Broncos land 11th recruit, find Arizona enticing

The Broncos have landed their eleventh early commitment of the summer, DE Kharyee Marshall from Washington High School (Arizona). Expect the Statesman to confirm this recruit in late September.

The 6'2", 215-pound Marshall recorded 106 tackles and 16 sacks last year from his defensive end position. Ryan Winterswyk and Mike T. Williams nod in approval.

Kharyee Marshall profile [Scout.com]
This one goes to eleven [Fight Fight BSU]

An open letter to Dustin Lapray

Dear Dustin Lapray,

As diehard Boise State fans and admirers of excessively wordy reporting, let us be the first to say thank you for your informative, expressive, and detailed reports from Boise State football practice. What's that? We're not the first to say thank you? The guys at Bronco Country have already erected a paper mache statue to you in the end zone at East Junior High? Our mistake.

In that case, congraulations on winning over the Bronco Nation fan base in such a short amount of time. By our account, David Augusto is still trying. You have managed to fill a niche that was desperately void up until you and your thesaurus (and your bandana!) came traipsing into town.

RE: the thesaurus, we find it fascinating the words that you have used to describe the Broncos' practices, but we are loathe to admit that we may not know the meanings of some of them. Are the following definitions correct?

• Bellow: the sound John Gott makes when he bends over
  
  
• Inglorious: a euphemism for the Idaho State game
  
  
• Emulate: we believe you meant to write "Are you late"
  
  
• Azure: an adjective used to describe the quarterback situation
  
  
• Collusion: a Kyle Brotzman tackle attempt
  

Any help on these definitions would be much appreciated.

Your writing style is certainly unique to the Treasure Valley sports journalism scene, which is probably why you have been met with so much success in these first few weeks. You write as if the fate of the world depended on your ability to fit as many complex sentences into a single paragraph as possible. Seriously, a 40-word sentence? You are all man, Mr. Lapray.

For sure, the Twin Falls Magic Valley Times News must be thrilled to have you on staff. Who wouldn't love a person who can put the following inside joke about graduation orchestral arrangements into a sentence about Doug Martin and DJ Harper?

Neither has the grace of Ian Johnson, but they both got pop, and circumstance to spell the All-American.

LaDustin, you slay us!

We now must wonder whatever will you do for an encore. Your practice prose has been remarkably outstanding, so we are anxious to see what you will do during the football season. Will we be treated to an extemporaneous essay on the virtues of the "Q" offense? Will you write a play based loosely on the Oregon game? Your audience waits on pins and needles and quick-reference dictionaries.

Keep up the good work, DL.

Bellow.

Sincerely,
OBNUG

Ps. Please stop with the vague injury updates (ex. Jeron Johnson may or may not have hurt his foot). We'd hate to have BSU campus security forcibly remove you from practice.

Half-hearted NFL football week two

Week two of the NFL preseason is here. Time for the starters to put in a full quarter-and-a-half of work!

Former Boise State player Kimo von Oelhoffen did not make it out of week one, getting cut by the Philadelphia Eagles for having old knees. Who's going to tell stories about the 1970's at team dinner? Andy Reid made a big mistake.

Here are the best Bronco-related games of the weekend:

Tonight: 

Oakland at Tennessee, 6:00pm, FOX
Chris Carr seeks revenge against his old team by returning the opening kickoff, playing a few downs on defense, and taking a nap on the bench for the third and fourth quarters.

Saturday:

Dallas at Denver, 7:00pm
Orlando Scandrick was impressive in his Cowboys' debut. Ryan Clady was not in his first start for Denver. Needless to say that Woody Paige will be watching with bated breath.

Green Bay at San Francisco, 7:00pm
Korey Hall and Daryn Colledge continue their futile quest to boost Aaron Rodgers' confidence and make him feel like the team is much better off with him rather than Brett Favre.

 Chicago at Seattle, 7:00pm
Seahawks TE Jeb Putzier is battling for playing time at tight end. Fortunately, the good Bears linebackers will be on the field far less than the bad Bears linebackers.

Morning paper: Boise State football links 8/15

The Broncos had an afternoon/evening practice last night, and Dustin Lapray has some details on what went down. Specifically, he points out that Travis Stanaway and Daron Mackey are two newcomers who are getting Coach Pete's attention and that Bush Hamdan should win the starting quarterback job. Sigh. We thought you were different, Dustin.

Here is some more reading material for your day.

Camp notes from the IPT [Press-Tribune]
Two sentences is better than no sentences.

Coach Pete immortalized in Twin Falls newspaper [Times-News]
We would run through a brick wall for him, and we don't even know him.

Tickets still available for home games [Dave's Blog]
The LaTech is not all that popular. Imagine that.

Reggie Larry to start career in Cyprus [KTVB.com]
Good luck in South America...or Europe..or wherever Cyprus is.

Cal Poly could possibly join the WAC [KVNU]
They would immediately be the seventh-best team.

Nick Saban named most powerful coach in sports [Forbes]
USU's Brent Guy named weakest?

Season tickets arrive [Fight Fight BSU]
No wonder the line was so long at Dairy Queen last night. Celebrate!

Odds of winning at Oregon [What If Sports]
Computers say Broncos have 41% chance. Kellen Moore's left arm says otherwise.

Aaron Tevis playing time update [Statesman]
May get to rush the passer in special packages. Fine by us.

Linebackers in focus [Statesman]
Broncos focus on finishing [Press-Tribune]
Chris Carr turning heads in Tennessee [Tennessean]

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 11

The most important decision in the history of the world will be made in the next few weeks, and we'll be providing daily updates on all the hype and hyperbole surrounding the Boise State quarterback competition.

Vs.

Coach Pete spoke about the quarterback race yesterday, but not in the way that anyone had hoped.

Petersen said he didn’t learn anything new about the quarterbacks competing for the starting job, senior Bush Hamdan and freshman Kellen Moore. They continue to split time with the first team.

As much as we want to know who the starter will be, we know that the Bronco coaching staff is doing the right thing by waiting as long as it takes to make sure they pick the right guy. In the meantime, we can keep getting our hopes up that maybe we'll have an answer soon. Like tomorrow?

Offensive coordinator Brian Harsin said the race was similar to last season with both quarterbacks basically in a dead heat, including a so-so first scrimmage. Like last season, the competition will continue for another week at least.

Bummer.

Moore: taught Coach Pete nothing in the first scrimmage
Hamdan: also taught Coach Pete nothing in the first scrimmage

Advantage: Rosetta Stone.

In the lead...Moore. Day 11 of the quarterback competition just happens to match his jersey number. Serendipity?

Nevada preview: hurry before the window closes

Previewing the WAC seems like a good job for an intern. Unfortunately, we do not have an intern. Ugh. Previously: Utah State, Fresno State, Hawaii, SJSU, LaTech. Today: Nevada.

  Nevada

  Team motto: Reno is for winners


The WAC is typically a three-team conference, which is kind of sad considering that nine teams actually play there. In years past, any number of different WAC schools not including the University of Idaho have jumped into the big three alongside the traditional favorites of Boise State and Fresno State.

Might it be Nevada's turn again? Well, it certainly isn't anybody else's!

The Wolf Pack have the look of a stereotypically successful WAC team: high-scoring offense, afterthought defense, and a coach with a name people recognize although they're not sure why. And their performance last season gives the program hope that maybe this year will be the year they win the WAC outright. Aren't they cute when they're unrealistic?

With Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, Luke Lippincott at running back, and the Pistol offense playing the role of crazy Uncle Eddie, this team has all the right ingredients for an entertaining and possibly fruitful season. Just keep Uncle Eddie away from the light bulbs.

Five questions

Luke Lippincott isn't really better than Ian Johnson...is he?
My heart says no, but my 2007 statistical almanac says yes. According to last season's numbers, Lippincott is the WAC's most mathematically excellent back, by way of his conference-best 1420 yards. Johnson still holds the edge in touchdowns, undefeated seasons, and knit beanies, but the emergence of backs like Lippincott are what has the media buzzing about the WAC's new running focus.

Quick! Name one player on the Nevada defense!
Um...er...(stammering)...uhhh...(flipping through Phil Steele's college preview magazine)...

What scares you the most about the Nevada offense?
Plenty of things scare us about the Nevada offense, but perhaps the scariest part of their attack is its insane unevenness. Check out how many points they scored in some of their games last year:

• vs. Nebraska, 10
• vs. UNLV, 20
• vs. Fresno State, 41
• vs. Boise State, 67
• vs. Hawaii, 26
• vs. San Jose State, 24
• vs. LaTech, 49
• vs. New Mexico, 0

The possibility for the Nevada offense to put up a 50-spot on an opposing team is very real. The possibility for them to chunk their way to 20 points is also an option. And you never know which team will show up. Some teams might gameplan to try to stop Kaepernick or Lippincott or WR Marko Mitchell, but they'd be better off prank calling their hotel rooms the night before the game.

If Colin Kaepernick could be any type of weather, what would he be?
Kaepernick is a free spirit who does not like being tied down to expectations or consistency or the pocket. He would be a cloud, roaming free through the beautiful blue sky without a worry in the world. "Why hello, Mr. Sunshine," Kaepernick might say. "Do you mind if I overthrow you on an out route? You don't? Oh happy day!" Clouds don't have to read defenses or put balls on the numbers; they can go wherever they want, whenever they want. And Chris Ault can't do anything about it.

Give me one reason to think that Nevada is not the same old Nevada as always.
The law of averages and this:

Over/unders

+/- 2:1 ratio of pass attempts to rushes for Kaepernick
+/- 69 points Boise State scores against Nevada this season
+/- 0 times the Wolf Pack elect to kick when they win the toss

Nevada could cause a lot of problems for teams this season...teams like Grambling State, Utah State, and Idaho. The rest of their schedule? It's anybody's guess. New Mexico shut out the Wolf Pack in the teams' bowl game last year, and in so doing, the Lobos gave everyone a blueprint on how to slow the Nevada offense. (Tip: the quarterback can't throw.)

No matter how well the WAC schedule plays out for Nevada, their non-conference slate may cost them any chance of BCS talk. They play Texas Tech and Missouri in back-to-back weeks, and chances are good that they won't be able to knock off both Big XII powerhouses. Too bad Baylor was busy.

They do have enough talent to be a solid WAC team, though. On any given day, they can outscore their opponent, and if they find some consistency with the offense and some teeth for the defense, they will be in fine shape. Their visit to Fresno in early November should define their season. If they can get past the Bulldogs, then they can start thinking WAC title...that is, until they play Boise State two weeks later.

Perfect situation

Nevada beats one of the BCS teams on the non-conference schedule, Kaepernick completes more than 50 percent of his passes, Wolf Pack cruises undefeated through the WAC, Lippincott becomes Heisman candidate, Ault and the Pistol offense ride off intot the sunset to live happily ever after

Reality

The Wolf Pack get swept by the BCS teams on their non-conference schedule, Kaepernick turns the Pistol offense into the Wing-T, Nevada cruises through the WAC until Boise State, settles for a Hawaii Bowl appearance

Final record: 8-4 overall, 6-2 conference

Feeling the burn: USC gets the itch

Not the headline you want to see. More puns to follow.

USC dealing with jock itch breakout [FOX Sports]