WIR: Breaking news and Broncos' schedule

Week in Review (WIR) feels that OBNUG has raised the bar for other WAC football blogs after this week's scoops on Orlando Scandrick's mood and the Idaho Statesman's misprint. Of course, the bar was pretty low to begin with.

• Ryan Clady's pec chooses not to participate in Combine.
• Statue of Liberty to the finals of ESPN's highlight contest. Vote!
• MySpace journalism at its finest. We approve.
• Scandrick blazes through the 40. He's fast.
• Pro Day is coming.
• Fresno's new lackey hire.
• The Brock Forsey Experience.
• Boise State's schedule is released.
• The Statesman drops the ball.
• WAC schools await impending losses.

Have a great weekend, Bronco fans. Start planning those road trips to away games. We'll have a lot more Bronco schedule coverage next week.

OBNUG WAC schedule breakdown

With the release of Boise State’s 2008 football schedule yesterday, we feel pretty good about the Broncos’ chances of running the table again. Obviously, Oregon will be a big hurdle, and traveling to Southern Mississippi will not be easy. But our two toughest WAC opponents will be traveling to Boise, so we can’t complain.

With our schedule setting up quite nicely, we thought it might be interesting to take a look at the schedules of our WAC competition to see who else might surprise. Needless to say, we are not very worried.

Fresno State

• Toughest game: The Bulldogs will get one of the nation’s best teams when Wisconsin visits Fresno. This has the makings of David Carr’s 2002 all over again.
• Weakest game: Anyone, anywhere, any time works out great when it is Toledo.
• Schedule strength: respectable

Utah State

• Toughest game: Two weeks before the Broncos head to Eugene, the Aggies travel to face the Ducks. Utah State fans are nervous about getting killed. Oregon fans are annoyed to have a I-AA team on the schedule.
• Weakest game: There are really no easy opponents for the Aggies, but playing Idaho at home at least gives them a chance at not going 0-12.
• Schedule strength: impossible, relative to their being Utah State

Nevada

• Toughest game: Two Big XII teams back-to-back will pose a good challenge for the Wolfpack early in the year. Although, after giving up 69 points to the Broncos last year, I can’t wait to see what Texas Tech and Missouri can do.
• Weakest game: The season-opener against Grambling appears to be nothing more than a chance for Colin Kaepernick to stretch his legs.
• Schedule strength: mildly difficult

Idaho

• Toughest game: After a surprising show at USC last year, the Vandals get a crack at another PAC-10 opponent when the visit Arizona. Can lightning strike twice? In the form of a loss, yes.
• Weakest game: Idaho has in-state rival Idaho State on the schedule, which can only mean that the Vandals’ audition for the Big Sky is underway.
• Schedule strength: mediocre

LaTech

• Toughest game: When the Bulldogs scheduled a game at Kansas a couple years ago, I bet they never thought Kansas would be good. Also, having an improving SEC team (Mississippi State) come to town can’t end well.
• Weakest game: We’re not sure if they made up the name Southeast Louisiana or not.
• Schedule strength: commendable

New Mexico State

• Toughest game: The Aggies visit Nebraska in an early-season lopsided affair.
• Weakest game: NMSU plays traditional rivals New Mexico and UTEP in what is otherwise known as a cop out.
• Schedule strength: boring

San Jose State

• Toughest game: The Spartans have two BCS-conference teams on the road: Nebraska, a week before New Mexico State visits the Cornhuskers, and Stanford.
• Weakest game: A WAC schedule wouldn’t be complete with competition from a lower level. San Jose State’s choice? UC Davis.
• Schedule strength: predictable

Hawaii

• Toughest game: To open the season, the Rainbow Warriors play at Florida. As if getting beaten up by Georgia wasn’t bad enough.
• Weakest game: Hawaii’s annual division I-AA opponent? Drumroll please…Weber State!
• Schedule strength: better than usual

Vote for BSU

This weekend is the last chance to vote in ESPN's Greatest Highlight. The Statue of Liberty play is up against the Miracle on Ice in the finals, so vote, vote, vote. Results will be aired on Sunday.

The Greatest Highlight [ESPN]

Pre-order BSU's 2007 team DVD? No thanks

The Bronco book store is offering BSU fans the opportunity to pre-order the 2007 Boise State football team video, which would include crushing losses, disappointing running back performances, and failed expectations. But you could never tell from the product description!

On the heels of easily the greatest season in school history, and with the buzz still prominent from the historic overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the 2007 Boise State Football team set out to continue a recent trend of on-field success.

And then we played a BCS-conference team on the road.

Needless to say, owning this DVD is not high on our list of priorities.

2007 Season DVD [Boise State book store]

WAC schedule reaction

Putzing around the Interweb this morning, we came across lots of articles from our fellow WAC members about their schedules. The mood is decidedly upbeat, considering some of these schools will be 30-point underdogs. Here are the links:

Louisiana Tech [The News-Star]
Hawaii [University of Hawaii]
San Jose State [SJSU]
New Mexico State [Las Cruces Sun-News]
Idaho [Idaho Statesman]
Utah State [Salt Lake Tribune]
Nevada [Reno Gazette-Journal]
Fresno State [Fresno Bee]

Lies compromise Statesman website

In its haste for timely journalism, the Idaho Statesman posted Boise State's schedule without having a Bronco fan read it first for mistakes. See that monumentally important game at the end of the schedule against Fresno? Where are we playing that again?



Let the conspiracy theories begin.

Boise State football schedule released!

The 2008 Boise State football schedule is out, and it is a beauty! At least four of the games will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2, all of which are to be played either Friday or Wednesday night.

Circle your calendars for Friday, October 17th and Friday, November 28th when Hawaii and Fresno State come to town. Keep checking here for much more coverage of the Boise State football schedule tomorrow and next week.

Saturday, Aug. 30 vs. Idaho State
Saturday, Sept. 13 vs. Bowling Green
Saturday, Sept. 20 at Oregon
Wednesday, Oct. 1 vs. Louisiana Tech
Saturday, Oct. 11 at Southern Miss
Friday, Oct. 17 vs. Hawaii
Friday, Oct. 24 at San Jose State
Saturday, Nov. 1 at New Mexico State
Saturday, Nov. 8 vs. Utah State
Saturday, Nov. 15 at Idaho
Saturday, Nov. 22 at Nevada
Friday, Nov. 28 vs. Fresno State

You can't keep Brock Forsey down

One of our favorite Boise State football players of all-time is former RB Brock Forsey. He was one of the greatest backs in Bronco history, and we will never forget his brilliant 2002 senior season.

Chicago Bear fans, apparently, will never forget his 191-yard, two-touchdown rookie season.

Those loyal supporters created an online fan club called the Brock Forsey Experience, which celebrates the Chicago Bears and the qualities embodied by Forsey.

But why Brock? Let's have them tell us.

It was important for our group to choose a symbol that represents the qualities that the members most identify with: Toughness, questionable athletic ability, occasional acne problems, and that feeling of being an underdog. Nothing symbolizes this more than Brock.

Well put, Bears fans. But we would have added awesomeness, sticking it to WAC competition, and jackhammer.

[The Brock Forsey Experience]

Fresno hires new offensive coordinator

The Fresno State Bulldogs hired Doug Nussmeier as their new offensive coordinator, setting off a homerism firestorm at the offices of the Fresno Bee.

Fresno State is expected to be the favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference and already is projected as the preseason-favorite among non-Bowl Championship Series programs to contend for a BCS bowl.

Unbiased journalism at its finest.

Now might be a good time to mention that Nussmeier is coming over from the St. Louis Rams where he served as quarterbacks coach for a team that struggled mightily in the unprepared hands of backup quarterback Gus Frerotte. Also, Nussmeier is an Idaho Vandal.

Nevertheless, Pat Hill is awfully enthused to have him on board.

"I felt it was a perfect fit," Hill said. "With a senior quarterback and the success that we had last year and the teaching progression of our quarterback, especially late in the year, I thought it was really important to find someone that would have continuity in the language and the thoughts that we were having here. He's got street credibility. He's been to a place that a lot of college athletes want to be. When he talks, they'll listen."

At least now we know who is serving the Kool-Aid.

Nussmeier is the 'perfect fit' for Bulldog football [Fresno Bee]

Photo courtesy of Fresno Bee

Boise State Pro Day on Monday

Ryan Clady and friends will be hitting the field for NFL scouts on Monday, March 3rd. The previous date posted on the NFL's website was at least a couple weeks later, but several stories in the Statesman has referred to the date as Monday. This will be the only time we trust the Idaho Statesman over the NFL.

4.32 seconds of awesome

Orlando Scandrick made quite a name for himself yesterday at the NFL Combine. By posting the fourth fastest time out of everyone, the former Boise State cornerback should see his stock rise in the April draft. In the meantime, his blazing spring got us thinking: how fast exactly is 4.32 seconds?

Well, we did some research and compiled the following list of things that can happen in 4.32 seconds.

• The University of Idaho can fall behind by two touchdowns
• Dan Hawkins can change his mind about wanting to coach at BSU
• Sean Renfree can make the worst decision of his life
• Paul J. Schneider can misidentify three Boise State football players and one coach
• Taylor Tharp can run 15 yards
• The Aiona Key era can begin and end
• Gene Bleymaier can schedule a I-AA opponent

Andrew Browning in the AFL

Former BSU defensive lineman Andrew Browning is working out with the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena League. Can a career with the Boise Burn be far off?

Browning, Elliott seek roster spots with San Jose [Arbiter Online]

Bronco Country all-time team

The good folks over at Bronco Country (Scout.com's BSU forum) are hard at work putting together an updated all-time Bronco football team. One of the recent polls was where to rank Marty Tadman among the all-time great Boise State safeties. Putting our biases aside, we feel that Tadman is the greatest safety to ever play football anywhere. But that's just our opinion.

Head over to Bronco Country and vote. [Bronco Country]

Modern-day MySpace journalism

Earlier today, OBNUG broke a story on Orlando Scandrick being focused heading into the Combine. The story was attained from research done on Scandrick’s MySpace page, to which we did not have full access since we are not technically friends. Nevertheless, our cutthroat reporting skills and attention to detail led us to the breakthrough the NFL Combine had been waiting for: Orlando Scandrick’s mood, complete with emoticon.

All of this got us thinking: is MySpace a credible source for breaking news? Most certified news programs use actual people or first-hand experience to inform their opinions. Should we really be putting our faith in a system that epitomizes the omg generation?

OBNUG votes yes.

We feel that MySpace is a perfectly reasonable place to find out information, especially from today’s generation. Kids are much more likely to post comments or blogs about their life than they are to tell Paul J. Schneider “what’s the haps.” No BSU athlete is running to Mike Prater to tell him how he did on his macroeconomics test, especially not Jeremy Childs. That kind of information is going to hit the interwebs of MySpace long before it makes its way to the middle-aged dad mouths of Idaho media.

Welcome to the future of reporting, where breaking news is sandwiched between the backdrop of Hello Kitty pics and the aural onslaught of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back.”

Consider OBNUG resourceful. We’ve gleaned copious amounts of knowledge from Ryan Clady’s profile (of particular note, which shows may or may not be the sh*t), and we never cease to be amazed by Marty Tadman’s page (appropriately set to DC Talk’s “In the Light”).

Taste the revolution, David Augusto. You can have your agents and directors and personal contacts. We’ve got this guy:

Of course, one needs to be careful straddling the line of journalistic exposure and personal privacy. We would never share with the world that Ryan Clady, according to his MySpace page, makes less than $30,000 a year. That is his personal business, and we intend to keep it as such.

Likewise, MySpace reporters like ourselves need to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to bogus info. Believe it or not, some people lie on their social networking profiles, so you have to take everything you see with a grain of salt. We at OBNUG realize the potential problems, which is why we have adopted a surefire rule to differentiate between the truth and the lies: Always trust an emoticon. Except the surprised emoticon.

We would welcome the media hordes of Idaho to join us in the evolution of journalism. There is a lot to be learned on the pages of MySpace, even if most of it is written in tweenspeak. If you can’t understand something, go ask your teenage daughter. If you can’t figure out a computer, go cover the Vandals. Enjoy finding out more than you ever thought you’d know about today’s athletes.

As for us, we’re moving on to Facebook.

Scandrick runs 4.32

Orlando Scandrick might have made himself several millions of dollars with a 4.32 time in the 40-yard dash at today's NFL Combine. His time was good enough for second among all cornerbacks and the fourth-best time overall.

“Today went excellent for me. I did everything I had planned,” Scandrick told the Idaho Statesman from Indianapolis. “I came here and made myself some real money.”

He and Ryan Clady, who did not work out due to an injury, will be at the Boise State Pro Day on March 3rd to work out again in front of NFL scouts.

Scandrick overjoyed with Combine workouts [Idaho Statesman]

Scandrick update: focused!

Breaking news from OBNUG!

According to Orlando Scandrick's MySpace page, his mood is listed as focused. OBNUG has confirmed this information with a trusted second source: the emoticon next to Scandrick's mood.

Considering O has already logged on today, we can assume that he is focused on his upcoming Combine drills and not something else.

O [MySpace]

Boise State highlight in the finals

Who's Now? The 2007 Fiesta Bowl, that's who!

The Statue of Liberty play from the greatest college football game of all time has made it to the finals of ESPN's Greatest Highlight competition. The play beat out Doug Flutie's Hail Mary in a battle of planned, decisive strategy versus blind, dumb luck. The final result wasn't even close as BSU took 68 percent of the vote.

Next up for Statue Left is either the winning goal in the Miracle on Ice or the Immaculate Reception. The winner will be announced later today, and voting for the finals will take place after that.

In case you happen to have forgot the greatest moment of your life, here is the video:



Bronco Statue of Liberty play advances [Broncosports.com]

Big day for Orlando Scandrick

As the NFL Combine winds down today, former BSU defensive back Orlando Scandrick and the rest of the DBs will get their chance to perform for NFL scouts. Make sure you stretch those pectoral muscles, O.S.!

Scandrick hopes to run...in 4.3 seconds [Idaho Statesman]

Gratuitous Friday Night Lights clip

And now for a Friday Night Lights clip involving everyone's favorite character, Tim Riggins. A little something something to help us all through the long offseason. Another way to get through it would be to watch the show to help stave off cancellation...

BSU ranked in some random person's poll

Not sure how excited we want to get over this (my odds are on "not at all"), but a random Internet poll has Boise State in the top 25.

23. Boise State Broncos
RB Ian Johnson returns for what seems to be his 10th year in Boise and the Broncos will be breaking in new QB, Michael Coughlin. You would think Boise is gonna stop producing after all these years but I don't think it happens this year. Boise has 13starters returning and their hungry to regain the WAC title again.

We'll take the respect wherever we can get it. Oh, I'm also grateful that he figured out our starting quarterback for us. Kudos, Mitch Harper.

2008 Pre-Spring Top 25 Poll [Mitch Harper's College Football Blog]

Clady's combine grade: incomplete

Ryan Clady suffered a pectoral injury during the bench press and was forced to sit out the rest of the drills during the NFL Combine on Saturday. He was able to bench 225 pounds 24 times, which didn't even place him in the top 10 of linemen. Michigan's Jake Long had the highest number at 37.

Will his performance hurt his draft stock? Not if Brian Murphy has anything to say about it!

He probably doesn't have enough time to pass Long on draft charts, but Clady's status as the second-best tackle in the draft should not change much - even in a draft teeming with quality offensive tackles.

"There are six offensive tackles that might go in the first round," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "Eight offensive tackles might go in the first two rounds. I've never seen that kind of depth."

Clady's spot in the first round should be secure. His million-dollar future should be OK.

That is quite some eisegesis he put on that quote.

Pectoral injury costs Clady a chance to shine... [Idaho Statesman]

Bold Predictions for the Week Ahead

We had a good time watching the Oscars last night, although we were a little disappointed that there was a complete lack of sports throughout the entire four-plus hours. Couldn't we at least have had Will Ferrell do something in short basketball shorts? We will never understand Hollywood.

Here is what we see happening in the nex

• Orlando Scandrick blows everyone away at the Combine on Tuesday, prompting scouts to wonder: "If Scandrick is this good, then Marty Tadman must be great!"
• Academy Award voters go see Into the Blue, declare it the finest documentary ever made, and reverse their decision to give the Oscar to some foreign flick instead.
• Ryan Clady's disappointing Combine performance will be overshadowed when, at BSU's Pro Day, he runs the 40 in 4.3, drags an airplane across the field with his teeth, deadlifts a live horse, jumps from midfield to the top of the new press box and walks on the Boise River.

WIR: Photojournals and the combine

WIR (Week in Review) was thrilled to see the fancy new stadium addition and ecstatic that there was no security around to keep people off the field. By the way, if someone is missing an orange chair come football season, we are meaning to give it back; we just haven't got around to it yet.

• Spring practice will be here before we know it. Pro Day, too.
• ESPN widget good for comic relief.
• The Mother Ship coming along nicely.
• Hit up Ryan Clady for money.
• The Combine is upon us.
• DQ something right, Bronco Stadium.
• What's Brock Forsey been up to?
• ESPN validates Boise State's greatest moment.

Have a great weekend Bronco fans. Watch more Combine than you should.

Unsolicited Combine advice

Ryan Clady and Orlando Scandrick have their work cut out for them the next couple days at the NFL Scouting Combine. Fortunately, OBNUG is here to help. All those events--the poking, the prodding, the testing--can be a little overwhelming, so we thought we would provide our Bronco alumni with some pointers on how to turn a meat market audition into a million dollar payday.

40-yard dash: In high school P.E., our teacher always taught us to run like you were "holding a dime" because it helps you keep some sort of proper running form, which I guess is important. Well, using simple deductive reasoning, we have figured that you could go exponentially faster if you were "holding a quarter" or "holding an Eisenhower half-dollar." But why stop there? Why not hold a bar of gold or an imaginary sunken Pirate treasure chest? If you want to have a good 40 time, we suggest holding the largest pretend monetary item you can...and running fast.

Broad jump: At no point in your NFL career will you be standing perfectly still and be required to leap three feet forward. Therefore, you can pretty much blow off this drill.

Bench press: We have frequented many gyms in our day, so we know our way around dumbbells and free weights. We were never the biggest guy in the room, and we certainly weren't the ones lifting the most weight (although we may have set a record for squat machine reps on 50 pound resistance). However, we did notice that those big guys all had one thing in common: grunting. Letting out primal noises actually helped them lift heavier and heavier weights. A harumph, a wheeze, a yell--whatever sound you need to make to get those 225 pounds off your chest, feel free to let it out. We used tiny weakling grunts to get 175 pounds up the other day.

Vertical jump: Listen as we describe our process to the perfect vertical jump: start in a squatting position, rock up and down by bending your knees slightly, explode from your squat as if shot out of a cannon, scissors kick, reach both hands up over your head, and flail at the measuring flags on top of the vertical pole. If this fails, knock down the pole with your spread eagle landing, and you will probably get a redo.

Cone drill: People try and fail at the cone drill every day (we did on Thursday), so don't feel bad if you mess up your first time. Here's what you do: use your fake dyslexia as an excuse to be exempt from the cone drill, the shuttle drill, and taking your shirt off in public. If they ask any questions, fake deafness.

Wunderlic: The only way to really prepare for this sucker is to study. Here are some texts we recommend reading: Uncle John's Bathroom reader vol. 2, Rich Eisen's book, the dictionary, Who Moved My Cheese, Bridges of Madison County, the Indiana driver's manual, Harry Potter, and the Bible. That should cover your bases. Just in case, writing a weights and measurements table on your arm wouldn't hurt.

And there you have it. This little primer should help those difficult workouts seem a lot easier, and they will certainly help catch the eyes of NFL scouts.

You're welcome.

Boise State highlight in top four

Boise State's Statue of Liberty Play beat Cal-Standford's "the band is on the field" in the quarterfinals of ESPN's greatest highlight competition. BSU got 56% of the vote in the quarters after advancing past Jordan's game-winner against the Jazz with 61%.

Next up? Doug Flutie's hail mary. Voting takes place on Sunday.

ESPN's Greatest Highlight [ESPN.com]

Brock Forsey's post-football career

The Idaho Press-Tribune ran a story today about Brock Forsey's role in helping Nampa Optimist Football. And then they threw in this little gem:

He now works for Pioneer Title in Nampa and lives in Eagle.

Brock Forsey at my local neighborhood Pioneer Title?! How cool is that? If only I needed title and/or escrow services! Needless to say, we will be making a field trip to Pioneer Title in the very near future.

Optimist football raises money so kids can play [Idaho Press-Tribune]

Bronco Stadium's secret ingredient

When Boise State’s new luxury suite/press box opens in a few months, it will be a glorious, beautiful jewel in the crown of BSU athletics, and it will help kick off the next great era of Bronco football. But will it have a Dairy Queen?

We would hate to see Boise State sink millions of dollars into a fancy new stadium addition and not have it equipped to serve the needs of its patrons. What do its patrons need exactly? Cherry dipped cones, of course.

The fancy glass paneling and state-of-the-art facilities are nice touches, but for a stadium add-on to succeed, it needs to have a certain soft-serve appeal to it. Fans will get tired of the blinding glare off the façade; they’ll want meat, substance, and a basket of fries. A critically acclaimed architectural masterpiece won’t cut it.

Amenities are what keep boosters and donors coming back for more, so I hope that BSU planners have made appropriate steps toward ensuring that the Mother Ship will cater to its audience. Cake displays in every suite! Double cheeseburgers on demand! Fresh pickles next to the ketchup! And ice cream out the wazzoo would be nice.

On the day we set foot in that giant glass polyp of progress, we want to be handed a chicken strip basket, a Mr. Misty, and a medium Oreo Blizzard and be directed to the big screen TV with College Gameday. We aren’t asking too much.

Do we speak for all BSU fans? All BSU fans who have ever had a Peanut Buster Parfait, yes. Anyone who has experienced Dairy Queen will know that the only thing better DQ’ing something right is watching football while you’re DQ’ing it.

Hopefully, this issue has already been resolved. The demand for Dairy Queen speaks for itself, and there would be an awful lot of Blizzard fan club members upset if Boise State couldn’t find room in its multi-million dollar facility to accommodate them.

We’d hate to have to boycott home games on account of Dilly Bars.

Dinwiddie haggling over the Canadian dollar

Former Boise State standout Ryan Dinwiddie had quite an exciting end to his 2007 CFL season, starting at quarterback in Canada's Super Bowl. Now, he wants to get paid. Relatively speaking.

Dinwiddie said the hold up is largely about incentive clauses. Canadian reports indicate the two sides are $15,000 to $20,000 apart, numbers Dinwiddie called “kind of right.”

A football league dealing in thousands rather than millions is sort of refreshing in a middle class kind of way.

Dinwiddie, CFL team haggling over contract [Idaho Statesman]

BSU football: overachievers

Here is a good story from Yahoo! Sports about overachieving football programs. Guess who grabbed the number one spot? Our very own Boise State Broncos!

Some programs find ways to overcome [Yahoo! Sports]

Combine time!

The NFL combine gets underway today with press conferences and interviews heading toward the first workouts on Saturday. Ryan Clady and Orlando Scandrick both got invitations, and they will be among 13 from the WAC to participate.

Here are a couple of interesting links to Clady stories:

• NFL.com player profile [NFL.com]
• Clady turned into quite a draft catch [FoxSports]

Clady will be working out on Saturday with the offensive linemen. Scandrick, who has a lot to gain from a good combine, will go on Tuedsay.

Scouting Combine coverage [NFL.com]

Putzier cut from Texans

The Idaho Statesman reports that former Boise State tight end Jeb Putzier has been released by the Houston Texans. He is a six-year veteran, having played his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos and the last two with the Texans. He should have a chance to catch on somewhere when training camps roll around.

Texans cut former Boise State, Eagle High standout [Idaho Statesman]

An open letter to Ryan Clady's friends

Dear friends of Ryan Clady,

Put down the Guitar Hero and listen up: your gravy train is about to leave the station and you don’t want to miss it.

Ryan Clady will be a big-time NFL star in a couple of months, and he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams. In fact, he’ll have so much money, he won’t know what to do with it all.

That is where you come in. As a trusted and loyal friend, you deserve to mooch off his million dollar signing bonus. It is hard work being you, so get paid for it. Ryan will understand; after all, you are his friend.

If you haven’t talked to the guy in a couple weeks, stop whatever you are doing and dial him up right now. Your financial portfolio could be at stake. While you’re at it, tell him that you value his friendship and make up a story about how you protected his name when some punk kids were trying to slander him. He should appreciate that.

If for some reason, he is not feeling very generous come pay day, you may need to actually get a job with him. NFL athletes are always in need of some service, and becoming a rich star means outsourcing a lot of everyday tasks to others. Don’t worry; as a friend, he will expect far less from you than he would a stranger. Here are some possibilities for job openings in Ryan Clady’s entourage:

• Cook. Can you open a can of Beef-a-roni? Good. That’s a start. Now mix in some Spaghettio’s and call it carb-loading. He’ll like that.
  
• Masseuse. Are you an attractive friend of Ryan’s? Good. Then you won’t really need to know how to give a massage.
  
• Financial planner. Are you good at Texas Hold’em? Good. Gamble with his signing bonus and tell him you have invested it in Apple, circa 1995.
  
• Agent. Have you ever seen Deal or No Deal? Good. Being an agent is just like that, except contract figures are not usually given in suitcases.
  
• Bodyguard. Can you look like you bench press 400 pounds? Good. Even if you can’t actually bench that much, it shouldn’t matter; anyone would be stupid to pick on someone as big as Ryan Clady.
  
• Personal trainer. Do you own an ab roller? Good. Tell him you’ve invented a new kind of workout using just the ab roller, and throw in a lot of lines about “improving your core” just for good measure.
  
• Life coach. Have you ever given anyone advice? Good. Remember to tell him what he wants to hear and actively listen when he is sharing.
  
• Various posse. Do you not stick out in a crowd? Good. Just follow Ryan around and try not to get in the way of him having fun.

Well, what are you waiting for? Lesser-prepared mooches are already circling, so don’t miss your chance at monetary sloppy seconds. We’ve given you all the advice you need; now it is your turn to freeload like a pro.

Sincerely,
OBNUG team

Bronco Stadium construction photos

A couple days ago, we checked on the progress of the Mother Ship being built onto the side of Bronco Stadium. The addition is pretty awesome in person, and it should look great when it is all finished. I've posted a couple below, and you can check out the rest here.

Vote for the Greatest Higlight

Vote early and vote often for Boise State's Statue of Liberty play in the ESPN Greatest Highlight contest today. Here is the link: the Greatest Highlight.

Rent out BSU's practice facility

The Idaho Statesman ran a story today about the success of Boise State's practice facility, which apparently can be rented out by anyone for any reason. Hopefully this rule excludes Idaho Vandals.

Oh, and as a personal note to Chadd Cripe: please, no more Dan Hawkins quotes in any story ever. Thanks.

Sport Complex becomes popular community facility [Idaho Statesman]

ESPN Widget entertaing to say the least

I've added this handy little ESPN widget to my iGoogle homepage that is sure to keep me up to date on all of Boise State's greatest storylines--through the eyes of ESPN at least. First of all, as you can see they've yet to remove the Hawaii Bowl score. Thanks a lot. Secondly, the first link under team news leads to Schlabach's top 25 for next year that has no reference to Boise State but does have Fresno State at number 25, which is typical of their preseason overratedness. I'm used to it by now.

The real gem that this widget brings is the second link under Team News: "WAC signing day conversation." When I click on the link, I'm greeted with a wonderful invitation to join in the WAC signing day conversation. Of all 19 comments that were received, here are some of my favorites (complete with pictures because, well, profile pictures for commenters are a favorite of mine):

I think he's talking about the pack of wolves nestled in his beard for the winter.

johnnyhurl seems to be taking heart in numbers. Whenever you are just happy that your school was able to give away all their scholarships, well that can't be very good. And if you guessed that he's a Hawaii fan by the fact that he is not wearing a shirt, you'd be correct.

I'm glad Moose has relieved me of my duty to sit by my phone waiting for Mr. Hansen to call. The all caps on EAST CAROLINA was a nice touch also. I choose to believe he got worked up enough that he was really yelling out loud as he typed that.

Boise State Pro Day scheduled

Ryan Clady will get his best chance to wow NFL scouts on March 18 when BSU holds its Pro Day. According to the NFL's website, others scheduled to attend are Jeff Cavender and Orlando Scandrick.

Schedule of Pro Day workouts [NFL.com]

BSU football article on Bleacher Report

Just posted a story about Boise State's role in the exciting new college football landscape. Naturally, we think the Broncos deserve full credit.

Boise State's role in college football's rebirth [Bleacher Report]

Boise State football spring practice dates

The official spring football dates for the Broncos have been posted on Rivals.com. We heard of dates awhile ago, but we wanted to make sure they were correct before we posted. Here are the details:

Start: March 10
End: April 11

Spring game: April 11

Rivals.com lists questions that each team needs to answer in spring ball. The questions for Boise State are who will be the new quarterback and how will they replace four offensive line starters. We at OBNUG just want to know when Vinny Perretta jerseys go on sale at the Bronco Shop.

Work begins anew across the country [Rivals.com]

Bold predictions for the week ahead

Happy President's Day, BSU fans. Here is what we expect to happen in the next five days.

• The lull of Boise State football will cause some fans to resort to cheering on the men's basketball team.
• Students will be glad they have the day off, but they won't be entirely sure which President to thank. We are referring, of course, to Idaho students.
• Walgreen's will have a sale on Boise State car flags, prompting OBNUG to go out and buy up the entire stock mostly because they annoy us.

WIR: Boise State football with love

Week in Review (WIR) is very glad the writer's strike is over because watching Deal or No Deal was starting to get pretty old pretty fast.

Dave Tester's mugshot from hell.
Kudos to the Statesman.
Scandrick going to the combine.
We couldn't be more over Sean Renfree.
Grading WAC recruiting classes.
Southern Miss still on the schedule.
Marty Tadman forever.
Hawaii's rings of power.
Vote, vote, vote.

See you all next week.

Vote for NCAA Football 09 Wii cover

EA Sports is bringing college football to the Wii for the first time, and to commemorate, they are allowing fans to vote a mascot onto the cover of the Wii version.

There are the typical entrants: the Syracuse Orange, Ralphie, Uga, etc. But our very own Buster Bronco is a choice, too!

Vote for him here.

Grading the classes: Idaho

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.



Idaho

To understand the recruiting strategy of the Idaho Vandals is to believe that winning occurs through osmosis and not, as many believe, through hard work.

“I like the fact that every guy on this list … comes from a winning program,” Akey said. “All but one were in postseason play.”

One such winner is DE Hank Bryant, a recruit from Tumwater High School.

“I’m sure what they liked is his athleticism and agility,” Tumwater coach Sid Otton said. “He has a great first two or three steps.”

Actually, coach, what they liked was the fact that he played on a winning team. Having a great first step is just a coincidence.

Eschewing talent and athleticism, the Vandals completed their recruiting class with 19 high school seniors and two junior college transfers. All of them will have a chance to play right away considering that the Vandals are not all that good.

If help arrived anywhere, it was along the defensive line. Big bodies like Bryant and Brad Marboe, the lone Idaho product in the class, should make a difference along the defensive front. And yes, we consider garbage time sacks during a 35-10 loss as a difference.

Compared to some other teams in the WAC, Idaho's class looks pretty good. Of course, that's not saying much.

Scout.com rank: 81
Rivals.com rank: 101
OBNUG grade: F

Akey fields second recruiting class [Spokesman-Review]

Boise State Football's Greatest Highlight

The Broncos' Fiesta Bowl highlight has moved into the second round of ESPN's Greatest Highlight faux-tournament. Boise State had to beat Michael Jordan's game-winning shot against Utah to advance.

Their foe in the next round? Cal-Stanford "The band is on the field!" play. We should be able to take them. Voting is on Wednesday. If you vote for only one thing this year, make it ESPN's Greatest Highlight. If you vote for two things, vote for the President.

ESPN's Greatest Highlight [ESPN]

Grading the classes: Nevada

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.


Nevada

The Wolfpack's incoming class is heavy on defense as 15 of the 22 recruits will be suiting up on D in the coming years. I guess scoring 67 points and losing will make one rethink their priorities.

"The focus was on defense, in particular the skill positions in the secondary," head coach Chris Ault said. "... In terms of speed and ball skills, this is as good of a class that we have recruited. This is the best group (of defensive backs) that we have recruited collectively."

One of those good defensive backs is Thaddeus Brown, who reneged on his verbal commitment to Boise State. He joins a class of defensive backs that has the Nevada coaching staff downright giddy.

"There are some guys that we signed in the secondary, at least four, if not five, that I would have died to have at Oregon State," defensive coordinator Nigel Burton, who joined the staff this offseason after five years at Oregon State, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "It's a pretty stunning class. If we can continue to pull this off, it's going to be a fun run."

He went on to say, "But I'm pretty sure that we can't continue to pull this off."

The class was also big on linemen, and by big we mean large. There are some hefty kids joining Nevada next year, none heftier than 6'5", 310-pound tackle Steve Werner. The plan is to have him playing guard and tackle by his senior season.

Scout.com rank: 113
Rivals.com rank: 79
OBNUG grade: F

Nevada stresses defense in recruiting class [Nevada Appeal]
Nevada team report [Yahoo.com]

Hawaii's WAC championship rings tell the painful truth

Wednesday night, Hawaii received its WAC championship rings...along with a painful reminder of how they failed on the nation's biggest stage.

The all-silver ring, designed by McMackin, features the words "WAC Champions" and "Sugar Bowl" on the front. One side has a depiction of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach with the words "Hawaii," "12-0," and "Believe."

For the record, Hawaii lost the Sugar Bowl 41-10, ending any discussion of them being a relevant football program.

The 12-0 record is also somewhat of a boldfaced lie, considering that the Sugar Bowl was an actual game and everything. I guess selective memory is easier to swallow than the truth.

Warriors receive 2007 championship rings [University of Hawaii]

Grading the classes: Utah State

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.



Utah State

One publication described the Utah State recruiting class as big on warm bodies. I assume this was meant as a compliment.

“We’re excited about this class coming in,” recruiting coordinator Danilo Robinson said. “We’ve addressed some needs that we have and hopefully some guys can come in and fill some holes. We’re excited about this group and are looking forward to a great year from them.

“On average, they’re a little bit taller, a little bit faster and have a little bit more potential to play right away for us. We’re excited about this crop so far.”

I don't even know where to begin with that.

The Aggies won their final two games of the season — both on the road, no less — and carried that momentum into the recruiting process.

Apparently, it paid off.

If by "paid off" you mean that people actually signed with the team, then you would be correct. Twenty-one newcomers were lured with the promise of playing time and approachable Utah co-eds. Want to start a large Mormon family and play some quarterback? Then you've come to the right place.

Twelve of the recruits play offense, including two quarterbacks, two running backs, three wide receivers, and three tight ends. Never mind having people to block for these guys, Utah State seems to be planning the world's largest seven-on-seven drill. Good luck with that.

We want you to succeed, Utah State. We don't like making fun of you all the time. But seriously, help us out a little bit. We're running out of jokes.

Scout.com rank: 119
Rivals.com rank: 101
OBNUG grade: F

Utah State signs 21 [The Herald Journal]

Ode to Marty Tadman

On Valentine's Day, let us all remember one of our personal favorite Bronco football players, Marty Tadman. Who didn't love this scrappy, tattoo-covered, Jesus-loving, ball-hawking safety roaming center field and stepping up to deliver crushing hits on opponents' unsuspecting running backs? Is there anyone? I thought not.

Now, Valentine's Day is supposed to be a glorious and happy day (I'm sure all of you couldn't wait for today to arrive and to deal with your significant other's wildly high expectations that you have no shot of fulfilling. Good luck!). So, push back those tears. Yes, we all wish his freshman year hadn't been wasted due to injuries in the secondary that forced him to burn his redshirt. Yes, we should be gearing up for one more year of highlights from Marty. Today, however, we choose to celebrate our love for one of the best all around and underappreciated players in Boise State history.

So, here's to you, Marty. Good luck in your future endeavors. Thank you for deciding to show up in the Hawaii bowl and be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise ugly game that we would all love to forget. We will miss watching you light up naive opponents as they enter the Boise State secondary. Most of all, we will missing having a clutch player like you (well, as clutch of a player as you can be in football) to lead our defense.

Now go make an NFL roster and light some people up on special teams.

Hattiesburg Roadtrip

Southern Miss has released it's 2008 football schedule and, to my surprise, Boise State is still on it. It's nice to see that Conference USA has found a way to put together a conference schedule and still allow their members to honor the contracts with other non-conference schools. This is a far cry from the fiasco that happened between the MAC and Bowling Green in 2006.

The game will be in Hattiesburg, Miss., on October 11th. Since it's only about 6 hours from my home in Nashville, I have every intention of making the trip. Now the last two road games I've been to have been the debacle in Georgia and the disappointment in Washington. I would also like to attend the Oregon game but I might rethink that for the betterment of Bronco Nation.

Hugs and Kisses

Happy Valentine's Day, Boise State. We love you more than we probably should.

XOXOXO,
OBNUG team

Grading the classes: Fresno State

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.


Fresno State

Pat Hill and Co. have outdone themselves this time. After what many felt was his best recruiting class in 2007, Hill and the Bulldogs reeled in an even better one in '08.

By recruiting-service standards, Fresno State assembled its best class in football coach Pat Hill's 12 seasons.

Of the 22 high school players signed, nine are considered three-star recruits by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

That's a best for Hill and places the Bulldogs atop the Western Athletic Conference in recruiting for the first time since 2002 with a class ranked 59th in the nation by Rivals.com.

"This class here is as good of a class [as we've had] on paper," Hill said. "We're doing a better job every year of finding personality types. Now it's up to us to develop them."

I'm not sure what scares me more: Dave Tester's mugshot or Fresno State in two years. But why wait two years? I'm scared of them now.

The incoming class features the future backfield for the Bulldogs in QB Ebahn Feathers and RBs Michael Harris and Ricky Pemasa. But the real damage will come in the form of defensive line prospects. Seven of the 22 newbies are defensive linemen; is the 5-2 defense far behind? I hope so because I learned some pretty sweet ways of exploiting it during my high school football days.

We would grade them higher, but honestly, we're giving everybody F's because we're homers.

Scout.com rank: 59
Rivals.com rank: 60
OBNUG grade: F

Bulldogs' football recruiting showing depth [Fresno Bee]

Bronco Stadium too small

Hawaii led the WAC in attendance in 2007, thanks in part to a successful year but mostly because of its giant stadium. Cheaters. Fresno State was second, averaging over 36,000 per game, and Boise State came in third at 30,338 per contest.

Considering that capacity at Bronco Stadium is 30,000 people, BSU fans were doing all they could to pack the house every game. The stadium just isn't big enough.

Cripes reported in the Statesman this week that the new construction project at the stadium is right on schedule, and when it is completed this summer, it will raise the capacity to 32,000. No doubt the new addition will be wonderful. We can't wait to see it. But we also can't wait to see the South end zone closed in.

Let's get it done, BSU administration. We don't like losing to Hawaii and Fresno in anything.

Construction on Bronco Stadium right on schedule [Idaho Statesman]
UH ranks 51st in FBS football attendance [University of Hawaii]

An open letter to Sean Renfree

Dear Sean,

You are dead to us. We hope you throw 50 interceptions and get replaced midseason by a converted wide receiver.

Sincerely,
OBNUG team

Photo courtesy azcentral.com.

Grading the classes: Louisiana Tech

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.



Louisiana Tech

Putting the "Eastern" in "Western Athletic Conference," Louisiana Tech has an entirely different recruiting experience than most WAC schools. Stuck between SEC and Big 12 country, the Bulldogs have a lot to deal with in terms of competition for recruits. Although, they seem to be having trouble from places you wouldn't necessarily expect.

"It was pretty apparent we were recruiting the right guys,” head coach Derek Dooley said. “If you look at the last two weeks, it was an absolute assault on our entire commitment list by some quality programs. That’s great news. I think that’s a good sign.”

Solid verbal commitments for Louisiana Tech were pursued, and in some cases lost, to Texas Christian, Southern Methodist, Tulsa, Southern Miss and Memphis.

Memphis? Do they even play football there? And Southern Methodist? Would that be 1-11 Southern Methodist? Those Conference USA teams are cutthroat, man.

Regardless, the Bulldogs did have people sign with them. Not playmakers, mind you, but people nonetheless. The relative big names were on defense as coach Derek Dooley focused a second consecutive class on being able to stop potent WAC offenses. This is the point in the story where we feel obligated to tell you that LaTech barely averaged 20 points per game last year.

The Bulldogs' best signing was LB Eric Harper. Unless he scores points with tackles, we don't see how he is going to help.

Scout.com rank: 91
Rivals.com rank: 75
OBNUG grade: F

Tech recruiting notebook [The News Star]

February blues

Oh, how I hate February, the most desolate month for sports fans. Football is over. Need I say more? There is college hoops if you are into that sort of thing. There's the NBA if you are really desperate (I, myself, have turned to this in light of the Blazers' strong start this year). Or, if you really can't find anything better to do, there's the NHL. Now, there's nothing wrong with these sports. They are a welcome distraction on weeknights from the relentless hashing and rehashing on all the terrible football shows. However, standing on their own, it's quite the depressing scene on Sunday afternoons. On top of all this, smack dab in the middle of February is the sometimes loved, often hated, Valentine's Day.

Well, February does throw us one bone. We do have signing day. We get to celebrate over abitrary rankings based on two or three sources since we've never seen these kids actually play (and based on Notre Dame's past class rankings and subsequent 2007 record, they really aren't much better than us judging grainy Youtube highlights.). Every few years, the Super Bowl gets pushed to February so I guess that could count.

This year, February has given us a little something extra. You might agree/disagree with the merits of this whole Mitchell report and Clemens saga, but I doubt many would disagree that it's entertaining. So, today bundle up, flip on the tv, tune in your radio, monitor Jason Stark's live blog because today will be interesting. I know I'm excited.

Thanks for nothing, Judases

A common rite of recruiting is the de-commitments of athletes. Verbal agreements are far from binding, and many high school football players are far from decisive. Those who commit early in the recruiting process are especially prone to changing their minds.

Boise State was bit hard by the de-commit bug, and all three who betrayed the Broncos were cornerbacks.

Kevin Frank chose Washington State, Mike Williams picked Baylor, and Thaddeus Brown committed the ultimate sin by signing with WAC rival Nevada. These losses hurt even more now that Orlando Scandrick has turned pro.

Grading the classes: Hawaii

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.


Hawaii

We wanted to go easy on the Warriors since they have such a disadvantage recruiting from the islands. But then we remembered what punks they were when we played last year, so all bets are off.

Losing June Jones certainly did not help the incoming recruiting class. And Jones' admission that he left because of a lack of commitment to football by the athletic department wasn't too great either. Still, 22 players chose to come to Hawaii, including eight from local high schools.

"I'm very proud and honored that we were able to keep some of the top athletes from Hawai`i to stay home," Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin said. "That was our mission and we were receptive from their coaches and families, who were very gracious and hospitable, to invite us into their homes and schools to give us a chance to convince their kids to play for the University of Hawai`i."

Apparently, more people want a piece of Northern Illinois than we thought.

The class includes two quarterbacks, junior college "stars" Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch, who will compete with Tyler Graunke for the starting spot this fall. Replacing Colt Brennan will be tough, but I'm pretty that's what they said about Timmy Chang, too. Heh, Timmy Chang. (Giggling quietly to ourselves.)

The more difficult task will be replacing the four starting wide receivers who either graduated or turned pro. There can't be that many kids out there who act inappropriately after every catch, think more highly of themselves than they ought, and have dreadlocks. Good luck with that.

Scout.com rank: 93
Rivals.com rank: 84
OBNUG grade: F

Warriors sign 22 student athletes [University of Hawaii]

Copyright scandal? Eh, whatever

Kudos to KTVB Channel 7 and broncocountry.com for unearthing this gem of a story: it appears that someone else is using the Broncos logo!

A Canadian football club adopted a logo and color scheme – leading many to notice the similarity to Boise State’s athletics logo.

The Kamloops Broncos of British Columbia compete in the Canadian Junior Football League – and have a logo that mirrors that of the Boise State Broncos. Fans at BroncoCountry.com first noticed the similarity.

"It's interestingly similar to ours,” Boise State Marketing and Promotions director Brad Larrondo said.

David Augusto is Stone Phillips!

But before we get all 48 Hours Mystery on this story, let's keep in mind that the Kamloops Broncos are a minor league Canadian football team that went 1-9 last year. And they are already planning on changing their logo for the 2008 season.

Thank goodness we didn't have to break out the Scooby-doo Mystery Machine van for this one.

Which Broncos? Team uses logo similar to Boise State [KTVB.com]

Photo courtesy ktvb.com

Combine invite for Scandrick

Orlando Scandrick may have got just the break he needed by getting an invite to the NFL draft combine. Scandrick can help himself out a lot with a good showing at Indianapolis, and he will need to if he hopes to get drafted by an NFL team.

Ryan Clady also received an invitation, but considering his stock as a potential top ten pick, he may choose not to go. Eleven other WAC players were invited.

Thirteen WAC football players invited to NFL combine [Idaho Statesman]

Photo courtesy broncosports.com.

Grading the classes: San Jose State

This week, OBNUG will be grading the recruiting classes for each WAC team. Our research may be spotty, but as you can see from the final result, there is no questioning our loyalty.


San Jose State

The Spartans incoming class features only 17 new players, due to the fact that seven scholarships were revoked due to low test scores (and by "low test scores," we mean "nearly losing to Idaho"). Head coach Dick Tomey's connection to the vacant Hawaii job this offseason did not cost the team any players, probably because those players didn't have scholarship offers elsewhere.

The best recruit might be Ina Liaina whose name may or may not be spelled correctly here. As a linebacker/running back hybrid, Liaina has a good shot of making the team at both positions, considering this is San Jose State and all. Seriously, though, he'll be a linebacker.

"It's a good group," Tomey said. "Where we needed help right away we're going to get help, and where we needed young guys to come in and learn, we got that."

Translation: "I have nothing particularly interesting to say about these guys, and I'm not even sure I've seen them all before."

You have to love playing in the WAC.

Scout.com rank: 116
Rivals.com rank: 115
OBNUG grade: F

San Jose State weathered recruiting storm [San Jose Mercury News]

Statesman recruiting coverage: A+

The Idaho Statesman did a tremendous job of covering the new BSU recruits last week. It is nice to see an Idaho media outlet understand technology and the way it improves communication.

We at OBNUG would like to particularly point out the contributions of Brian Murphy, who spent all day Wednesday blogging the recruits. You are okay in our book, Mr. Murphy.

In addition, the Statesman has video clips from all of the new Bronco players.

BSU football videos [Idaho Statesman]
Murph's Turf recruiting blog [Idaho Statesman]

Tester arrested last week

Former Treasure Valley sports reporter Dave Tester was arrested on domestic violence charges in an incident at his home on Thursday night. Tester is CEO of a local radio company, and he used to do play-by-play on Boise State and Idaho football telecasts. His wife is Claudia Weathermon, a former local TV news anchor.

I will be seeing this mugshot in my nightmares.

Local broadcast exec arrested [KTVB.com]

Welcome to the family, grayshirts

Having grayshirts join the team is like finding five bucks in your pocket you didn't know you had. Although, I think these grayshirts are at least a 10 spot. There were some good recruits from last year that the Broncos just didn't have room for, so we should get to see them contribute to the team in 2008. Here's the list:

Chase Baker, DT
Mitch Burroughs, WR
Matt Kaiserman, RB
Shea McClellin, DL
Dan Paul, LB
Dominique Vinson, WR

Bold predictions for the coming week

Happy Valentine’s week, Bronco fans. You significant others here at OBNUG are still sorting through an exciting LOI day, so we’ll have lots of good info for you this week. Here’s what else we think will be happening:

• Fresno State and Boise State, seeing the less-than-stellar recruiting classes of fellow WAC members, will secede from the conference and form the Super WAC. The BCS will fail to recognize it as a major conference.
• With so many talented linebackers on the team, Bronco coaches will switch to a 1-5 defense, becoming the first team to deploy only one defensive lineman on a majority of defensive snaps. That defensive lineman will be Ryan Winterswyk in a fat suit.
• Sean Renfree will arrive at Duke and, like Ron Burgundy in the bear pit, immediately regret his decision.

WIR: Signing Day Bonanza!

Week in review (WIR) was really excited about the Letter of Intent Day event at the Big Easy in downtown Boise. But then it realized that the whole event was centered around two guys talking on the radio.

--Glendale's magic powers.
--Sign on the dotted line.
--The future looks bright...the WAC's future? Not so much.
--Say hello to the two-time Idaho player of the year.
--Nevada over BSU? Seriously?
--Shields out indefinitely.

Have a good weekend, Bronco fans. See you Monday.

Welcome to the family, various others

The rest of the BSU recruiting class looks pretty good. I couldn't easily find video for any of these guys, but there should be some on the scout.com and rivals.com websites. The future looks bright for the Broncos!

Darren Koontz
6'4" 265
OL/DL
Los Alamitos High

Chris Berman nickname:
Darren "Coo-coo-ca-Koontz"

Berneil Myers

6’2”, 265 pounds, 4.9 40, Offensive Guard
Westfield High School, TX

Chris Berman nickname:
"Ber-neil Diamond" Myers

Tom Swanson
6’7” 290 pounds, Offensive Tackle
Skyline High School, WA

Chris Berman nickname:

Tom "Swan Lake" Swanson

Spencer Gerke
6’3”, 245 pounds, 5.0 40, Defensive end
Bishop Kelly, ID

Chris Berman nickname:
Spencer "Gerke-jerky"

Bronson Durrant
6’3”, 270 pounds, Offensive guard
Marist High School, OR

Chris Berman nickname:

"Bronson-saurus" Durrant or Bronson "Duran Durrant"

Joe Kellogg
6’4”, 290 pounds, 5.13 40, Offensive guard
Saguaro High School, AZ

Chris Berman nickname:
Joe "What the Kell-ogg"

Greg Grimes
6'0", 270 pounds, Defensive Lineman
Inderkum High School, CA

Chris Berman nickname:
Greg "If you can't do the time, don't do the Grimes"

Jamar Taylor
6'0", 185 pounds, Cornerback
Helix High School, CA

Chris Berman nickname:
Jamar "Taylor made"

Welcome to the family, Tommy Smith

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Tommy Smith
6'1", 205 pounds, Linebacker
North Atlanta High School, GA

One of several strong linebackers in the recruiting class, Smith is the only recruit from west of the Mississippi. From the video above, it looks like he has a great nose for the football, and he brings a lot of power to his tackles. Kudos for graduate assistant Julius Brown for bringing him in.

Something to think about:
Will Smith die a thousand deaths from culture shock when he has to road trip to Utah State?

Chris Berman nickname:
"Tommy Gun" Smith

Welcome to the family, Tyler Jackson

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

A nice interview with Jackson (hint: he's the one without the mullet).

Tyler Jackson
6'0", 185 pounds, Safety
Douglas County High School, CO

Boise State commitment Tyler Jackson picked up Gold Helmet presented by the Denver Post anually to the top senior football player, scholar and citizen. He certainly has the flair for the dramatic. In Colorado's 5A championship game, he definitely rose to the occasion:

And his punt block, his third of the game and one that could serve as a how-to
video, one he had instinctively recovered then returned for a touchdown in the
closing moments of regulation, went for naught. A penalty far from the block
negated the score.

Sounds like shades of Scandrick. Also reported in the article was a game against Rangeview in which Jackson intercepted 3 passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the span of 8 minutes and 36 seconds in the 3rd quarter.

The Bronco program definitely has a propensity for red-shirting freshmen so we probably won't be seeing him until to 2009 season. Sounds like he'll be worth the wait.

Something to think about:

How much would you pay for the Golden Helmet on eBay?

Chris Berman nickname:

Tyler "Apple Jackson"

Tyler Jackson awarded Gold Helmet [Denver Post]

Welcome to the family, Raphiel Lambert

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Lambert is seen toward the end of the game recap.

Raphiel Lambert
5’9”, 185 pounds, 4.5 40, Running back
Jesuit High School, OR

We can never have enough great athletes, so Lambert’s arrival is more good news for a strong recruiting class. Lambert was great at one of Portland’s best high schools, and he chose BSU over several PAC-10 teams. He will be converted to cornerback, but his prowess as a runner could be an asset on special teams. Lambert is a proven winner, having won two state championships in high school, and we look forward to what he can accomplish with the Broncos.

Something to think about:
Did Lambert do Smash Williams’ football scenes in Friday Night Lights?

Chris Berman nickname:
“Donatello” Lambert (and other permutations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Recruiting profile [ESPN.com]

Welcome to the family, Chris Potter

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Potter (#1) shows some good moves in the open field.

Chris Potter
5’9”, 152 pounds, Wide Receiver
Oaks Christian High School, CA

Size aside, Potter sounds like a great addition to the Broncos offense. Scouting reports say he runs great routes and catches everything thrown his way, which means he will certainly have a place in the BSU offense. He used to catch balls from Jimmy Clausen, but with the prep star departed, Potter stepped in at quarterback for the team and led them to the playoffs.

It might take him awhile to crack the lineup, but when he does, Potter should be a valuable addition. I can see him filling in nicely in the slot receiver spot and making big plays for the Broncos.

Something to think about:
How many times during his freshman year will he use the "I have Jimmy Clausen's phone number in my cell" line on an upperclassman girl?

Chris Berman nickname:
Chris "Potter and the clay"

Recruiting profile [ESPN.com]

David Shields to have surgery

This, from the Idaho Statesman:

Boise State senior linebacker David Shields will have another shoulder surgery this month and miss spring ball, Petersen said. It's unclear when Shields, who has started for parts of the past two seasons, will be ready to play.

This news appeared at the bottom of the recruiting story in yesterday's paper. It is interesting that there are so many good linebacker recruits in this class. Perhaps the team is expecting Shields to have a slow recovery.

Signed, sealed, delivered [Idaho Statesman]

Welcome to the family, Daron Mackey

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Daron Mackey
6'0", 230 pounds, Linebacker
Bakersfield College, CA

Mackey could be BSU's best recruit out of the 2008 recruiting class. He is a strong, powerful playmaker, and he was great at forcing turnovers in junior college. He joins an already strong linebacker unit, but here's hoping he finds a way to crack the lineup. He sounds like a player.

Mackey was the only juco recruit for BSU this year, so he comes into spring practice with an advantage over the rest of the newcomers. Normally, the Broncos have multiple juco transfers, but the emphasis this year has been on more freshmen. Perhaps the notoriety from the Fiesta Bowl makes the school more appealing to incoming freshmen, and we are able to find the quality players we need from high school. I would prefer that we keep our junior college recruits coming because they have had better experience against better talent, and they have matured to the point they can come in and contribute right away. I think Mackey will be one of those key players.

Something to think about:
How does Derrell Acrey feel at this point?

Chris Berman nickname:
Daron "Big Mack-ey"

Welcome to the family, Van Drumgoole

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

This track video shows off Drumgoole's speed. He is the second leg of the relay.

Van Drumgoole
5'10", 165 pounds, Wide Receiver
Vallivue High School, ID

The first thing Coach Peterson noticed about Drumgoole was his speed, and judging from the above video, this kid has plenty of it. He may not be the ideal size for a wideout, but we've seen BSU do well with less. Drumgoole should help provide another level to the offense when he is ready to contribute.

Something to think about:
Is Van Drumgoole the fastest Dutchman ever?

Chris Berman nickname:
Van "Bang the Drum-goole"

Welcome to the family, Faraji Wright

For the next couple days, we'll be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Faraji Wright (#75) blowing people up.

Faraji Wright
6’3”, 273 pounds, Offensive Tackle
Berkeley High School, CA

Another big offensive line recruit, Wright was a solid player at Berkeley, and he has good potential to contribute at BSU. As with any college freshman, he will need to increase his strength, but judging from the video above, he is a technically sound blocker who moves his feet well and gets in great position. There is certainly enough here for the Bronco coaches to work with.

Something to think about:
Is Wright related to Ryan Clady?

Chris Berman nickname:
"Fara-genie in a bottle" Wright

Welcome to the family, Chandler Koch

Over the next couple days, we will be profiling BSU's recruiting class. Enjoy.

Koch (#88) makes some good catches and runs in this game highlight.

Chandler Koch
6’2.5”, 217 pounds, 5.04 40, Tight End
Flower Mound High School, TX

The Boise State passing game is much more effective with a good tight end. Derek Schoumann was an overlooked, but important part of the 2006 offense, and it was obvious that BSU’s attack was different this year with Julian Hawkins and Sherm Blaser in his place. Koch has a chance to round into a solid player. He sounds like a willing blocker and smart route runner. If he can develop bulk and better speed, then Koch should be able to make an impact down the road.

Something to think about:
Which sounds more like a character from Sex and the City: Chandler, Julian, or Sherm?

Chris Berman nickname:
Chandler “Not in the Koch!”

Chandler Koch Recruiting Profile [ESPN.com]

Thaddeus Brown hates winning

Thaddeus Brown backed off of his commitment to Boise State, choosing instead to sign with WAC rival Nevada.

"(Thaddeus) Brown ... may be the fastest one of all of them. These two cornerbacks (Brown and Isaiah Frey) are as good a cornerbacks as we've ever recruited at this university as freshmen," said coach Chris Ault.

The Pack convinced Brown to reconsider his verbal commitment to Boise State.

The draw of a 3-10 season must have put Nevada over the top.

Class pleases Ault [Reno Gazette-Journal]