BOISE, Idaho — A thought for today’s opening of fall camp — with Boise State the expected pick to win the Mountain West this season (not a rare occurrence), what will that mean for Gatorade baths? Coach Andy Avalos got one after the Broncos defeated North Texas in the Frisco Bowl last December, but he left the blue turf dry and chilled to the bone earlier in the month after Fresno State’s win in the Mountain West championship game. Boise State finished 10-4, which was remarkable after its 2-2 start, but still…
The goals for this year include two Gatorade baths: one in Albertsons Stadium at the end of the conference title game, and another in late December in a location better than Frisco, TX. That could be at the L.A. Bowl in SoFi Stadium, or even at a New Year’s Six bowl as the Group of 5 representative. The latter has to be the target. It’s been nine years since Boise State has played in a New Year’s Six bowl, and the Broncos know how important it is to get back. Especially now in the conference realignment wars, where perception can be reality.
TESTING THE WIDE RECEIVERS ROOM
If there was any year for Boise State to have good depth at wide receiver, this is it. Right off the bat at his fall camp press conference Monday, Avalos announced that wide receiver Latrell Caples will miss the entire 2023 season with a lower leg injury. No word on where or how it happened. Bad news for the Broncos. So we revisit the receivers room. Stefan Cobbs was assumed to be the leader of the pack going into last season before Caples led the team with 51 catches for 549 yards. Cobbs is welcome to step back into the spotlight, do you think? Bottom line: the unfortunate turn of events means more reps for everybody—not only Billy Bowens and Eric McAlister, but the up-and-coming wild cards, Shea Whiting, true freshman Prince Strachan, Colorado transfer Chase Penry and Cole Wright (when he’s healthy).
MCCOY VERY MUCH IN THE MIX
If you had A’Marion McCoy on your Bingo card as a starting corner for Boise State, your number might be called. Markel Reed and Jaylen Clark seem like they’d be good options at the rebuilding position, but defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson had a not-so-fast-my-friend moment at his fall camp press conference Monday. McCoy, the transfer from Laney College in Oakland, has his full attention. "He can be one of the better cover corners we’ve had in a long time," Danielson told reporters Monday. The 6-foot, 167-pounder had four interceptions in just nine games at Laney last year, and he had two more as a freshman, including a pick-six. And McCoy is hungry for a long, productive season — because of California COVID restrictions in 2020, he played just five games as a senior at Menlo-Athlerton High School.
HOME WAS ALWAYS THE PLAN FOR MCKENNA
Boise State’s 2024 recruiting class continues to fill out. The Broncos got their first Idaho commit July 5, although he didn’t announce it until last Friday. It’s Borah High’s Trevor McKenna, a lifelong Boise State fan who has starred on both sides of the ball for the Lions but says the Broncos have plans for him at defensive tackle. McKenna has been a standout at a number of camps this summer, but it’s always been about Boise State for the 6-6, 255-pounder. Despite being lightly-recruited so far, 247 Sports has McKenna as a three-star prospect. Boise State now has 10 commits.
AUGUST IS FOR WATCHING
It was announced Monday that two Broncos have been named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award that goes to the nation’s best all-around player. Running back George Holani and quarterback Taylen Green got the nod. Boise State is one of only three Group of 5 schools with multiple players on the list. The “Watch List Watch” continues this morning, with Boise State’s Cade Beresford and D.J. Schramm getting nominations. Beresford’s “super senior” year is setting up nicely, as the one-time Washington State transfer is on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top interior lineman. Schramm, the fellow sixth-year senior who’s been the prince of perseverance, is on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy that goes to the best defensive player in the country.
BOISE STATE WATCHES ON THE SIDELINES
Boise State is popping up in conference realignment talk again, but what does it all mean? The Tweet of the Weekend came from Stewart Mandel of the Athletic: “One dynamic at play re: the Pac-12. Their presidents have long been the most Ivory Tower. They’ve passed on schools (Boise St, the entire Big 12) that would have helped them. Do they grasp the urgency this time? This isn’t about prestige, it’s about survival.” At the same time, in a column about expansion, Mandel brought up the “A” word, much as he says he “hates” it: the Pac-12 “doesn’t respect Boise State academically.” Respected Pac-12 write Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News lists San Diego State, SMU and Colorado State as the three likely targets for a desperate expansion by the conference. The Rams? Hey, they’re 65 miles from Denver.
KHALIL SHAKIR’S UPSIDE
Every time we talk positively about Khalil Shakir’s prospects of climbing the ladder this season with the Buffalo Bills, we’re accused of Boise State bias. But we’re not the only ones. Josh Allen talks about Shakir and his impact during offseason workouts. The media is talking at training camp about his chances of becoming Buffalo’s No. 3 receiver. With this kind of buzz, Shakir’s rookie numbers — 10 receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown — seem a little ridiculous. But I reiterate: they were not garbage catches. And he had seven grabs for 91 yards in two playoff games. “It’s gonna be a big jump first to second year,” Shakir told ESPN.com. There’s also a chance Shakir could be slotted in as a punt and kick returner following the potential season-ending jet-ski injury suffered by the Bills’ Nyheim Hines.
WHAT TO MAKE OF DOMINANCE UP NORTH
Based on the outmatched competition, it’ll be hard to judge the outcome of Boise State’s Canadian tour this week, but coach Leon Rice is giving floor time to the guys he really needs to see. Tuesday night it was St. John’s transfer O’Mar Stanley making his mark with 19 points and 15 rebounds in a 93-57 win over Fraser Valley. In the first game of the tour Monday night, Andrew Meadow (and his rock goggles) looked just like his high school highlight reel, slicing and dicing his way to 31 points in the 134-70 rout of Trinity Western.
MARQUEE NIGHT FOR IDAHO FALLS HOOPS FANS
It’s great that Boise State is spreading its footprint into Eastern Idaho via a neutral court game against Saint Mary’s, as announced first Monday by B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News. The event is set for Friday, December 1, at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls, capacity approximately 4,500. This is tremendous for that part of the state. But I can’t help but think it’s a bummer for fans in Boise, because this is a marquee matchup. The Gaels are coming off a 27-8 season and another NCAA Tournament trip—and they’re a preseason top 25 team most anywhere you look. It would have been a great anchor for the non-conference schedule in ExtraMile Arena at a time when it’s tough to get good teams to come to Boise. But far be it from me to throw cold water on the Broncos spreading their wings statewide.
JESSUP GOES WAAAYYYY SOUTH AGAIN
Former Boise State star Justinian Jessup is headed for familiar territory Down Under next season, agreeing to a one-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s NBL. After being drafted in the second round by the Golden State Warriors in 2020, Justinian played his first two pro seasons as an NBA Next Star for the Ilawarra Hawks. He didn’t get a Warriors training camp invite out of NBA Summer League last year and spent last season with Casademont Zaragoza in Liga Endesa, the top pro league in Spain. Jessup averaged 11.6 points per game for Zaragoza and shot 38 percent from three-point range. He’s one of two “imports” the Breakers have brought in so far — the other is Zylan Cheatum, against whom Jessup used to play when he was a San Diego State Aztec.
MORE FALL CAMP, HERE AND THERE
Idaho fall camp enters its third day in Moscow, with plenty of preseason accolades propelling the Vandals. The latest come from Phil Steele, who placed Hayden Hatten, his brother Hogan Hatten, Jermaine Jackson, Anthony Woods and Ricardo Chavez on his All-Big Sky first-team. College of Idaho opened fall camp on Tuesday, and there are expectations on the Yotes. C of I, now in its 10th season since reinstating football (man, that has gone by quickly), is the preseason favorite in the Frontier Conference coaches poll. The Yotes, coming off an 8-2 season, earned five of nine first-place votes.
PROPOURRI
The way I figure it, Troy Merritt needs to at least make the cut this week in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC, in order to guarantee exempt status on the PGA Tour next season. Merritt, No. 132 in FedEx Cup standings, is seven spots away from the line of demarcation. The former Boise State star is first off the tee Thursday morning at 6:50 a.m. our time. Meanwhile, the cooling trend continued for the Boise Hawks as they opened a three-game set in Idaho Falls Tuesday night, falling 7-6 to the Chukars. The Hawks were coming off a split of a six-game series against the Ogden Raptors. They’re 4-9 and sit in last place in the Pioneer League’s South Division second half standings.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…August 2, 1961:
On the heels of Frank McGuire’s resignation, North Carolina promotes Dean Smith to head basketball coach of the Tarheels. Smith would go 8-9 in his first season — but it would be the only losing campaign in 36 years of college coaching in Chapel Hill. Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, Smith would step down after the 1996-97 season with 879 career victories — fourth in Division I history at that point behind Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Bobby Knight. Smith is now fifth all-time, as former Kansas and North Carolina coach Roy Williams joined the top tier with 903 wins before retiring in 2021.
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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