Boise State Broncos 2018 Football Preview

Boise State Broncos 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: There are few programs in the nation, especially on the G5 level, that have enjoyed the consistency that this program has had over the last two decades. The Bronco program has changed coaches and conference affiliations, has flirted with other conference affiliations, but still, the winning has continued, and the Bronco program has proven that like TCU did, they could run with the big boys if given half a chance. This season should be no different, and if nothing more, some clunky things from last season, specifically the QB rotation, will be a thing of the past. BOise State should once again be in a position to win the Mountain West, and make a major run at another NY6 bowl appearance.

Breakdown Offense: Brett Rypien, once again, should be in full control of the QB job after being rotated with Montell Cozart last season in a move that had all of the chemistry of a brick wall. Rypien may just be the best QB in the Mountain West, and should be given the faith that he should not be competing with anyone for his job. He managed to pass for 2877 yards last fall wth 16 TD passes and 6 INTs. I expect across the board number increases for him in 2018. Chase Cord, a freshman, and the future of the position once Rypien has moved on, projects as the primary backup, with Jaylon Henderson and Riley Smith rounding out the 4 deep.

Alexander Mattison is back at RB after surprising everyone in 2017 with 1086 yards and 12 scores. He averaged 5.12 yards per carry on 15.14 carries per game. Much like Rypien, I would expect even better numbers this fall, as he should be unleashed as a feature back. Another freshman, Andrew VanBuren, projects as the possible backup, while Robert Mahone and Blake beasley round out the depth chart. With Ryan Wolpin gone, depth at RB is going to be a bit thin until the others can prove themselves.

Sean Modster projects as the X Receiver, Octavius Evans projects as the Y, and AJ Richardson projects as the Z. Filling the role of Cedrick Wilson will be key, as he posted a line of 83-1511-7 last fall. Modster posted 32-335-3, Evans posted 15-131-2, and Richardson posted 33-494-2. CT Thomas backs up Richardson, and posted 15-121-0, and is the most experienced of the backups projected to win jobs. The position will be quite thin and raw, and finding someone to step up into a bigger role will be paramount in fall camp. JC transfer Jonathon Hightower will be looking to get himself into a job, and maybe the dark horse to steal some reps, while the staff recruited well, with as many as 3 freshmen being projected to see steady time this fall. Still, none of them has seen the field yet, so stay tuned.

Filling the shoes of Jake Roh at TE will be a challenge as well, After Roh posted 39-410-9 last fall as the most explosive red zone weapon on the roster. Tyneil Hopper, a freshman, may very well win the job, but Chase Blakely, Matt Pistone, and John Bates will all be looking to stake their claim.

Ezra Cleveland (LT) and John Malchone (LG) return as starters, but three spots are open at C, RG, and RT. Garrett Larson looks like he could be the new starter at C, while sophomore Donte Harrington is also in the mix. Eric Quevedo left spring ball as the starter at RG, with Zack Troughton looking to carry the battle into the fall. Andres Preciado is the projected starter at RT for now, with Isaiah Moore in the mix as well. Kole Bailey and John Ojukwu are the backups at OT, while Austin Dixon provides depth at OG.

Breakdown Defense: Boise State was rock solid defensively in 2017, allowing just 22.9 points per game. They gave up 212.4 yards passing per game, and 120.21 yards rushing per game.Their rush defense ranked 17th in the nation.

Durrant Miles returns as the starting DE after finishing last season with 6 TFLs. He is backed up by Chase Hatada and Kayode Rufai. Hatada and Rufai combined for 3.5 TFLs last season, and should see some solid reps. The STUD end will be Curtis Weaver who was solid with a team leading 13 TFLs a year ago. Jabril Frazier will rotate in as the reserve.

David Moa is the starting DT, and finished with 3.5 TFLs last fall, while Sonatane Lui is the NT. Lui finished with 2.5 TFLs. Emmanuel Fesili backs up at NT< but depth at NT is still being ironed out as we head into fall camp.

Leighton Vander Esch left a year early at LB, and leaves a huge hole to fill, but the good news is that plenty of talent returns. Riley Whimpey is projected to replace Vander Esch, and has a huge job in front of him after playing in a reserve role as a freshman. Kekaula Kaniho will project to start at SLB. He finished with 32 tackles last fall. Tyson Maeva will be the starting MLB, and finished 3rd on the team with 84 tackles last fall. Benton Wickersham is the backup in the middle, and finished with 16 tackles last season. Depth on the outside is still being ironed out.

Tyler Horton and Avery Williams project as the starting CBs in 2018. Horton finished with 44 tackles, and also finished with an impressive 11 PBUs and 2 INTs. Williams finished with 45 tackles, 8 PBUs, and another 2 picks. Jalen Walker and Robert Lewis are the backups.

Kekoa Nawahine tied for the team lead with 3 INTs, and will start at SS after a 108 tackle season that also included a total of 4 PBUs. He is one of the best Safeties in the Mountain West, and the nation heading into 2018. DeAndre Peirce is the FS, and totaled 83 tackles, 2 PBUs, and a pick. Jordan Happle is the backup at FS, while depth at SS is thin.

Breakdown Special Teams: Haden Hoggarth returns at PK after hitting 18/23 FG attempts last season. He was perfect on 57 PATs.

Joel Velazquez is projected to come out of fall camp with the Punting job in his pocket. He averaged 40.64 yards per punt last fall. Quinn Skillin is still around, however, and averaged 40.65 yards per punt. He is not out of this race just yet.

Williams is now the primary KR after averaging 24.73, as Wilson held this job last fall as well. Williams also took two punt returns to the house last fall while averaging 11.22 yards per return, and will handle that job as well.

Final Analysis: The Broncos are not without issue coming into the 2018 season, as they have to find big time replacements at WR and TE, as well as having to find 3 new starters in the line on offense. The defense has to get their young LB corps to mesh early as well. All of that said, this staff has proven that they know how to get new players to mesh with veterans time and again, and should have no trouble doing so once more, especially with a solid young crop of game ready freshmen coming into the program this fall. There is no doubt that the Broncos will once again be one of the biggest G5 fish out there.