We have just 98 days until kickoff in Atlanta, so today we'll be highlighting the player that currently wears #98 on the Boise State roster—Alec Dhaenens
#98, Alec Dhaenens, RS Freshman, TE
Stats
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 243 lbs.
High School: Fruitland High School, Fruitland, ID
How'd he get to The Blue™?
As part of an amazing two-fer. The Broncos were able to land Dhaenens shortly after his lifelong friend and teammate Joe Martarano pulled the trigger and it just so happened that both were top players in the state at their positions—and right in the Broncos back yard. You can't ask for a better scenario. Prior to his verbal, Dhaenens had wrapped a nice junior season where he caught 20 passes for 452 yards and six touchdowns and was subsequently named first-team All-Snake River Valley and first team all-state. Dhaenens announced his Bronco aspirations soon after and likely scared off many recruiters, save Nevada and WSU...and a season-ending knee injury last year further kept his recruiting from blowing up—all the better for the Broncos, as Dhaenens stuck with Boise State just as they stuck with him.
Nickname
"Porcelain"
Highly breakable, but also valuable.
Look-a-like
Kyle Sosnowski
Career highlights
Redshirted in 2013, but earned "Ultimate OSG" (Ostrich Sandwich Guru?) award from Strength and Conditioning coach at postseason awards banquet. Helped lead Fruitland to three-consecutive state championship appearances, including a state title in 2010. Named first-team All-Snake River Valley and first team all-state after his junior season at tight end and was also first-team all-league and second-team all-state at defensive end. Led Fruitland to two straight state basketball titles.
2014 prospectus
Dhaenens looked like a potential grayshirt last season after coming off a nasty senior year ACL injury, but healed up ahead of schedule and just endured a run-of-the-mill redshirt year. Unfortunately for Dhaenens, he followed up his redshirt year with another not-so-fun injury...this time to his left shoulder. Yet again, Dhaenens appears to have made a speedy recovery, and though he was held out of the Spring Game, he looks like he'll be ready to suit up in the Fall and could be an impact player for the Broncos in short order if he can stay out of casts. Boise State's tight ends have been quiet for a couple of seasons, but with the return of Bryan Harsin and Mike Sanford, it feels like a resurgence is coming....and the Broncos will definitely have the guys to get the job done. Currently, the Broncos are six deep at tight end and you'd think that they'll go at least 4 or 5 deep for meaningful playing time. Redshirt frosh Jake Roh appeared to take some good steps this Spring and should be near the top of the pass-catching TE list. Walk-on Jake Hardee also made some meaningful strides this Spring and you can likely count on Holden Huff (suspended for opener) and senior Connor Peters to be right in the mix. The big question for the unit is how much the arrivals of David Lucero and 4-star Chase Blakley will shake up the depth chart. I feel that Dhaenens is easily one of the most talented of the bunch but has lost some valuable time due to his injury setbacks. Still, being a well-rounded TE always seems the easiest path to playing time and I definitely see Dhaenens as a solid blocking and receiving threat amongst the corps. If he stays healthy, expect Dhaenens to get some targets in the Fall and hopefully help lead a TE comeback at Boise State.
Is he on Twitter?
You're in luck. @alecdhaenens98
Completely made up fact
Clearly, the "h" in Dhaenens' surname is silent, but many don't know that so are both "e"s and the "s".