BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…August 7, 2024.
The phrase “embarrassment of riches” is a dangerous one when looking at the Boise State depth chart. One injury can flip that script. But right now, the Broncos are sitting pretty at linebacker, as Marco Notarainni and Jake Ripp compete for the starting spot next to preseason All-Mountain West Andrew Simpson. Notarainni was outstanding filling in for the injured DJ Schramm last season—until he had the injury bug bite himself the final five games of the season. Coach Spencer Danielson has raved about the photographic memory Notarainni takes from the meeting room to the field. But Ripp was the guy everybody talked about during spring football in Notarainni’s absence. And by all accounts, Ripp has picked up where he left off. Ripp looks the part at 6-3, 240 pounds. And he’s playing the part.
Notarainni made things even more interesting, though, with a solid showing at last Saturday’s first fall scrimmage, recording a sack and making a key interception in what amounted to crunch time. That after Ripp had been getting all of the buzz at that position for months. It’s been an amazing surge for Ripp. Last season, he made all of 12 tackles all season (none for loss). Notarainni had 13 in one game (versus North Dakota) and 53 for the year, including 3.5 sacks. This race is a long way from over.
WHO WILL LEAD ‘THE BLUES’?
That first scrimmage is in the books. They may be private books—there are no stats available—but the quarterback competition forges ahead. “Both competed,” said coach Spencer Danielson of Maddux Madsen and Malachi Nelson. “Malachi had some reps with the blues, which is our 1s. Maddux had some reps with the blues. Maddox had some reps with the 2s.” So while Madsen appears to be the odds-on favorite to start at Georgia Southern two weeks from Saturday, Nelson is finally getting a shot with the first team. Overall, the apparent domination of the scrimmage by the offense is enlightening. Danielson rattled off a host of wide receivers who were a part of it: “Latrell Caples had a good day. Austin Bolt had a couple big catches. Chris (Marshall) had a big catch.” There were five touchdown passes.
BRONCOS BUBBLING UNDER TO START
I didn’t expect Boise State to make the Preseason AP Top 25, but the Broncos came pretty close. They’re third in line under “others receiving votes” with 47 points, their highest total entering the season since 2018. Boise State is also tops among Group of 5 schools—they’re followed by Liberty and Memphis. As for the Oregon Ducks, the Broncos’ Week 2 opponent? They are a formidable No. 3. Meanwhile, good ol’ Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, the West Coast expert, had Boise State at No. 23 on his ballot, his highest-ranked G5 team. Very simply, Wilner says the Broncos should continue their momentum from last season’s Mountain West championship. But he uses the obligatory rationale: “All eyes will be on quarterback Malachi Nelson.” That is, unless, all eyes are on Maddux Madsen August 31.
ANOTHER CFP ANGLE
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, like many others, has Boise State on his radar in December. Feldman’s “Six unranked teams to watch for in the CFP race” includes the Broncos and was a pretty accurate assessment, laying out the wild card situation at quarterback. Looking at Boise State’s season as a whole, Feldman wrote, “The Broncos have to go to Oregon in Week 2 and visit UNLV and Wyoming but get both Washington State and Oregon State at home. The game against the Ducks means they might not have any more margin for error, but 11-2 with a respectable score against Oregon might top the rest of the non-Power 4.” Strength-of-schedule counts.
HEAD START ON 2026
Boise State has had some early quarterback commitments before—Brett Rypien in April of 2014 for the 2015 recruiting class, for example. But the Broncos have never had one this early before. Jackson Presley out of Glacier High in Kalispell, MT, gave his verbal Monday, and we might want to remember that name. It’s for the class of 2026. Presley is a three-star prospect right now, but he has two years of high school left. His top three were Boise State, Arkansas and Oklahoma State, and he also had offers from seven other Power 5 schools. The interesting dynamic in Broncos recruiting is this: there’s not a QB commit for the class of 2025 yet. But with Madsen a sophomore, Nelson a freshman and Kaleb Arnett a true freshman, might they go without one? That would be risky in the transfer portal era.
COACH PETE, CONSULTANT
Chris Petersen spent a lot of time around his old team last week. It was good to see him meshing into the program again. What better mentor for coach Spencer Danielson? And Coach Pete is happy to contribute. Petersen also spent some time on Idaho SportsTalk, and you could tell he likes what he sees in fall camp. We’re not talking Xs and Os as much as, in Pete’s words, “team dynamics, staff dynamics, culture.” His comments on the Boise State quarterback situation have created buzz. On Nelson: “A Dirk Koetter will continue to develop him as the season goes on.” And on Madsen: “He’s got some charisma.” Similar to a certain QB he coached 15 years ago. And on Madsen’s generous listing at 5-10? “We’re not battin’ an eye with height,” he laughed. “Don’t even go there with me.”
ROUNDABOUT ‘TEAM IDAHO’ SUCCESS
We’ll celebrate Kristin Armstrong’s birthday three days late today—and celebrate the fact that Boise’s three-time Olympic gold medalist was part of three Olympic medals at the Paris Games. Cyclist Chloe Dygert, who claimed a bronze in the individual time trial on the second day of competition, then won gold as part of the USA squad in team pursuit. It’s the first time an American team has ever won that event. Dygert is coached by Armstrong, as is Haley Batten, who won a silver in mountain biking. Kristin was all smiles on KTVB’s O-Zone.
DUELING DOWNTOWNS
There are lots of sidebars to the extension of the Boise State-Washington State men’s neutral-site hoops series. The Broncos and Cougars will be back in Idaho Central Arena on Saturday, December 7. It would be nice to get the Cougs in ExtraMile Arena, but in NCAA Tournament metrics, the neutral sites benefit both programs. (And the Broncos do get Clemson at home this season.) You also wonder if this is a future conference game. That’s the big unknown, as the Pac-2 and Mountain West aren’t close to an agreement—and WSU and OSU are playing basketball in the West Coast Conference this winter. Whatever it is, it’s a nice little rivalry right now. This will be the fourth matchup in the Downtown Boise-Downtown Spokane setup. Boise State leads 2-1, although the Broncos did lose last December.
WESTERN IDAHO FAIR ROAD TRIP COMMENCES
The first night of the Boise Hawks Western Idaho Fair road trip Tuesday night was unlike any of the previous 36. The Hawks played the Oakland Ballers, the independent club attempting to cash in on the local disdain for the Las Vegas-bound (or at least Sacramento-bound) A’s. And it may have been unlike any of the past 36 years, as Micah Yonamine slugged three home runs in a 5-1 Hawks victory over the B’s. It’s not like I track Hawks stats, but I go all the way back with the franchise. And I can’t recall a player ever hitting three homers in a game. Yonamine now has 23 home runs on the season.
ANOTHER STEELIES MAINSTAY IN THE FOLD
The Idaho Steelheads are good at keeping guys around, and Ty Pelton-Byce is the latest add to that list, as the organization has re-signed Pelton-Byce for the upcoming season. The 27-year-old forward is entering his fourth pro season, third with the Steelheads. Pelton-Byce appeared in 57 games for the Steelies last season, finishing fourth on the club with 60 points and third with 43 assists. He also had three AHL stints during the winter. Pelton-Byce has averaged more than a point a game in his two years in Boise (106 points in 100 games).
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BACON BOISE…fresh breakfast and brunch every day!
August 14, 1959: The birthday of a player who helped change the trajectory of both college basketball and the NBA. As a sophomore at Michigan State, Earvin “Magic” Johnson led the Spartans to the national championship, ending with an iconic final against Indiana State star and future Magic rival Larry Bird. Johnson went on to play 13 seasons with the L.A. Lakers and was one of the most popular figures in NBA history. He was later an executive and part-owner with the Lakers. Magic’s 1991 announcement that he was HIV-positive was widely commended for dispelling the notion that it was just a “gay disease.” Magic Johnson…65 years old today.
(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.)
