerry Rice
- Replaceable Hawaii Guy
Kevan: My rankings go from least cocky to most cocky. Jeb Putzier is a saint. Tyler Shoemaker is a saint with calf tattoos. Austin Pettis thinks he is the business, which he is. Jerry Rice was on Dancing With The Stars once. And I have never met a Hawaii receiver I have liked.
- Austin Pettis
- Jerry Rice
- Tyler Shoemaker
- Jeb Putzier
- Replaceable Hawaii Guy
Nick: I'm ranking these on most memorable catch. And I will never forget Austin Pettis' catch against Virginia Tech to win the game. Also, I don't consider WR screens as memorable catches, so tough luck, Replaceable Hawaii Guy.
Bold predictions - Fear their boldness!
Our powers combine to come up with the following bold predictions. Feel free to come back here after the season to see how we did.
- Geraldo Boldewijn and Tyler Shoemaker both crack 1,000 receiving yards
- Aaron Burks changes his name to Aaron Goedemorgen in hopes of improving his game
- Kirby Moore catches at least one touchdown pass from his brother Kellen
- Idaho Press-Tribune uses a headline pun to describe the Moore-to-Moore touchdown
- The Boise State passing offense is just as prolific as last year except with more players involved
- Six different receivers have 100-yard games
- Mitch Burroughs is not one of them (although he does improve significantly and scores multiple times)
Your turn
Who do you think will be Boise State's top receiver when the year is done? Will Gabe Linehan have a breakout season? Will the passing offense suffer without Austin Pettis and Titus Young? Share your thoughts in the comments.