BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…May 1, 2024.
At the time of this writing, the Seattle Seahawks haven’t added their undrafted free agent signees to their roster yet, so former Boise State standout George Holani isn’t on it. But we can look at the Seahawks’ running backs depth at present. Seattle didn’t draft a running back, nor did it sign any other backs as undrafted free agents. Holani joins three other guys at that position: Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh. Walker was the Seahawks’ leading rusher last season with 905 yards and eight touchdowns, while Charbonnet netted 462 yards and one TD. McIntosh was a seventh-round draft pick a year ago and didn’t have a carry last year.
So you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance for George? Yes. Seattle’s been talking to one of its former backs, one-time San Diego State star Rashaad Penny, but we’ll see. KTVB’s Jay Tust did these calculations in support of Holani’s bid: in the last 30 games in which he was healthy, Holani amassed 2,990 yards from scrimmage, 21 total touchdowns, 5.2 yards per carry and 55 receptions. And good luck to Broncos offensive lineman Cade Beresford, who landed a mini-camp invites from the Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. Beresford has confirmed he’ll attends the Saints camp.
NEW STREAK SET TO BEGIN NEXT YEAR
This breaking of Boise State’s 14-year draft streak is just a bump in the road, as you can see Ashton Jeanty being a sought-after pick a year from now. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has what he calls his “umpteenth annual ridiculously early outlook for the next NFL Draft,” listing the top 15 prospects from the West. Wilner features the players who he believes are most likely to be selected in the high rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, and No. 14 is Jeanty, the only Group of 5 player on the list. Writes Wilner, “It’s easy to make the case that Jeanty, not Cal’s Jaydn Ott, is the best tailback in the region. Powerful and compact, he rushed for more than 1,300 yards for the Broncos and had four games with five receptions. Which means he could be a multi-down back in the NFL. Which is good.” The Ashton Jeanty watch is on.
A DOWNER DRAFT FOR THE MW
If only Mountain West football was on the same trajectory as MW basketball. The draft showed that clearly it is not. This was a low water mark in conference history, as only two players were chosen last weekend. Two. The top one was Colorado State EDGE Mo Kamara, who went to the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round. Then in the seventh, the Las Vegas Raiders took Air Force safety Trey Taylor. Done. Not only was Boise State shut out, but Fresno State, San Diego State, etc. It’s small consolation that the entire Group of 5 had only 18 players selected. So if you consider the Mountain West as 20 percent of the Group of 5, well, it had 11 percent of the draft choices at that level. That does not scream “G5 flagship conference.” I don’t know what kind of gauntlet commission Gloria Nevarez can throw down, but wow.
SOMETIMES IT’S NO SURPRISE
The transfer portal still giveth, and the transfer portal still taketh away. In the case of last Friday’s news, the taking was expected. C.J. Tiller got a taste of a No. 1 quarterback’s role last December when he was pressed into service for Boise State in the L.A. Bowl, and he wants more. It was evident after the Broncos’ Spring Game that it was going to be hard to come by on the Blue. With Malachi Nelson on the roster, and with injured Maddux Madsen riding a solid track record from last season (and respect from offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter), Tiller was going to need an eye-opening performance, and he was just 3-of-9 for 17 yards and an interception. It’s a shame Tiller didn’t get a chance to develop, because the guy’s clearly got talent. But time waits for no one in today’s college football, and Tiller couldn’t wait himself.
HOOPS SIDE OF THE PORTAL
There’s more fun in the Mountain West men’s basketball portal. For one thing, New Mexico has been hit harder than Boise State this spring. Lobos star JT Toppin, the conference Freshman of the Year, has left UNM. Toppin was big this year (he’s big anyway at 6-9). He scored 12.4 points per game on 62 percent shooting and averaged 9.1 rebounds. Meanwhile, former Bronco Kobe Young has come out of the portal and has committed to Cal State Fullerton. Young joins a team that went 14-18 this past season and lost 88-65 in December in ExtraMile Arena.
It happens to everybody, even a program with the solid bones of San Diego State. Last week the Aztecs lost 2023 Final Four hero Lamont Butler, and on Monday one of next season’s projected starters, Elijah Saunders, followed suit. Saunders started 21 games this past season and averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. Maybe Butler and Saunders saw the NIL money former Broncos mainstay Chibuzo Agbo is allegedly getting at USC.
STEELIES NEED THAT UNDERDOG MENTALITY
After a hiccup in Texas last Friday night, the Idaho Steelheads finished off the Allen Americans in their first-round Kelly Cup Playoffs series. The Steelheads dropped Allen 5-1 last Saturday with two goals from Ty Pelton-Byce—and 5-3 Sunday with a pair of tallies from Wade Murphy to advance to the Mountain Division Finals against the formidable Kansas City Mavericks. That series doesn’t start until this Saturday in K.C., so everybody gets a lot of rest. The Mavericks swept their first-round series against Tulsa and haven’t played since last Monday. That’ll be a 12-day layoff. Kansas City is a clear favorite in this one. The Mavs weren’t far off from the Steelheads’ historic record a year ago, going Kansas City 54-12-6.
TROPHY TRACKING
There are still Mountain West softball and track and field championships to decide, but Boise State knows at this point it has three team titles. The Broncos men’s tennis team cruised to its second straight conference crown with a 4-1 win over San Diego State last Friday night. Coach Luke Shields is 2-for-2. Now Shields tries to avoid going 0-for-2 against his brother Clancy in the NCAA Tournament, as Boise State faces Clancy’s Arizona Wildcats in Tucson the first round for the second straight season. That match is set for this Friday. The tennis squad joined football and women’s gymnastics as MW team champs this athletic year. Not to forget Broncos golfer Cole Rueck, who won the conference men’s individual title on Sunday.
THE GOODING GUY IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD
When Jim Harbaugh visited the Gooding High School weight room in December of 2021, you knew there might be something special about Senators superstar Colston Loveland. He played everywhere for Gooding, but Michigan zeroed in on him as a tight end. Fast-forward two-plus years, and Loveland is a first-team All-Big Ten pick after a true sophomore year that included 45 catches, 649 yards and four touchdowns. Now, Dane Brugler of The Athletic predicts that Loveland will enter the NFL Draft after next season—and go in the first round, No. 19 overall. Brugler says Loveland would have easily been the second tight end chosen this year behind Georgia’s Brock Bowers had he been eligible, adding, “His athletic traits give him a great chance of being a top-20 pick next April.”
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…May 1, 1991:
Oakland’s Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock’s career record for stolen bases, swiping his 939th in a 7-4 A’s win over the New York Yankees in the Oakland Coliseum. Henderson wasn’t quite halfway through a 25-year big league career spread among nine different teams. He ended up with 1,406 stolen bases and also holds the all-time big league marks for runs, leadoff home runs and unintentional walks. Henderson, incidentally, started his pro career as a 17-year-old with the Boise A’s in 1976.
(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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