Tuesday: Links with unemployment

Story of the day:

Seattle LB commits to Broncos [Scout.com]

Chalk up another one for proactive Bronco recruiting.

According to Scout.com, O'Dea (Seattle, WA) linebacker Allen Mooney has given a verbal commitment to Boise State, choosing the Broncos over an offer from Army and interest from Pac-10 schools like Washington and Oregon. How did the Broncos land him? Judging by the lede of the Scout story, it may have been that his height was an issue for some teams.

He may not be the tallest linebacker in America, but Allen Mooney carries some big game with him. And the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Mooney - from O'Dea High School in Seattle - will be taking that big game to the Gem State...

A 5'-11" linebacker is not the end of the world, so if other schools were scared off by Mooney's size, we are happy to have him. Of course, it's not an official verbal commitment until the Statesman says it is, so give them a week or so to catch wind of the story and do whatever fact-checking they do.

Also, check out Fight Fight BSU for some Mooney video.

Other links:

Tom Scott's personal thoughts on summer practice [Scott Slant]
Tanyon Bissell and Vinny Perretta get him very excited.

Completely pointless Bob Behler interview [Statesman]
This just in: Behler watched the Fiesta Bowl, likes sports.

A gambler's preview of Boise State [Bet US]
Hint: give the points.

Is this how we're getting so many recruits? [SI.com]
I would have chosen a college, too, based on their making a personal comic book of myself.

Shields Out, Career Over

Boise State has issued a press release that linebacker David Shield's shoulder injury will keep him out for this year, effectively ending his career at Boise State:

Shields will use a medical hardship and remain on scholarship. He will stay
with the team in an undetermined role through December when he expects to
graduate. He won't count towards the Broncos' limit of 85 scholarships.

This is disappointing news for Shields who had promising sophomore and junior years. Luckily, this year seems to be a strong year for the Broncos at linebacker.

David Shields to sit out senior season [BroncoSports.com]

Acrey making name for himself in spring

Kellen Moore isn't the only BSU player who has people talking.

Derrell Acrey, the sophomore middle linebacker, has had a wonderful spring, showing the dominance and skill that many expected to see last year. We felt he was the best defensive player in the most recent spring scrimmage, making plays all over the field and really delivering some crunching hits. Just don't try telling him that he's just now living up to expectations.

“I try not to listen to all that stuff, but of course word gets around,” Acrey said. “That kind of fuels me now. I don’t want people just to think of my potential. I want to perform and meet my own expectations I have for myself.”

Many considered Acrey to be a candidate for a breakout season last year, but it didn't happen. His performance thus far in the spring has given the coaches optimism that Acrey will arrive this season and significantly improve a unit that was a team weakness last fall.

"He plays with passion," defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said, "and sometimes he needs to be able to control that and unleash it at the right times. That's a skill. He's definitely gotten better. He's got a lot of room to grow, but we're excited about where he's going."

We're excited about not giving up 67 points to Nevada again.

Buzz surrounding BSU's Acrey [Statesman]
Acrey finds a new outlook [Press-Tribune]

Boise State scrimmage #2 recap

The Boise State defense came to play in the Broncos' second scrimmage. The offense? Not so much.

The only touchdown of the day was scored by freshman Matt Kaiserman near the end of the scrimmage, and the offense looked very little like the explosive group seen at the first spring outing. Are we worried? Absolutely not! We loved what we saw from the defense, and we can't wait to see how the unit does during the season. Here is some more detail from the scrimmage:

• All four quarterbacks played much more evenly than they did in the first scrimmage. Moore came back to the pack a little, and Coughlin and Lomax stepped up their games. As a whole, though, there were very few fireworks.
• Hamdan and Coughlin made some nice throws on the run, moving out of the pocket.
• Austin Pettis and Titus Young have soft hands. Both made some strong sideline catches, and each had good grabs on fade patterns during drills.
• The defensive line was downright dominant at times. We took particular note of Phillip Edwards and Sean Bingham. Edwards turned away a shovel pass and wreaked havoc in the backfield. Bingham recorded a sack and blew up several plays.
• There were multiple miscues with shotgun snaps.
• The running backs had few opportunities to shine since there was such little running room. D.J. Harper and Doug Martin moved the pile a couple of times.
• Derrell Acrey had some big hits, and he took an interception to the house during a pre-scrimmage drill.
• Kellen Moore might be staring down his receivers.
• The best plays by the offense were seam routes by tight ends and wide receivers. Julian Hawkins, in particular, looked strong running down the middle.
• Brandyn Thompson sat out, leaving the Broncos without their top two corners (Kyle Wilson is also out for the spring). Still, the offense had trouble moving the ball through the air.
• The front seven were stout, but they failed to force turnovers.
• A lot of credit should go to the linebackers. They were reading plays well and putting themselves in good positions.
  
• Four words: Doug Martin. Short Yardage.
  

Ellis Powers joins secondary

Boise State's deep linebacker group has claimed its first victim.

Ellis Powers, who was a blitzing linebacker and special-teams phenom last year, has moved back to safety this spring. Powers played safety his first three years at Boise State.

“He wanted to do it,” defensive backs coach Marcel Yates said. “We’re pretty deep at linebacker. We felt like he could help us out.”

Powers will give the secondary its only senior contributor, and he should provide good depth to a very green position. Sophomores Jeron Johnson and Jason Robinson are expected to start at safety, and Powers could work his way into the starting lineup before all is said and done. No one will ever be able to replace Marty Tadman, but it's a start.

Powers returns to safety [Idaho Statesman]

OBNUG Roster Update: Linebackers

Spring football gets OBNUG in the mood to speculate, so over the next few weeks, we will be making blind guesses as to who will be starting for the Broncos in the fall. We’ll do it position-by-position. Today: Linebackers.

Linebackers

Ideal candidate: Bobby Boucher


Worst candidate: Gallant from Highlights


Actual candidates: Kyle Gingg, Derrell Acrey, Dallas Dobbs, David Shields, Tim Brady, Ellis Powers, Aaron Tevis, Tommy Smith, Byron Hout, Daron Mackey, Hunter White, Dan Paul

OBNUG's pick: Gingg, Mackey, Dobbs. A position of weakness last year should be a strength for the Broncos in 2008. I mean look at that list! The Broncos could start 11 linebackers if they wanted! We think that might be imprudent, so we'll go with Gingg, Mackey, and Dobbs in the meantime, although we expect many others to contribute.

Boise State briefs

Here's a quick look at some news items from the past couple of days:


Brian Murphy talks shop with BSU linebackers. [Idaho Statesman]
Breaking news from Murph Turf: the BSU linebackers were not all that good last year.


Hawaii cornerback's girl problems net suspension. [Yahoo! Sports]
The Warriors will be without the services of CB Keenan Jones for the foreseeable future. Would Colt Brennan have let this happen? We think not.


Nevada's quarterback race gets ESPN's attention. [ESPN.com]
The Wolfpack QB duo of Kaepernick and Graziano were featured on the front page of ESPN's college football section for the past two days. Does the Worldwide Leader know they don't play for Fresno? Usually that type of honor is only reserved for over-hyped Bulldog news.