BOISE, Idaho — Earlier this week on the Jay's Sports Bar podcast, former Boise State great Shane Williams-Rhodes said the most impressive thing about last week's victory in New Mexico was the defense's ability to dominate without it's best player.
Standout safety JL Skinner was sidelined with an injury, providing a path for former walk on Alexander Teubner to make his first collegiate start. Teubner recorded four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup against the Lobos.
The performance in New Mexico was not the first time the former walk on punched above his weight. In last year's upset win at BYU, Teubner also filled in with an impressive four-tackle outing in Provo after Skinner was ejected for targeting.
While his ability to step in may be not be surprising following the win in Albuquerque, Teubner is an example of a backup player that prepares like a starter day in and day out.
"He plays with no fear. You need guys on the team like that, that are willing to do whatever for the team," Rodney Robinson said. "Those same hits you see JL make, Teub is definitely capable of those same type of hits. We've seen it in practice over and over."
Teubner is a product of Seaside, Oregon. According to Robinson, the redshirt sophomore wears his hometown on his sleeve.
"I think it's just that Seaside. He carries that around tough and I guess they make 'em tough out there," Robinson said laughingly. "I love Teub. He's always trying to help me get better everyday. He's one of the older guys in there, whether he starts or not. He's definitely a big part of our room."
Boise State has a history of one-time walk-ons who become favorites among Bronco Nation because of their blue-collar mentality and gritty attitude.
During his weekly press conference, head coach Andy Avalos said Teubner is a walking example of the type of players that guided Boise State to multiple Cinderella stories.
"He's a classic Boise State Bronco that we've all come to know and love of who he is as a person. He is that guy that everyone doesn't think that he's good enough, fast enough, whatever. He's definitely all those things," Avalos said. "He's smart enough and he's a really good teammate on top of that. I'm just so proud of him, how he stays the course and how he's persevered through everything throughout his time here and generated his opportunities."
Follow Saturday's action at Albertsons Stadium with KTVB's Game Tracker and live blog, featuring the latest updates from Tust and Frederick.
Watch more on Boise State Football:
See all of our Boise State football coverage in our YouTube playlist: