Introducing My New Music Blog

I have two burning passions that have kept me both busy and happy my entire life--Boise State sports and music.  Now, both are fulfilled by blogs!  If you are a fan of music in the rock era, I invite you to check out Inside the Rock Era (I know, I'm working on a catchier title...!)

Broncos High on Garnett

With stars like Denver's Ryan Clady and Super Bowl Champion Green Bay's Daryn Colledge and tackle Nate Potter appearing to be the next (after a pre-season All-America selection), Boise State is establishing quite a track record for developing offensive lineman for the National Football League.


The Broncos of the future want to make room for another--Puyallup, Washington's Joshua Garnett.  Boise State is one of 12 schools who have offered the 6-5, 280 Garnett (USC, California, Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Washington State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, Auburn and Oregon being the others).  





Garnett has good footwork, which would seem to fit beautifully in Boise State's high-powered offense.  He also carries a 3.85 G.P.A., another thing Coach Chris Petersen and his Boise State staff looks at.  I saw one highlight in which Garnett blocks his man 15 yards downfield before flattening him.
  


Catch this star of the future in this video:

Connor Crane Draws Boise State's Offer

Boise State has reached deep into the heart of Texas many times before, and they are hoping to do so once again.  According to numerous sources, Boise State has offered receiver Connor Crane of Denton Guyer a scholarship.


The Broncos will have to lure Crane away from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest, others who have already offered the talented receiver.



Crane (6-4, 185) runs a 4.5 40 and is expected to be Guyer's top target this fall. Crane has speed enough to outrun some of Texas's top defensive backs and runs a crisp route.  Last year, Crane had 35 receptions of 854 yards (24.4 avg.) and 11 touchdowns in helping his team to the 5A Division II state championship game.


Here is what you can expect from Crane:

Broncos Open WAC Softball Season With 13-0 Win over Nevada

Boise State became the 26th team in NCAA history to score 12 runs in an inning as the Broncos raced past the startled Nevada Wolf Pack today in Boise.  It was the Western Athletic Conference softball opener for both teams.

Boise State (16-10) scored in the first with a walk, a hit and two Pack errors.  That 1-0 lead held up through 3 1/2 innings until the Blue Thundercloud burst from above.  Junior Allie Crump started off the historic inning with a ground ball that resulted in a wide throw by the Nevada shortstop.  Freshman Devon Bridges blasted her fifth home run of the year inside the left-field foul pole.  The Broncos went on to get five more hits--two from Kelly Sweeney and drew five walks to put up the "12 spot" in the inning.  Freshman Mackenzie Whyte closed out the inning with a three-run double, as the final 10 runs of the inning came with two out.

Aubray Zell shut down the Nevada offense, scattering three hits and a walk over four innings to extend her scoreless innings streak to 34.  Lela Work, the national leader in saves, then came in to close out the game in the fifth to preserve Boise State's eighth shutout of the year.  Zell is now 6-1 on the year while Mallary Darby, Nevada's top pitcher, is now 9-11. 

The Broncos and Pack meet again Saturday for a doubleheader with games scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. at Mountain Cove Field.

Five Broncos Chosen for NationalChamps.net All-America Team

For the first time in school history, five Boise State football players have been chosen for a preseason All-America team. 

NationalChamps.net has released their preseason team and five Broncos are on the list, more than any other team.  Tackle Nate Potter was selected to be on the First Team, quarterback Kellen Moore and defensive tackle Billy Winn were on the second squad and center Thomas Byrd and defensive end Shea McClellin are Third Team members.  Running back Doug Martin was chosen as "Honorable Mention".

Boise State is in the midst of spring drills and will open the 2011 season in the Georgia Dome against Georgia.

FB Lineups Page Now Complete Through 1975

The tabbed page "FB Lineups" is already the most complete source for past Boise State starting lineups anywhere in print or on the internet (I've already checked hundreds of times.).  It is now complete back to 1975.  In the next few months, this site will be the best place to find out how many years Rick Woods started, who was the center in 1971, who was the quarterback in 1960 and how many yards Fred Goode rushed for in 1976.

Bookmark the site, become a "Follower of Blue Through and Through" and come back anytime!

Boise State #58 in Learfield Cup Standings

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/DIMarch24.pdfAs revealed on this board last week, Boise State made a jump in the Learfield Cup Standings, which measures the top athletic programs in the country.  The Broncos were helped by the ninth-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships and the 39th-place finish at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. 

Even so, Boise State is behind last year's pace, largely because the football team did not do as well in 2010 as they did the year before.  Boise State currently has 169 points, just behind Arizona State, Iowa State and Purdue but ahead of Georgia, Miami of Florida, Clemson and Pac-10 bound Utah.  Hawai'i is the second-highest school from the Western Athletic Conference at #86.

The Broncos hope to pick up points in gymnastics, and the men's and women's tennis teams will also need to score points if Boise State is to match last year's Learfield Cup success.

Complete standings can be found here:

Young, Avery Excel at Boise State Pro Day

NFL scouts, not being good enough at what they do to be able to evaluate talent based on actual football games, were on-hand for Boise State's Pro Day today and reports are the Titus Young and Jeremy Avery improved their stock.

Young, who ran a 4.47 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine, topped that with a 4.35 in the 40 today.  Avery, who wasn't invited to the Combine, recorded a 38-inch vertical.  The scouts wanted to try Winston Venable at safety and Ryan Winterswyk at tight end and had that pair work out at unfamiliar positions.  14 of the Bronco seniors took part in the drills, but reportedly Austin Pettis was not included in the group.  Pettis is comfortable with the numbers he posted at the Combine.

I Expect a Big Season from Doug Martin

In his career thus far, Boise State running back Doug Martin has proven to be the go-to guy when Boise State needed a goal-line touchdown (Fiesta Bowl 2009) and a breakaway touchdown to spur the team to victory (2010 Las Vegas Bowl).  Martin has that rare combination of innate toughness and blazing speed that few running backs have.  That is one of several reasons why I look for Martin to have a sensational senior year.

Martin is a back you can count on in short-yardage situations and a guy that can also get you the 80-yard touchdown to break the game open.  From the time he was Boise State Scout Player of the Year, the Bronco coaches knew they had to find a way to get him on the field.  Originally thought to be a strong competitor for Boise State's all-important "nickle" position on defense, Martin switched to running back when Winston Venable stepped up out of junior college to become a stud at that position.

Martin has excelled since moving back to offense.  Despite not being a starter, Martin led the Broncos with 15 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.9 yards a pop in 2009.  Martin played considerably more last year and ran for 1,260 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 6.3 average.  So we know the guy has the talent to put forth a monster year.

He'll need to.  Boise State lost star tailback Jeremy Avery to graduation and Matt Kaiserman to too many concussions.  And one can not begin to predict what D.J. Harper will do.  Harper was granted another year of eligibility because of injuries each of the past two seasons.  Behind those two are a couple of walk-ons and a freshman.  While each of those backs can get the job done, Martin has far and away the most carries, the most experience and the most durability.  I don't question at all that Martin could handle 25-30 carries a game.

Talent, durability, depth--those are three reasons why Martin should have an amazing year.  Another has to do with the loss of Titus Young and Austin Pettis.  Those two by all rights should both be drafted in the first round if NFL scouts have a clue (I'm not in the camp that thinks they do.)  Nevertheless, both are huge losses to the receiving corps.  Let me start off this part by saying that if I was out on the field, Kellen Moore would find a way to get me the ball; in other words, I don't think you have to be a great talent to catch some footballs this fall.  So I'm not worried in the least about the Boise State passing game.  But let's face it--you do have some drop-off at receiver when you lose Austin Pettis and Titus Young.  The younger receivers (Hiwat, Burks, Potter, perhaps Miller) will eventually grow into their new roles.

But in the meantime, you want yards you can count on from the get-go, especially in the season opener against Georgia.  The same is true for the rest of the early part of the schedule, until the receivers named above can "get in their groove".  Again, that is not to say that the Bronco passing game will suffer--it won't.  But with Martin, you have the proven, known commodity who you know can get it done in the clutch and get the tough yards.

It's never good to put a number out there as to what I think he'll rush for so I won't do that.  Just suffice it to say that Martin should explode for his best season as a Bronco.

The Boise State All-WAC Football Team 2001-2010

As the Boise State football team prepares to enter a new era, I thought it would be fun to name a Boise State All-WAC team, the top players at each position from 2001-2010 (The WAC years).

QB:  Kellen Moore
RB:  Brock Forsey
RB:  Ian Johnson
WR:  Austin Pettis
WR:  Titus Young
WR:  Jeremy Childs
TE:  Derek Schouman
TE:  Kyle Efaw
T:  Ryan Clady
G:  Tad Miller
C:  Scott Huff
G:  Andrew Woodruff
T:  Daryn Colledge

DE:  Ryan Winterswyk
DT:  Billy Winn
DT:  Andrew Browning
DE:  Shea McClellin
LB:  Andy Avalos
LB:  Korey Hall
LB:  Colt Brooks
CB:  Gabe Franklin
CB:  Kyle Wilson
S:  Quintin Mikell
S:  Jeron Johnson

P:  Kyle Stringer
PK:  Tyler Jones

That's a pretty potent lineup!  Agree?  Disagree?  Name your own team in the comments below.

Boise State Offers Legace

Arcadia Head Coach Jon Dimalante has confirmed that Taylor Legace has been offered a scholarship at Boise State.

Legace played receiver and safety and returned punts and kicks last year for Arcadia, accounting for 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns and also making four interceptions.  As a sophomore, Legace had 74 receptions for 895 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Legace, 6-2, 190, runs a 4.5 40.


Legace has received interest from UCLA, Stanford, Washington, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Colorado State.  He is a possession receiver with deceptive speed.

Blue Through and Through will have more information soon on Legace.

Oregon Might Get First Win Over Boise State in 13 Years

Oregon had not defeated Boise State in a major sport (football or basketball) in 13 years.  The Ducks finally broke that long dry spell with a 79-71 win in Eugene tonight over the Broncos in the semifinals of the CBI Tournament.

Kudos to Boise State, though, down by 20 in the second half, cut the lead to six in the waning moments.

Broncos Open WAC Season by Hosting Nevada

Boise State's softball team dives into the conference season with three home games against Nevada.  It is important for the Broncos to take advantage of the home field since these are the only games scheduled against the Wolf Pack this season.

Nevada can score runs in bunches when they're on.  The Pack is right behind Boise State (.304) for third in the Western Athletic Conference (.285) in hitting.  There are four main contributors to the Nevada offense.  Karley Hopkins is fifth in the WAC (.383) and leads the conference in doubles with 11.  Britton Murdock is hitting .354 and is third in the league with a perfect 8-for-8 stolen bases.  Erin Jones bats .340 while Daniell Patrick is third in the WAC with 25 RBI's.  However, only five Nevada hitters bat over .220 on the season.  Thus, the task is pretty clear--shut down those four and you have a good chance to win.

Mallory Darby (9-10, 4.24 ERA) is the top hurler for Nevada; Darby is thrd in the conference with 95 strikeouts.  The question is depth, as Nevada's team ERA is 5.74.  The Bronco bats were quiet at the beginning of the year, but as new faces began to hit on a consistent basis, the Boise State offensive attack has come alive during their winning streak.  They will need to continue to hit and move teammates along the basepaths and take advantage of the fat ERA's on the Nevada staff.

Boise State's Kellie Caplan is enjoying a fantastic year, hitting over .400 (.407), third in the WAC.  The surprise in the conference is freshman Devon Bridges.  Bridges is not only hitting well (.385) which is fourth in the WAC, but she seems to be a part of nearly every Bronco rally.

Boise State and Nevada take the field at Mountain Cover for a Friday game beginning at 3.  The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday with games scheduled at 1 and 3 p.m.

Boise State Ready to Battle Oregon in Eugene

After winning two College Basketball Invitation Tournament games at home, Boise State ventures to Eugene, Oregon for a CBI semifinal game with the Ducks Wednesday night.


The venue won't be the only thing that is different.  In Monday's game with Duquesne, Oregon outscored the Dukes 20-4 at the free throw line.  The Ducks won that one 77-75.


Senior forward Joevan Catron tops Oregon with 15.2 points (7th in the Pac-10) and 6.5 rebounds a game and broke the school record by playing in his 129th career game against Duquesne.  Catron, a Second-Team All-Pac-10 selection, shoots 46.7% from the field (164-351).  Catron recently became the 30th player in school history to top 1,000 career points.  Catron draws attention underneath and will get to the free-throw line; he's a 71.4% shooter there.


Catron's frontcourt mate E.J. Singler (sophomore) was named to the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team.  He is the conference leader in free-throw shooting (87.1%; 101-116) and is second on the Oregon team with 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.  Singler will also pop out and hit the three; he is 128-283 this year (45.2%).  


Tyrone Nared has started the last 17 games, with his career high being 16 points against California.


Junior guard Malcolm Armstead is sixth in career steals at Oregon with 143.  Armstead has a record 78 steals this season.  He also led Oregon with 148 assists this year, 10th all-time at Oregon.  Senior guard Jay-R Stowbridge is Oregon's third leading scorer at 9.6 points a game although he has not been a full-time starter.


Another Duck to watch is junior guard Garret Sim, who has become a three-point threat as the season has progressed.  Sim has made at least one trey in 19 of Oregon's last 22 games and he is second on the team with 33.3% shooting (46-138)  from beyond the arc.


As a team, Oregon set a school record for steals with 288 and they lead the Pac-10 in turnover margin.


Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Mountain Time.

Bronco Women Down #54 Oregon 5-2

To the poor Duck fans, Boise State has to seem like the school that won't go away.

The Boise State women's tennis team topped Oregon 5-2 yesterday at the BOAS Indoor Tennis Complex in a match much closer than the final score might indicate.  Four singles matches were decided in three sets.

Did you know:

Last school year, more than 2,300 Boise State students devoted 56,785 hours to non-profit organizations in the Treasure Valley, valued at $912,787 in economic benefit to the community.

ESPN Will Televise Boise State-Fresno State Game

ESPN has announced it will televise this year's Boise State-Fresno State game.  The Broncos travel to play the Bulldogs October 7.  This is the 11th-straight year that ESPN has nationally televised the rivalry game.

Boise State Will Play at Oregon Wednesday Night

Oregon fans got good news when their Ducks won in the College Basketball Tournament over Duquesne.  But just when they thought they'd gotten rid of Boise State by rejecting them for Pac-10 membership, the Ducks found out that it will be those same Broncos coming to town for the CBI semi-finals.

Creighton will play Central Florida in the other semi-final, with the two winners playing in a best-of-three series for the CBI Championship.

Boise State Advances to CBI Final Four

Freshman Ryan Watkins scored a career-high 19 points to lead Boise State to a 76-67 victory over Evansville tonight in Taco Bell Arena to advance to the semi-finals of the College Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Boise State One of Only 37 Teams Still Dancing

116 men's college basketball teams started out last week dancing in quest of a tournament championship.  One by one, they have been tapped on the shoulder by someone letting them know their dreams were over.  Now, just 37 teams remain.

Boise State is one of those 37, and tonight the Broncos take on Evansville in the CBI quarterfinals.  Follow the link to read a preview of tonight's game.  Tip-off is 7 p.m. in Taco Bell Arena.