BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…April 3, 2024.
As Boise State spring football rolls on, I’ll update something I did last spring—looking at Ashton Jeanty’s perch in the Broncos record book based on what he’s done his first two years. Jeanty rushed for 1,347 yards last season, the eighth-most ever at Boise State. He has 2,168 career yards—in the top 15 already. The Broncos’ career record has been held for 44 years by Cedric Minter, who racked up 4,475 yards from 1977-80. Jeanty would need to average 1,154 yards over the next two seasons to break that mark. Which would be highly probable. One obvious problem: this could be Jeanty’s final year at Boise State, as he could opt for the NFL Draft. It happened with Jay Ajayi, Jeremy McNichols and Alexander Mattison after their junior seasons. Minter could hold the record another 44 years.
RUNNING IT BACK, LITERALLY
Are punt and kickoff returns something you can really work on during spring football? Live special teams work is usually held to a minimum, but those two categories are an area of emphasis for Boise State in 2024. And this is why: the Broncos did very little in the return game last year. Punt returns are the most pronounced. Boise State ran back only eight of them, tied for fourth-fewest in the country. And its average return of 3.38 yards was 120th in the country. Injuries to Stefan Cobbs and Chase Penry didn’t help, but that was epic futility. In half as many games during the COVID year in 2020, Avery Williams had almost double the number of returns—15 of them—and he averaged more than 15 yards. That happened to be the last season Stacy Collins was special teams coordinator. And Collins is back.
TIME OUT FOR A TAYLEN GREEN UPDATE
Former Boise State quarterback Taylen Green appears to be settling in nicely at Arkansas. In fact, Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino named Green the starting quarterback Tuesday, right in the middle of spring football. On the Arkansas fan site at Rivals.com, it’s noted that Green received all of the first-team reps and completed 10 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the Hogs’ first open scrimmage of the spring last Saturday. When they quote stats down there, they never bring up completion percentage, but the versatility and athleticism Green brings overshadows that. Green said the decision to land at Arkansas was a quick one, thanks to Petrino, who had recruited Green out of high school when he was head coach at Missouri State.
ONE LESS HELPING OF RICE
We’re guessing Kade Rice talked this over with his family, yes? The Boise State freshman is entering the transfer portal. His family are brothers Brock and Max Rice, mom Robin Rice and dad Leon Rice. You can’t accuse Leon of favoritism, as Kade appeared in only eight games as a walk-on this past season. As KTVB’s Jay Tust points out, Kade scored exactly one point all season—a free throw in the opener against Vanguard. But he’s in the books as a Division I player, something only a fraction of high school athletes can ever say. It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up (it’ll likely be at a lower level where he can get playing time). Hopefully it’s at a place Leon and Robin can easily visit. They’ll have the wherewithal to do it. As of midnight on April 1, Leon Rice had a $50,000 raise kick in, and he now makes $1 million per year.
Also in the transfer portal: Boise State guard Jace Whiting. The former Burley High star played in 66 games the past two seasons, spelling Marcus Shaver Jr. last season and Roddie Anderson III this season, averaging 3.2 points. Whiting, only a few months removed from his LDS mission, made his Broncos debut as a true freshman in the season opener in November, 2022, and has steadily improved in his role off the bench ever since. Key word: “bench.” Like so many others, Whiting wants to get on the floor more.
AND THERE’S ANOTHER
While Whiting’s and Rice’s entries into the transfer portal may have been mildly surprising, this one is not. Kobe Young will also be leaving Boise State seeking minutes. Young came in highly-touted from Tri-Cities in 2021, but he was never able to break through as a Bronco. Even though Young seemed more prominent this season than last, he played exactly half as many minutes: 4.1 versus 8.2. He’s scored a total of 65 career points. Young’s best game this season was in ExtraMile Arena two months ago when he scored six points in 15 minutes and put down a rim-rattling dunk against Air Force. He’s a talented guy. Just speculating here, but maybe that means RJ Keane is going to stay and compete. Keane played twice as much as Young this season and has a nice three-point stroke.
A SELLOUT BEFORE THE NEW YEAR?
The biggest non-conference home game for Boise State hoops next season? Gee, whataya think? Clemson will be at ExtraMile Arena sometime in November, and the Tigers will be relatively fresh off their run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. They went to the wire against Alabama last Saturday before falling 89-82. The Broncos’ matchup with Clemson is the tail-end of the best home-and-home series the Broncos have been able to arrange in a long, long time. The last one comparable would be LSU in 2011 and 2012 (they’ve had a couple 2-for-1s with Oregon since). Boise State faced the Tigers in their first road game of the season last November and lost 85-68. They were tied 41-41 early in the second half before Clemson put it away. Chibuzo Agbo had a big night for Boise State—18 points including four three-pointers.
WAR CHEST FOR THE BEAVS & COUGS
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News is pretty good at covering the Pac-12, and he’s pretty good at math. And now that the conference is done in the NCAA Tournament, the numbers Oregon State and Washington State have to play with are close to final. Once the other 10 schools leave this summer, the Cougars and Beavers will have sole access to the conference’s assets and revenue. And they have two years to either rebuild the Pac-12 or move to another league. But they have money to sustain themselves until then. Wilner’s figures: Negotiated conference withholdings: $65 million; College Football Playoff payouts: $24 million;. Rose Bowl payouts: $100 million; NCAA Tournament units: $33 million. The grand total during the critical 24-month window: roughly $222 million.
YOTES WHO MAKE MINUTES COUNT
There’s a pair of 2024 NAIA All-Americans at College of Idaho, sophomore Samaje Morgan and junior Drew Wyman. It is the first time in nine years that C of I has had multiple All-America selections. And Morgan’s a first-teamer. He averaged 14.3 points and 3.9 assists, and the key? He did it while averaging less than 25 minutes per game. Morgan was already the Cascade Conference Player of the Year. Wyman’s a third-team All-American after putting up 11.4 and 4.2 rebounds per game. And Wyman did his damage in less than 22 minutes per outing.
STEELIES SEEK MOMENTUM FOR PLAYOFFS
It's not often that the Idaho Steelheads come home from Utah with two losses in three games. But them’s the facts, ma’am, as the Steelheads go into a three-game series against Rapid City in Idaho Central Arena. That won’t affect the stands, as the Steelies sellout parade is expected to roll on. The Steelheads’ spotlight right now is on Matt Register, the 34-year-old veteran who’s as good as he’s ever been. Register is second among ECHL defensemen with 57 points and 48 assists. There are just five games left in the regular season—then it’s Kelly Cup Playoffs time. The Steelies would love to go in on a positive note.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by FRANZ WITTE GARDEN CENTER…beautiful landscapes start here!
April 3, 2017: Gonzaga finally reaches the pinnacle, winning its way into not only its first Final Four, but all the way into the national championship game against North Carolina. The Bulldogs had previously made it to the Sweet 16 six times and the Elite Eight once. The Zags couldn’t finish the impressive run, though, falling 71-65 to the Tar Heels in Glendale, AZ. It was Gonzaga’s 19th consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament, 18 of them under coach Mark Few. The Bulldogs won their first 29 games of the season before being upset by BYU in West Coast Conference play. Few won his 500th career game during the tournament as the Zags finished 37-2.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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