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