Five Things to Watch For From Bronco Spring Drills

Boise State is ready to open spring football practice with some unfinished business to take care of.  Coach Chris Petersen is opening the practice sooner than usual and instead spreading the practices out over a period of weeks.

Here are some things I’m looking for in Boise State’s spring practices:

1. Chip on the shoulder—Boise State teams have always played their best when they feel like they have something to prove.  The collective “chip” can be formed by many factors—disrespect from someone like Craig James or Mark May, low ranking in the polls, and disappointment from a previous game or season.

It is this latter factor that I’d like to address.  We know James and May and the rest of their ilk will never be able to look at the college football landscape intelligently.  And getting college football voters to respect Boise State is a long, difficult process.  But what Boise State can control; it is in fact the only thing they can control, is how they play on the field.  I just basically paraphrased Coach Chris Petersen, who I think we can all agree is one of the top minds in college football right now.

Boise State no doubt has been watching and re-watching the Nevada loss last season, seeing how plays made or not made throughout the game greatly influenced the outcome, how tackling at the line of scrimmage sometimes is the only way to stop a touchdown, how making a key block is the difference between a tackle for loss and an amazing run.  The casual observer saw Bronco defensive players with their hands on their hips huffing and puffing.  Coach Pete denied the Bronco defense was tired.  But did he do that to honor Nevada’s victory and not make excuses?

In any case, the loss is there and it alone prevented Boise State from playing in the time-honored Rose Bowl.  Instead, the Broncos allowed TCU to play and defeat Wisconsin. 

So I am looking for concentration, intensity, focus and a serious and angry group of Broncos.  Anything short of that and I’ll be disappointed. 

2. The emergence of talented young wide receivers—We all know what Austin Pettis and Titus Young meant to Boise State last year and over the last four years.  They simply were the best duo to ever play for the Broncos and the best duo in the nation last year.  The raves that both have received from their Senior Bowl experience and from the workouts at the NFL Combine are a testament not only to their tremendous athletic abilities but to the state-of-the-art techniques that the best coaches in the nation have used to develop both Pettis and Young.

I think I speak for most Bronco fans when I say that I was excited when I learned Kirby Moore was coming to Boise State.  The kid had video game-type statistics in high school.  I was excited when I found out about Geraldo Hiwat and Aaron Burks and Matt Miller.  I see athletic ability in those four young men that is not overshadowed in the least by the raw ability of Pettis & Young when they first stepped onto campus. 

With a quarterback like Kellen Moore, the four young talents mentioned above have an opportunity that very few receivers in the nation have.  If they get open, KM is going to get them the ball—that’s what he does.  Kellen has an uncanny ability to read defenses and to spot the open man.  The scary thing is that if he stays healthy (see #5 below); he is going to be better in his senior year because of three years of starting experience.

How fortunate the Bronco receivers are to be playing at the same time as Moore.  Kellen’s brother Kirby redshirted last year, presumably to prepare him for being a tight end.  Whatever position the coaches decide is best for Kirby, his great routes and hands (not to mention the special familiarity he has with the quarterback) make him a perfect possession receiver to replace Pettis.  That said, Kirby doesn’t have to “mimic” anyone to be successful.  Pettis is an incredible receiver with amazing leaping ability and sticky hands.  Kirby has his own unique set of skills that he brings to the table.

Geraldo Hiwat has learned much about football that he wasn’t able to acquire in The Netherlands.  But when he was one of the highlights of the 2009 recruiting class, Bronco fans saw great raw talent—the speed of Titus Young and the leaping ability of Austin Pettis.  But Hiwat has something those gifted receivers did not—6’4” size.  To be able to accomplish what the 2010 Broncos could not do, go undefeated and play in the BCS National Championship Game, Offensive Coordinator Brent Pease needs a breakout year from a receiver.  Hiwat very well could be that guy.

Aaron Burks was one of the first great talents to flow from Boise State’s Texas recruiting pipeline.  Pease of course had established great connections with the high school coaches in Texas when he coached at Baylor and he brought those connections with him to Boise State.  Given that Pease saw something special in Burks when he recruited him to be a Bronco, one would think that Pease will showcase that ability this fall.  Burks is about the size of Pettis (6’2”) but he has great speed and can also go up and get a football.

That brings us to Matt Miller, the 6’3” target that had coaches all over the country (with offers from Arkansas, North Carolina, Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State just to name a few) salivating.  But Boise State is the school that landed him and if he can learn the complex Bronco offense and adjust to the speed of the college game, one would think he will see the field often this fall.  Miller isn’t going to burn you with speed like Young but fans will note that his 4.5 40 time is exactly that of Burks—that tells us that he’s going to be great for yards after the catch.  Miller has football focus, a great combination of route-running, concentration and great hands. 

So I’m looking for a breakout year from at least one of the four.  One or more of that quartet has to step forward for Boise State to reach its goals.

3. The third thing I’m looking for is a defensive line that exceeds the performance of the 2010 Broncos.  Yes, I know what I just said.  The Boise State defensive line last year was the best to ever play at the school.  But the Broncos have not climbed the ladder to the top yet—something happened on the way there.  Clearly they need better play, and that fact was crystal clear in the Nevada game.  When the play needed to be made in the second half to halt Wolf Pack momentum, it was not made.  The group not only needs to be aggressive and play smart for two-three quarters or for 10 games; Boise State needs all-out monsters to wreak havoc for all four quarters of all 12 games this season. 

Boise State lost one of its best-ever defensive ends in Ryan Winterswyk, but there is plenty of talent in the wings. I expect Tyrone Crawford to step into that role nicely.  Although Crawford did not start or even play two quarters in a given game, he still finished the 2010 campaign as Boise State's 10th-leading tackler (32) with 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks as just a sample of what he can accomplish in a full-time role.  Crawford’s coach, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, made a name for himself with aggressiveness, sure tackling ability, and an outstanding motor.  Suffice it to say that Pete K. is looking for the same in Crawford.  For offensive linemen not familiar with him, Crawford will shock them with his quickness off the ball and at 6’4”, 276; Crawford has the size and strength to manhandle his opponent. 

But one of the strengths of last season was that Kwiatkowski had the luxury of substituting at will on the defensive line without losing anything in terms of shear talent and ability.  So just as at least one wide receiver needs to step up, one of the talented young defensive lineman has to do the same.  Kharyee Marshall, Nick Alexander, Robert Ash and Samuel Ukwuachu form the talent pool to accomplish just that.  Marshall will not participate in spring drills I am told.  Normally new recruits like Ash and Ukwuachu would redshirt.  But Coach Petersen has been clear that he wants to even out the recruiting classes and that means playing a good deal of the 2011 recruits.  I suspect that if Kwiatkowski isn’t “wowed” by what he sees, the Broncos will not hesitate to utilize Ash and/or Ukwuachu. 

Ash has good foot speed and an unstoppable motor, two qualities that are tailor-made for being a great defensive end.  He still needs to work on his range and needs work in the weight room.  But Boise State has always placed more emphasis on speed and quickness from its defensive linemen and Ash certainly fits the bill there.  Oregon State, UCLA and Washington are three of the many schools that Ash turned down in favor of Boise State.

Ukwuachu (6-5, 210) is smaller than Ash and likely isn’t ready yet until Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim Socha releases him from the weight room.  But Ukwuachu has good speed and quickness that Boise State needs and if it is not provided by upperclassmen, he’ll be there.

Kharyee Marshall has already begun to exhibit the talent that he brings to the position, both in spring games and on the scout team.  Marshall runs a 4.6 40 and has incredible acceleration and closing ability.  He would have been excellent in running down (Nevada quarterback Colin) Kaepernick last year.

Nick Alexander has made great strides since first coming to the Bronco program in 2009.  Besides the full-out attack to the ball carrier, Alexander has bloodlines—he is the grandson of NFL Hall of Famer Carl Eller.

Again at least one of those four young prospects must seize the opportunity that is there this fall for Boise State to have an outstanding season.  Justin Jungblut, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and Michael Atkinson are others that must work their way into the defensive line rotation at tackle. 

4. Clutch field goal kicking—unfortunately for Boise State, one of their only weaknesses was exposed last year at a time when they could not afford it.  So the Bronco coaching staff brought in strong-legged and highly-acclaimed placekicker Jake Van Ginkel.  Van Ginkel’s 39 career field goals at Upland High School (California) were a state record.  Van Ginkel only missed two field goals under 40 yards, he converted several in pressure situations, and, on kicks of 58 and 59 yards, he split the uprights with room to spare.

So I’ll be watching Van Ginkel to see this great talent for myself.

5. The teamwork and consistency of the offensive line—As Kellen Moore goes, so will go the Broncos.  He is poised to have a great senior year but a lot of what Kellen can do for an offense is dependent upon the solid play of the guys up front.  There isn’t any reason to think the Bronco line, which only loses two starters, cannot continue to protect Moore the way they have done in the last three years.  Nonetheless, it is an area to watch because it is vital to Boise State’s success.  We are aware that defense is always ahead of offense in the spring.  We also know that Boise State’s defensive line will be one of the most challenging the Bronco offensive line will face this season.  But, with Georgia looming as the season opener, the offensive line has to be ready from the start of spring practice and then go full steam ahead into September.

So there are five key areas to watch this fall.  I will be evaluating the team primarily considering those factors to determine how the 2011 Boise State team measures up.