Spring Game thoughts

So right before gametime yesterday I put out a call to all of our OBNUG twitter friends asking if I should retire to the friendly (and dry) confines of the pressbox or brave a light sprinkle on the sidelines and snap some pics. The prevailing sentiment seemed to indicate that the sideline would be much preferred, so I packed up the OBNUG camera and headed out...my skepticism fading as the light rain turned to a nice sunny evening. The sun stayed out during Kellen Moore's tribute and soft number retirement and just when I was ready to cast off my light jacket the heavens opened—and not because Kellen Moore was raptured. Long story short...I did NOT get a lot of pics from last night's scrimmage as I've heard that it's not great for cameras to dunk them in a tank of water. I did, however, manage to watch the scrimmage (I had my rainproof contacts in), so here's what I saw. Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section.

• Boise State's defense is going to be ridiculous. Yeah, I know the defense is always ahead in Spring...and not all the starters were even suited up, but Kamalei Correa looked nigh unstoppable and the secondary (my only cause for concern going into Spring) looked pretty solid. Linebacker unit is legitimately 3-deep right now and true freshmen Drew Berger and Marquis Hendrix don't even arrive till summer. Yikes.
• If the season started tomorrow, Ryan Finley would be our starting QB. Finley definitely looked the most polished last night, which makes sense as he's the most senior QB on the roster in terms of time in the program and live reps. He went 13-25 for 196 yards and several big plays, there were also several dropped passes that might've padded his stats a bit more. Keep in mind, however...the season does NOT start tomorrow.
• Brett Rypien looked pretty good too. Rypien had a pretty pedestrian stat-line: 9-of-14 passing for 48 yards. However, Rypien also lobbed some dropped passes (it was kind of a Biblical downpour) and I thought showed good composure and maturity (especially throwing away some balls when nothing was open for him—a veteran move). Rypien has some ground to make up, sure...but grading him on a curve since he technically should have been at prom yesterday and not at a D1 scrimmage, and I'm pleased with the youngster.
• AJ Richardson will be a weapon. Not THE weapon, as that title currently belongs to Jeremy McNichols (who did not dress down last night)...but Richardson was targeted early and often by the QBs and led all wideouts in receptions with 7.
• Cory Young—also a weapon. We've known about Young's speed for a while, but it was on full display last night. He should give the Broncos a lot of options, as he rushed for 68 yards and a score (on 11 touches) and also hauled in four passes. Young is the kind of guy the Broncos will just try to get the ball to in space and he'll be a scoring threat every time.
• Running back committee is in session. I just talked about what Young can do, but Ryan Wolpin and Devan Demas also showed some good flashes...and that was with 2 of the stable on the sidelines (Jack Fields and McNichols). What I like about the current crop is that there's a lot of variety in running style...if the Broncos do use the multi-pronged RB attack, it will be hard for defenses to get comfortable. Young and Demas can kill you with speed, Wolpin, Fields and McNichols can run you over.
• We have a mullet. Walk-on OL Jake Templeton out of Timberline High has a fantastic mullet at present that fulfills the Paradis quota.
• Isaiah Johnson. Yeah, you might not have heard of him either...but he's another local walk-on and he was active last night in the secondary. He's probably not a real threat to start, but will make up for the loss of Zavior Hoxie and might be able to sneak onto some special teams.
• Tanner Shipley's career appears to be over. I noticed Shipley in street clothes last night, which isn't odd...but he wasn't really standing with the team which I did find odd. Looked more like an alumni spectator. After the scrimmage, it was confirmed that Shipley has had to "medically retire" like Dillon Lukehart did last month. Bummer. Good luck to you, Tanner.
• Tight ends will add a huge dimension to the offense. Soph TE Jake Roh led all receivers last night with 88 yards on just four receptions and redshirts Chase Blakley and David Lucero both showed some spark (as well as some great fundamentals on blocking). Alec Dhaenens and Holden Huff didn't even suit up and the TEs still made noise, so I think it's fair to assume the tight ends will be a force in 2015 (and Matt Pistone—another great blocker, isn't even here yet).
• I wore canvas shoes to the scrimmage and then stood in a lake on the sideline. A wise choice.