Poker, Chess or Chicken?

Not sure what is going on.  No way to know for sure if Boise State sends the info tonight.  But if we know they didn't, got to believe that a third party stepped forward to pay the extra fees for waiting.


The only thing we know for sure is that Boise State has said that no one has told the Mountain West that the Broncos are staying.

Boise State Staying in Mountain West?

That's my hunch, since no word has been given to the Mountain West that they are leaving and the deadline is tonight.  I believe the Broncos are staying put unless the Big East comes up with a better offer.

Mat Boesen Signs with Boise State

Boise State has received word that Mat Boesen, a tight end from Torrance, California, has committed to play football for the Broncos.  The word we are getting is that Boesen was recruited as a linebacker.  With 6-4, 220 size, he should work out there very nicely.


Boesen had 50 tackles last season and caught 31 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns on offense.  As a defensive end, Mat reads, shreds, and attacks the ball carrier.  He has a great motor and good instincts.  Boise State's defense is becoming known for swarming to the ball and Boesen is right up that alley.


Boesen is already recruit #8 and we are still two months from the start of next football season.  Because of the large number of graduates from Boise State last year, the 2013 recruiting class will be large--at least 20 and probably approaching 30.


Boesen chose Boise State over an offer from San Diego State and interest from Washington, UCLA, Arizona State, USC, Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Michigan, Missouri, Houston and Florida State.

Progress Report on Kellen Moore

http://www.detroitlions.com/news/lions-insider/article-1/Training-camp-and-preseason-will-be-true-test-for-Kellen-Moore/790d61f8-529d-4b16-bcbf-4c535bc20326

Boise State Finds Its Receiver--Jack Austin

It's interesting how fate works.  One day, Chris Seisay was slated to join one of the top teams in college football history.  Then, he decommitted.  Closed door.  Open door.  In walks Jack Austin and he says that yes, he'd be proud to play for Coach Chris Petersen and the great fans at Boise State.  


Austin joins a Boise State program that holds the modern record for the best 10-year scoring average (42.44 that is the best in college football in 119 years.  Yale (1883-1892) at 46.6 points a game holds the all-time record.  Naturally, wide receivers are a big part of the Bronco offensive game plan and with his solid commitment, Jack will get to experience that excitement first-hand as a member of the Bronco football team.


Boise State, of course, is coming off a four-year record of 50-3, another modern record, and they're landing a lot of great recruits who see all the records being set by the Broncos and want to be a part of it.  Not to mention the six NFL Draft picks from Boise State in the most recent draft.  Austin (6-3, 205) is from Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, and given the large number of Californians on the Bronco roster, he should fit right in.


Austin grabbed 62 catches for 921 yards and rushed 3 times for 51 yards in his junior year.  

Austin chose Boise State over offers from Oregon State, Utah, San Diego State and Utah State and strong interest from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, Stanford, USC and San Jose State.


Welcome to the Blue, Jack!  We look forward to seeing and cheering for you.

Chris Seisay Decommits from Boise State

We have received word that Chris Seisay, who was slated to play wide receiver for Boise State, has decommitted.  We will remove the story celebrating his commitment.

Two Months Away from Finding Out Who Boise State's Starting Quarterback Will Be

With the Michigan State game scheduled for late August, we are a little more than two months away at the maximum from finding out who Boise State's starting quarterback will be.


Whoever is named will have to beat Michigan State, BYU, Fresno State, Nevada, Southern Mississippi and others.  Will it be junior Joe Southwick, sophomore Grant Hedrick, freshman Jimmy Laughrea or freshman Nick Patti?  Which one can get the W's against the 2012 Bronco schedule?  Not much longer to wait now.

Durrant Miles Commits to Boise State

Linebacker Durrant Miles was due to take a visit to Utah, but the experience in Boise convinced him to end the recruiting process and commit to the Broncos.  This is so often the case when a recruit visits the city and the Boise State coaching staff.


Miles (6-4, 225) of Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah, has the size to play a standup defensive end (or a "Stud" linebacker) in the style that Shea McClellin did, sometimes rushing and sometimes dropping back into coverage. 


Miles had scholarship offers from Hawai'i, Utah State and Southern Utah and strong interest from Utah, the PAC-12's newest school, but he chose the Broncos of the Big East.  Durrant went to the Broncos Football Camp, visited on Friday and was offered a scholarship on Monday to attend Boise State University and play football for the Broncos.


We will have much more on the newest Bronco--congratulations, Durrant!

Vallejo Is a Bronco

Tanner Vallejo, a 6-2, 225-pound linebacker of Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, California has made his decision.  It's Boise State!

Vallejo was one of the defensive standouts at the Oakland Nike Training Camp, and had 158 tackles, one sack, two interceptions and eight tackles for loss last season as a junior for Union High.  See his highlights here!


Vallejo chose the Broncos over offers from Arizona, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, Washington State and UNLV and strong interest from Alabama, Oregon, California, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Iowa State, Washington, Arizona State and UCLA.

Sebastian LaRue?

Haven't heard an indication that Sebastian will be joining former teammate Chris Collins in Boise, but that's an "in" that has to help.

On the Vote for Boise State's Next Recruit...

If you picked "other", you were right.  It was Chris Seisay.   But let's just keep voting as long as the poll is going on...

Blue Football Goes Over 20,000 Views

Not bad for nine months as the sister blog to Blue Through and Through.  Thank-you for the interest and I will continue to work hard to dig up unique information and statistics.

Michigan State Upbeat About 2012 Football Season

Despite losing its starting quarterback and top receivers, the prospects for the Michigan State football team appear to be just fine this fall.

       Brandon Boykin runs for a score against Michigan State...

The Spartans pulled out a triple-overtime victory over Georgia in the Outback Bowl to win a school record 11 games last season.  Since Michigan State and Boise State are playing this fall, that makes for some good comparisons.  The Broncos opened the season with a 35-21 victory in Georgia's backyard.  Though the 2012 Broncos weren't able to set a school record in wins, they were able to finish 12-1 with a 56-24 blasting of the PAC-12's Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl.


Michigan State will have Boise State right where they want them--at home, where Sparty has won 14 consecutive games. 

Ghoulston welcomes Aaron Murray to the game...

 MSU returns eight starters from the top defense in the Big Ten.  The Spartans led the conference in rushing defense (100.5 yards per game), total defense (sixth nationally at 277.4 ypg), interceptions (18) and third-down defense (.337) last season.  Michigan State was second in passing efficiency defense with a 113.3 rating, sacks with 45 (seventh in the nation) and tackles for loss with 105 (14th in the country).  They also were third in passing defense, allowing 176.9 yards a game and third in scoring defense with 18.4 points per game allowed.


Again, comparisons are in order.  Unfortunately, the top passing team the Michigan State defense saw last year may have been its own offense.  Of the 13 major college opponents last year, just three (#25 Central Michigan, #38 Northwestern and #40 Notre Dame) were ranked in the upper half of the division.  The Spartan defensive secondary also played against #59 Iowa, #61 Wisconsin, #80 Indiana, #93 Michigan, #104 Nebraska, #109 Minnesota, #111 Florida Atlantic and #115 Ohio State.  To give Bronco fans an idea of the passing games of these teams, Idaho was #88.  


The Spartans did indeed face some running teams, however.  The Big Ten Conference loves to run the ball--they run it, run it again, then run it some more, and they pile up big rushing statistics.  Wisconsin was 11th in the nation in rushing last season, while Michigan was 13th, Nebraska #15, Ohio State 27th, Northwestern 45th, Indiana was #53 and Notre Dame 54.  Boise State came in 40th last year, so MSU faced three teams that ran the ball better than the Broncos.  

It will be interesting to see what Prince has dialed up against Michigan State.

Again, a good comparison between these two teams is Georgia.  The Bulldogs ran for 129 yards against Boise State, but only managed 53 against the stingy Spartan defense.  Clearly, the front four for Michigan State played better against Georgia than Boise State.  However, Michigan State allowed 288 passing yards against Georgia while Boise State allowed 261 in a game in which Georgia had to pass a lot to catch up.  One has to believe that the offensive minds of Robert Prince and Chris Petersen have more in store for Michigan State than Georgia did.  


It will be important for Boise State to open up some good passing lanes, especially with Tyler Hoover (6-7, 295) sitting in the middle of the Michigan State defense.  Anthony Rashad White (6-2, 320, Sr.) is the other tackle who will be clogging things up.  Ends Marcus Rush (6-2,250) and William Gholston (6-7, 275) will look to use their quickness to get some sacks against the Broncos.  Juniors Max Bullough (6-3, 252) and Denicos Allen (5-11, 232) and sophomore Taiwan Jones (6-3, 232) are slated to start at linebacker.  Darqueze Dennard (5-11, 190) and Johnny Adams (5-11, 175) are #1 on the depth chart at corner, while Isaiah Lewis (5-10, 195) is the strong safety.  MSU has the free safety going to either sophomore Kurtis Drummond (6-1, 197) or redshirt freshman R.J. Williamson (6-0, 200).


I mentioned Boise State was 40th last year in rushing; Michigan State was 78th.  Clearly, the Spartans' strength offensively was using the arm of Cousins, who helped MSU place 41st in the country through the air.  Boise State was 11th in passing offense.


The Spartans will have a solid nucleus (four starters) returning on the offensive line this fall.  Senior guard Chris McDonald, tackles Fou Fonoti and Dan France and sophomore center Travis Jackson are all back to protect the new starting quarterback.  


Speaking of which, Michigan State lost high NFL draft pick Kirk Cousins as the signal-caller.  Cousins is the winningest quarterback in school history at 27-12 and he will be sorely missed.  Gone too are starting receivers B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol along with two tight ends (Brian Linthicum and Garrett Celek).  Cunningham set career marks with 218 receptions and 3,086 yards.

Maxwell will test his mettle against a ball-hawking Bronco secondary...


Andrew Maxwell (6-3, 212, Jr.) came out of spring ball as the leader at QB.  Maxwell has completed 57% of his passes (29-51) for 294 yards and a touchdown in his career.    In comparison, Joe Southwick, the man many preseason magazines believe will start for Boise State, is 40-54 (74.1%) for 400 yards and two scores against one pick in his collegiate career.     Maxwell completed 151-of-254 passes (59.4%) for 2,032 yards and 23 touchdowns against 11 interceptions at MIdland High School in Michigan.


Junior Le'veon Bell (6-2, 238) and sophomore fullback Niko Palazeti (6-1, 250) will do their share of bruising as hard-running backs.   The Spartans will turn to the youth movement at receiver in sophomores Keith Mumphery (6-0, 208) and Tony Lippett (6-3, 192) while big Dion Sims (6-5, 280, Jr.) is essentially another lineman at tight end.


As talented as the front four was for Boise State last year, they were also inconsistent, especially in their one loss against TCU.  Plus, because many of the games were blowouts, this year's front four played nearly as much as the starters.  You could say that the reason for the inconsistent front line play was related to not playing more than 50% of most of the games.  In any case, it did prepare the 2012 starters for a super season this fall.  They've been out there for all the tough battles against the great offenses of the country.  The new Bronco front four played against nine teams ranked in the top half in the nation in rushing (#3 Air Force, #8 Nevada, #17 Toledo, #26 Tulsa, #30 San Diego State, #33 Wyoming, #44 Colorado State, #48 UNLV and #49 Georgia) and six teams (#10 Arizona State, #27 Fresno State, #30 Toledo, #32 Nevada, #44 Tulsa and #48 Georgia) ranked in the upper half of the nation's passing teams last season.


Based on the data above, oddsmakers obviously favor Boise State in the game, right?  Nope.  They have established Michigan State as 6-7 point favorites.  There can be no doubt that the elite in college football are hoping that this is the year it all goes down the drain for the Broncos, that finally Chris Petersen runs out of tricks, that this is the last that we have to talk about Boise State.

The simple truth is that Boise State nor Chris Petersen is going away anytime soon.  This year's 2012 Boise State team is the most talented the school has had in their history.  If the coaches can develop this talent, and history shows they have done just that in Boise State's incredible run of over 10 years now, the 2012 Boise State football team will definitely not go down the drain.


I expect they will have plenty to say about the naysayers, and the action starts against Michigan State this fall.

Where Are They Now? Rocky Lima

Rocky Lima came from Honolulu, Hawai'i and had the privilege of playing for both Lyle Smith (1965-1966) and then, after redshirting in 1967, playing for Tony Knap in 1968 and 1969. Lima was a co-captain under Knap and was named Most Inspirational Football Player in both 1966 and 1968.  In 1968, Lima was tied with future NFL player Faddie Tillman for third on the Broncos with 42 tackles.

After graduating from Boise State in 1970 with a B.A. in Physical Education & Science, Lima has enjoyed a distinguished coaching and teaching career in Boise. Rocky began that career as an Assistant Graduate Football Coach from 1970-1972 under Knap.  Rocky obtained his Masters in Curriculum & Instructions from Boise State and was hired by Fairmont Junior High.  Lima taught Physical Education and was the football and wrestling coach at Fairmont from 1972-1986.

Capital High School hired Lima in 1986, and Lima was highly successful for the Eagles, once again teaching Physical Education to students and serving as a football, wrestling and judo coach.  Lima guided Capital to three District Championships in wrestling in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and two runner-ups at the Idaho A-1 State Championships in 1993 and 1994.

Lima then went to Mountain Cove High School in 2006 and he  currently teaches physical education to alternative lifetime students at Frank Church High School.

Rocky has served as the President and Vice President of the Idaho State Coaches Association.  He holds the rank of Godan in Kodokan Judo and was Coach of the 2009 Intermountain National Team.  In 2008, Lima won the 60-64 age category National Championship in the 100kg division at the U.S.A. Judo Masters National Championships and he was third in 2005 for ages 55-59.     

Lima won the Idaho State Coach of the Year Dick Fleischmann Award in both 1993 and 1996 and is a four-time recipient of the Idaho District III Coach of the Year (1992-1995).  Lima was inducted into the Capital High School Coaching Hall of Fame in 2007.

Boise State Leads the Nation the Last Three Years in Defensive Touchdowns, 2nd in Blocked Kicks

Boise State has been famous for its high-powered offense, but the truth is that the improvement on the defensive side of the ball has been responsible for the Broncos' rise to power.  And consistent special teams play has turned the tide in more than a few games.

Over the last three years, Boise State is tied with South Carolina for the most defensive touchdowns with 12 each and the Bronco special teams are second behind only USC in blocked kicks.  The Trojans have gotten one more (16) than Boise State's units (15).  And these numbers are no fluke either; in fact, they show a trend.


Tyrone Crawford, Travis Stanaway and Hunter White all returned fumble recoveries for the Broncos last year, while Jamar Taylor's 100-yard interception return in the Las Vegas Bowl helped defeat Arizona State.  Boise State also had four defensive scores in 2006, 2009 and 2010, two in 2008 and one in 2007.  The Bronco special teams blocked two kicks in 2007, an incredible 10 in 2007, four each in 2008 and 2009, seven in 2010 and four last season.


Florida has been the most consistent in both departments.  The Gators had three defensive touchdowns and eight blocked kicks in 2006, two defensive scores and four blocks in 2007, five defensive touchdowns and nine blocks in 2008, three and two, respectively, in 2009, five and four in 2010, and three defensive touchdowns and six blocks last season.


South Carolina had one defensive touchdown in 2009, six in 2010 and five in 2011.  USC had four blocked kicks in 2006, two in 2007, four in 2008, two in 2009 and seven each in 2010 and 2011.  Utah had six defensive touchdowns in 2006, two in 2007, five in 2008, four in 2009, one in 2010 and another four last season.

If you extend the time period back seven years, Boise State ranks fifth in defensive touchdowns with 19 and the Broncos are second only to Florida during that time frame for blocked kicks with 31.


Here are the rankings obtained from statistics compiled by each school's media relations department:

Last 3 Years:

TEAM	DEF. TD’S	BLOCKED KICKS
Boise State	12	15
South Carolina	12	7
Florida	11	12
USC	8	16
Utah	9	13
Texas	7	13
LSU	11	6
Auburn	10	9
Louisiana Tech	10	6
Oklahoma	10	5
Oklahoma State	10	5
Michigan State	7	10
Oregon	9	8
TCU	9	7
Alabama	9	7
Wisconsin	8	7
Ohio State	8	4
North Carolina	8	3
BYU	3	10

Last 7 Years:  

TEAM	DEF. TD’S	BLOCKED KICKS
Florida	21	33
Boise State	19	31
Texas	19	24
Utah	22	17
USC	11	26
Florida State	21	16
Virginia Tech	17	19
Oregon	19	16
BYU	10	21
Auburn	17	17
Alabama	18	15
TCU	17	15
Louisiana Tech	15	16
Michigan State	16	15
South Carolina	18	11
Nebraska	10	19
North Carolina	15	14
Oklahoma	20	9
Cincinnati	16	9
Oklahoma State	15	12
Wisconsin	8	18
LSU	15	11
Ohio State	16	10
Georgia Tech	13	11
Michigan	10	12

Where Are They Now? Ross Farris

Farris was a 5-10, 193-pound safety from Glenns Ferry, Idaho, and one of the building blocks of one of the most amazing runs by a college football team in the history of the sport.


Farris was a four-year starter for the Broncos under three different coaches:  Tom Mason, who served as interim coach while head coach Pokey Allen battled cancer, Allen, Houston Nutt in 1997 and Dirk Koetter his final two seasons. Ross and the Broncos paid their dues and more in Boise State's first year in Division I football and Allen's heart-wrenching year in which he later died, suffering a 2-10 campaign.  Boise State was 5-6 in 1997 and 6-5 in 1998, before laying the foundation for today's success with a brilliant 10-3 season in 1999, including a Big West Conference championship and the Humanitarian Bowl title with a 34-31 victory over Chris Redman and Louisville. 
Farris had 44 tackles, 1 sack, one interception returned for 33 yards and seven pass deflections as a freshman in 1996.  He also returned 9 kickoffs for a 17.7 average.  Ross continued his steady play as a sophomore with 60 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, two interceptions returned for 106 yards with one touchdown, six pass deflections and two blocked kicks.  He returned six kickoffs for a 25.0 average.  In 1998, Farris was credited with 66 tackles, one for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and four pass deflections and returned 10 kickoffs for a 15.4 average.


As a senior, Farris had 48 tackles, three for loss, with 2.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, six pass deflections and an interception.  Ross also returned five kickoffs for 69 yards.


All told, Farris had 218 career tackles in his stellar career, which ranks ninth all-time among defensive backs at Boise State and 35th overall.  He is tied for seventh in the record books with two blocked kicks.  Farris is 12th all-time for the most interception yards in a season with 106 in 1997 and 15th for career interception yards with 140.  A heady player who always had a nose for the ball, Farris ranks 13th in school history with 23 pass deflections.  He also had four career tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a recovery.  Farris brought back 30 kickoffs for a career 17.73 average.


Farris is now the Director of Marketing and Investor Relations for Clearwater Real Estate Investments.  At Clearwater, Farris is responsible for the development and management of marketing, closing and investor services.  Ross is focused on the constant improvement of procedures Clearwater used to keep it's investors and respective representatives informed and setting the standard for customer service, reliability and transparency throughout their entire experience.  

Farris has had diverse experience in all facets of real estate sales, marketing, transactional processing and investor services within the real estate securities industry.  Prior to joining Clearwater, Farris held executive positions at two companies where he was instrumental in establishing and executing their go-to-market strategies and initial product launch while managing the sales, marketing, broker-dealer relations, closing and investor services functions.


Farris graduated from Boise State with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree in Business Management and he is a licensed real estate professional in the state of Idaho.

Boise State Gets Another Commitment to 2013 Class

Tercek is the guy on top...


Boise State has received a commitment from Andrew Tercek, 6-3, 285-pound lineman.  Tercek is from San Antonio East Central High School.  Tercek has all the indications of being a star at the college level.  He squats 640 and power cleans 300.  He also competed on the East Central track team, where he threw the shot put 46-feet, 10-inches and the discus 146-feet.  Tercek made All-District last year in Texas and has been starting since he was a freshman.

Tercek projects as a center or guard in college, though the Bronco staff will put him where he fits the best and will put the top five linemen on the field regardless.  As a center, I rank him among the Top 10 in the nation.  Boise State got a great one, as shown here.


Tercek chose Boise State over offers from Rice, Army and Nevada and interest from TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.  Word is that he committed to Boise State just minutes after he and his father met Coach Petersen.  Surprise, surprise.


Tercek is the fifth commit of the 2013 class, the second offensive lineman and the second in the last two weeks.

Boise State's Doug Martin Signs $7.787 Million Deal with Tampa Bay

Up until now, NFL teams have pretty much universally accepted the notion that Boise State football players are some of the best around.  However, they haven't been willing to pay the big bucks.


That too seems to be changing.  Bronco running back Doug Martin and Tampa Bay have agreed to a deal that will pay Martin $7.787 million to play football for the Buccaneers.  


Congrats to Doug for a well-deserved contract.