Friday, July 1, 2011

Boise State Commit Nick Patti Qualifies for Elite 11 Quarterback Camp

The endless series of firsts for Boise State continues.
Boise State recruit Nick Patti has been chosen to compete in the Elite 11 quarterback competition this month in Malibu, California.  Patti will enter a five-day competition with 23 other quarterbacks in Malibu to crown the 2011 Elite 11 Most Valuable Player.  The 24 QB's were chosen from more than 1,000 that were evaluated by the Elite 11 selection committee.

Patti comes to Boise from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida and hopes to join the Bronco team for spring football next year.
Congratulations on the great honor, Nick, good luck to you in Malibu and can't wait to see you on the Blue Turf!

Mountain West Welcomes Boise State with Open Arms

Whereas many schools and fans of the Western Athletic Conference bad-mouthed Boise State, the Broncos are getting quite a welcome as they enter a new conference and a new era.

The Mountain (Cable One channel 329 and DirecTV channel 616) will feature three half-hour shows dedicated to welcoming Boise State.  "Boise State Football, an Epic Ascent" will get things started tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.  That introduction will be followed by "Beyond the Blue:  Boise State Athletics" at 7:30 and "Welcome to Boise", a show dedicated to the community and university at 8 p.m.

The welcome mat is further extended Monday night as "Stories of the Mountain West" will feature Boise State at 7 p.m.  An Olympic sports salute to Boise State will be featured on "The Mountain Sports Report" at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, with "Around the Mountain", featuring an interview with Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and "It's a Numbers Game" Friday at 5:30 p.m.

In addition, some of Boise State's recent football games (Utah from 2006, Idaho from 2007 and Oregon from 2008) will be featured on the network.

Set your VCR's and Hello Mountain West--we love you back!

Boise State Officially Joins Mountain West Conference

Congratulations Boise State.  A New Era begins!

The Sporting News Ranks Boise State 6th

Sporting News College Football Top 35

1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. Alabama
OL Barrett Jones: “We appreciate it, but we are concerned with where we are ranked at the end of the season. Our only goal right now is to develop into the best team we can be, and things like rankings will take care of themselves.”
4. Stanford
5. Oregon
OL Mark Asper: “Preseason rankings are like dialogue on Baywatch—you need them to keep the show going, but they don’t mean anything to anyone except nerds.”
6. Boise State
7. Florida State
8 Oklahoma State
QB Brandon Weeden: “It’s a good place to start. Hopefully, we can move up from there as the season goes on.”
9. Nebraska
10 Wisconsin
Coach Bret Bielema: “Excited to be in the top 10! It’s a great recognition of what we’ve accomplished in the past and what our team expects and is working to achieve in the future.”
11. Arkansas
12 Texas A&M
Coach Mike Sherman: “The number 12 is very important to Texas A&M, as our fans are the 12th Man. We are honored to be considered, but we understand the ranking is based upon last season’s results and the number of players returning this year. The 2011 football team understands it is the work already put in during the offseason, the spring drills and now during the summer that will determine how prepared we are for the upcoming season.”
13 Virginia Tech
Coach Frank Beamer: “I think we have a lot of unproven players at critical positions to be ranked that high. I sure hope they know what they are talking about.”
14. Michigan State
15. Notre Dame
16. South Carolina
17. Ohio State
18. Auburn
19. TCU
20. Mississippi State
No. 1 LSU is counting on Jordan Jefferson to keep it on top in 2011. (AP Photo)
21. Utah
Coach Kyle Whittingham: “I think we’re in the same ballpark as the teams we’ve had that have had success. There are so many things that have to line up. You have to stay healthy; you have to have team chemistry. But we like what we have coming back.”
22. West Virginia
DL Julian Miller: “It’s almost like mixed feelings. It’s definitely an honor to be called the best team in the Big East. But we play a lot better when we’re in an underdog situation, when we’re not picked to do something.”
23. Arizona State
WR Aaron Pflugrad: “We definitely have enough talent. But we had the talent last year and didn’t finish games. What I’ve been seeing as far as us coming together as a group, we’re definitely a top 25 team.”
24. Penn State
25. USC
QB Matt Barkley: “We’re going to be ranked less than usual because of the circumstances with the NCAA and because we don’t have as many so-called stud players. But I feel like we’ll be able to do better than in past years. We’re ready to attack this year and show people we’re really a different team than last year and a lot different team from two years ago.”
26. Missouri
27. Miami
28. Iowa
WR Marvin McNutt: “I don’t know how people make predictions about us because we play so many close games. What it comes down to as much as anything is executing at the end of games. It’s not so much about what the experts say but the way the team executes over the year that will make us deserve the rankings we get.”
29. BYU
30. Florida
31. Houston
32. South Florida
33. Georgia
QB Aaron Murray: “We’ve got a little chip on our shoulder and a lot of doubters. Nobody is talking about Georgia. It’s making us hungry to get back into the conversation of who can win the SEC East and get to Atlanta and go play for the national championship.”
34. Northern Illinois
35. Maryland

Lindy's Selects Three Broncos for All-America Football Team

Offensive tackle Nate Potter was tabbed as a First-Team All-American by Lindy's, a preseason college football publication.  Quarterback Kellen Moore and Billy Winn were chosen for the second team. 

Running back Doug Martin, defensive end Shea McClellin and safety George Iloka were selected along with the three for All-Mountain West honors.  Wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker and center Thomas Byrd were honored as Second-Team All-MWC preseason players.

These preseason lists are fun but of course it only matters what happens on the field.

Lindy's Preseason College Football All-America Team
 
Offense
 
First Team
 
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. School
 
QB Andrew Luck, 6-4 235 Jr. Stanford
RB LaMichael James, 5-9 185 Jr. Oregon
RB Marcus Lattimore, 6-0 231 So. South Carolina
WR Justin Blackmon, 6-1 211 Jr. Oklahoma State
WR Ryan Broyles, 5-11 187 Sr. Oklahoma
TE Michael Egnew, 6-6 240 Sr. Missouri
C Mike Brewster, 6-5 293 Sr. Ohio State
OL Barrett Jones, 6-5 311 Jr. Alabama
OL Nate Potter, 6-6 300 Sr. Boise State
OL Matt Reynolds, 6-6 322 Sr. BYU
OL Levy Adcock, 6-6 322 Sr. Oklahoma State
PK Blair Walsh, 5-10 185 Sr. Georgia
 
Second Team
 
QB Kellen Moore, 6-0 191 Sr. Boise State
RB Trent Richardson, 5-11 224 Jr. Alabama
RB Knile Davis, 6-0 230 Jr. Arkansas
WR Alshon Jeffery, 6-4 233 Jr. South Carolina
WR Jeff Fuller, 6-4 215 Sr. Texas A&M
TE George Bryan, 6-5 265 Sr. NC State
C David Molk, 6-2 288 Sr. Michigan
OL David DeCastro, 6-5 310 Jr. Stanford
OL Jonathan Martin, 6-6 304 Jr. Stanford
OL Mike Adams, 6-8 300 Sr. Ohio State
OL Kelechi Osemele, 6-6 354 Sr. Iowa State
PK Danny Hrapmann, 5-9 160 Jr. Southern Miss
 
 
Defense
 
First Team
 
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. School
 
DL Brandon Jenkins, 6-3 258 Jr. Florida State
DL Quinton Coples, 6-6 245 Sr. North Carolina
DL Devin Taylor, 6-7 248 Jr. South Carolina
DL Jared Crick, 6-6 285 Sr. Nebraska
LB Vontaze Burfict, 6-3 253 Jr. Arizona State
LB Luke Kuechly, 6-3 235 Jr. Boston College
LB Dont’a Hightower, 6-4 260 Sr. Alabama
DB Cliff Harris, 5-11 165 Jr. Oregon
DB Jayron Hosley, 5-10 170 Jr. Virginia Tech
DB Stephon Gilmore, 6-1 194 Jr. South Carolina
DB Mark Barron, 6-2 218 Sr. Alabama
P Quinn Sharp, 6-1 189 Jr. Oklahoma State
 
Second Team
 
DL Bruce Irvin, 6-3 235 Sr. West Virginia
DL Vinny Curry, 6-5 242 Sr. Marshall
DL Jacquies Smith, 6-4 255 Sr. Missouri
DL Billy Winn, 6-4 295 Sr. Boise State
LB Travis Lewis, 6-2 233 Sr. Oklahoma
LB Lavonte David, 6-1 220 Sr. Nebraska
LB Tank Carder, 6-3 237 Sr. TCU
DB Alfonzo Dennard, 5-10 205 Sr. Nebraska
DB Shaun Prater, 5-11 180 Sr. Iowa
DB Keith Tandy, 5-10 198 Sr. West Virginia
DB Robert Lester, 6-2 210 Jr. Alabama
P Drew Butler, 6-2 203 Sr. Georgia