BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly: August 9, 2023:
It was wild that this much-anticipated event happened 24 hours after the Pac-12 blew up. But it was a welcome distraction. Signs had been pointing this way leading up to last Saturday at 5 p.m., but did you believe it would happen? Burley star Gatlin Bair, the No. 35 recruit in the country according to 247 Sports, committed to Boise State over Michigan. And he did it for all the right reasons, recognizing a Broncos coach staff (Andy Avalos in particular) that truly cared about him, and wanting to help Boise State back to its former perch high in the rankings and inspiring other Idaho athletes along the way. Bair, of course, ran 10.15 seconds in the 100-meters three times this spring, making him the fastest football recruit in the country in the 2024 class.
He’s the highest-rated recruit in Broncos history—and Brandon Huffman of 247 Sports says Bair is, in fact, the highest-ranked recruit in Mountain West history. He’ll be graduating early in December so he can start his LDS mission in January after the Army All-American Bowl. Then he’d be able to return in January of 2026 and get in winter conditioning, spring football, summer player-run practices and fall camp before suiting up for Boise State.
AT LEAST THE MOUNTAIN WEST IS STILL A CONFERENCE
After USC and UCLA announced their departure for the Big Ten last summer, everybody tried to predict what would happen next. And nobody could have predicted the collapse of the Pac-12, which is what we have now. Go ahead. Try to figure it out. The Mountain West has leverage, because, well, it’s still a conference. There’s some focus on the remaining Pac-12 schools merging with the Mountain West, rather than absorbing some of the MW schools. After all, there’s the matter of the $34 million exit fee to leave the league in 2024. Of the remaining Pac-4, Oregon State and Washington State would seem open to joining the Mountain West, while Cal and Stanford want to avoid that at all costs.
So, what are some of the other options for the Pac-4? Word is the American Athletic Conference is interested in them. But that wouldn’t be any better than the Mountain West—therefore, you’d think the travel would be a deal-breaker. As for Stanford and Cal, they’re getting interest from the ACC. They’d have philosophical differences with the ridiculous travel that would entail, but desperate times require desperate measures, and remaining in the Power 5 would be probably worth the sacrifice to them. Also, respected writer Brett McMurphy reports that the Big 12 has “no appetite” to add any of the Pac-4 schools or San Diego State. Lost in this fiasco is what a bummer the past five days have been for the Aztecs.
AZTECS IN A TIZZY
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, San Diego State scrambled the past five days to create a new Power 5 conference that would combine the remaining four Pac-12 schools plus the best of the Mountain West and American Athletic Conference. According to Dodd, “the idea died Monday night after Mountain West presidents held a call that ended with the leadership showing unity.” Dodd’s conclusion was that a Power 5 designation would have been a long shot anyway. And then there’s the TV money. ESPN and Fox have already spent theirs. SDSU athletic director John David Wicker responded: “FAKE NEWS! Disappointed in the number of absolute fake articles that get written these days!” He added a hash tag: “integrity in journalism.” The Aztecs have been blindsided—they kind of have a short fuse.
THAT HORRENDOUS TRAVEL
If you’re not a fan of Missouri coach and former Boise State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz, you should be. He went off on the latest conference chaos, and he was thinking what a lot of us were: nobody cares about the athletes in Olympic sports. “Did we count the cost to the student-athlete in this decision?” said Drinkwitz. “They chose a local school so their parents could watch them play and not have to travel.” Look back to 2012 when Boise State was going to join the Big East in football, for example. Any thought that the Broncos would join that conference in all sports was preposterous. The Big West was going to be the home in other sports. Now the Pac-12 expatriates’ volleyball, soccer, softball and baseball teams (among others) are faced with impossible cross-country road trips. Lots of them.
RANKINGS AND RECRUITING
Now for some actual football talk. How about that? The first preseason poll that gets national attention is out: the USA Today Coaches Poll. Boise State got 18 points in the “others receiving votes” category, 13th in line to get in the Top 25. Fresno State has one more point than the Broncos. Boise State’s opening day foe, the Washington Huskies, are ranked No. 11. Also, the Broncos have picked up another commitment from a wide receiver, as Cameron Bates, a 5-9, 165-pounder from Arlington, TX, has given his verbal. Jordan Kaye of Bronco Nation News did some digging and found that Bates has only played quarterback in high school and hasn’t caught a pass. Kaye heard the Broncos found him while recruiting Texas and then were wowed when saw him at a camp.
AUSTIN BOLT SIGHTING
It was sure good to see former Borah High star Austin Bolt at Boise State practice Tuesday morning. Bolt seemed so separated from the program last winter that we wondered if this was really going to happen. On the other hand, we heard that Bolt had healed enough from his broken leg to play basketball—and that he had a real connection with offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. Bolt made a couple of nice catches in drills, including one that demonstrated he hasn’t lost a step of his signature speed (a year ago teammates said he was the fastest player on the team). Can’t wait for that first real reception. Bolt is entering his fourth year in the Broncos program and doesn’t have one yet.
LAST YEAR’S FALL CAMP NARRATIVE
Remember what we were talking about during Boise State fall camp a year ago? This was the conventional wisdom: Hank Bachmeier was supposed to finally be reaching his considerable potential as a senior.It was the first time he’d had the same offensive coordinator two years in a row. Bachmeier and Tim Plough were thought to have learned a lot about each other, with Plough learning a lot about what it takes to fit his offense into the personnel he has. That was the spin. The Broncos also appeared to have as good an offensive line as Bachmeier had in his time here, plus what looked like a one-two punch at running back again. Well, Bachmeier flamed out in the first quarter at Oregon State, of course, and neither he nor Plough was with the program at the end of September. Conversely, the optimism this year seems real.
‘UPPER QUAD’ GAMES FOR BOISE STATE
Time out from conference calamity for Boise State hoops. After all, the Mountain West was the fourth-ranked league in the NCAA’s RPI last season, and the Pac-12 was eighth. The Broncos are set for more resume-building in the ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. The pairings have been announced, and Boise State opens against Virginia Tech at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Also on the Broncos’ side of the bracket are Iowa State and VCU, while Penn State, Texas A&M, Butler and Final Four participant Florida Atlantic are on the opposite side. The Broncos have played only two ACC teams in their history: North Carolina State in 2014 and Georgia Tech in 2019. Now, with Virginia Tech set and Clemson likely on the schedule, they’ll face two ACC teams this season alone.
WAZZU WILL STILL BE PAC-12 IN DECEMBER
More Broncos-Cougs on the hardwood this winter, as Boise State and Washington State move back to Spokane Arena again for a neutral-site game on December 21, tabbed as “Numerica Holiday Hoops 2023.” The Broncos beat WSU there in 2021, 58-52, and again last year in Idaho Central Arena, 71-61. That’s been good for strength-of-schedule. Meanwhile, Boise State finished its Canadian tour last Thursday with an 83-60 victory over Thompson Rivers College in Kamloops, BC. The star of that one was more conventional, as junior-to-be Tyson Degenhart put up 29 points for the Broncos. But St. John’s transfer O’Mar Stanley made his mark on this trip, scoring another 16 points and pulling down nine rebounds against the Canadian hosts. There’s going to be competition at the post this fall.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…August 9, 2005:
Felix Hernandez, Seattle’s prized 19-year-old prospect, picks up his first big league victory in his second start as the Mariners blank the Minnesota Twins, 1-0. Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings and allowed five hits—all singles—and did not walk a batter. He was the first teenager to win a start in the majors in 21 years. And Hernandez wasted no time doing it, as the game lasted only two hours and one minute, the shortest in Safeco Field history. By the way, King Felix is going to be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame this Saturday.
(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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