The Boise State Broncos begin spring practice on March 12, and OBNUG has already begun overanalyzing spring practice today. More overanalysis to come before, during, and after spring ball.
For those of you who go into hibernation after bowl season, you missed a significant deal of Boise State coach shuffling over the past two months. The Broncos are breaking in a new offensive coordinator, a new QBs coach, a new defensive backs coach, and a new defensive line coach. This may be the first spring practice with name tags and ice breakers and trust falls.
Looming question: How will the new guys do?
From left to right: Jonathan Smith (quarterbacks), Jimmy Lakes (defensive backs), and Andy Avalos (defensive line)
The tough part of this question is that Bronco fans won't really know how these new coaches will do until games are being played and positions are being scrutinized. For sure, the new guys have their hands full. Jonathan Smith is working on creating the next Kellen Moore (), Jimmy Lakes has to rebuild half of the secondary, and Andy Avalos's new Nos. 1-4 on the depth chart were last year's Nos. 6-9.
The only coach that we can really judge is Robert Prince who is taking over the reins from new Florida offensive coordinator Brent Pease. And even then, it's spring ball, and the spring ball playbook is as deep as an NES Tecmo Bowl playbook.
Prince has gone on record as saying he won't fix the offense because it isn't broken, but will he show creativity and adaptability to work with the new players (QBs especially) he's inherited? Hopefully we get a taste of this in the spring game. And if not, then we'll just have to wait and see how Prince's impact on the team shakes out.
Breaking in new coaches is a big deal for the Bronco players this spring, and it's a big deal for us fans. We just don't get to do the ice breakers and trust falls for another few months.
Your turn
Which new Boise State coach are you most excited about? How do you think Robert Prince will do as offensive coordinator? Think spring ball will give us any hints at how things are going? Share your thoughts in the comments.