BOISE, Idaho — Monday marked the first day of classes at Boise State University, with students flooding campus to find their classrooms and information for the 2022-2023 school year.
For the Broncos on The Blue, the start of the fall semester means the official end of fall camp and the start of preparation for their Sept. 3 showdown with Oregon State in Corvallis. Head coach Andy Avalos said the transition back to the books will test his roster's professionalism and vision for the 2022 campaign.
"I mean with school starting, that obviously puts a whole other load on their plate and the time management, things like that. Them setting their priorities and making sure they keep what is most important at the front of their priorities," Avalos said. "Everybody's on campus now. How are we going to stay locked in with the sense of urgency and consistency that we've been operating with here in the last couple weeks."
Although fall camp has come and gone for Boise State, Avalos said his group continues to compete on the gridiron, regardless of prior performance.
The mentality of 'every job is up for grabs' is used by college and professional sports programs across the country each year. However, for the Broncos this year, the message paid dividends.
Avalos said with no players comfortable enough with a starting job to take it easy, Boise State's consistency and work ethic at practice increased immensely. With so many guys working hard, the Broncos' roster suddenly looks a lot deeper.
"There is a tremendous improvement, just with the overall consistency with how they work. I mean, they know that and they take great pride in that now -- they take pride in that. Last year, we didn't know to what extent that needed to be," Avalos said. "I know there's only 11 that get to step on the field at one time, but the benefit of the way these guys have been training and preparing is we have multiple guys at almost every single position that can jump in there and it doesn't fall off very much, and in a lot of cases, and in a lot of cases it doesn't fall off at all."
After the Broncos open the season on the road Sept. 3 at Oregon State, they'll open conference play with another road game, Sept. 9 at New Mexico. Boise State's home opener is set for 2 p.m. Sept. 17 against UT Martin. The complete schedule is posted here.
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