Boise State scrimmage recap

The Boise State Broncos impressed us Friday in their first scrimmage of the spring. Kellen Moore and Titus Young may have grabbed the headlines, but we saw good performances from many others, too. Here is some extra detail to Friday’s practice:

• Doug Martin took the opening kick out past the 50.
• Bush Hamdan started, and he looked very Taylor Tharp-ish…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He made a few good throws, and he led the offense down the field for a FG attempt. We thought he missed a wide open man on a sweet play-action fake, but he really didn’t get enough action to adequately compare him to Moore.
• The Broncos showed a lot of shotgun and several plays from the new Q formation. A lot of the Q plays were running plays to the backs.
• Nick Lomax looked downright awful evading the pass rush. His fumble was painful/amusing.
• Mike Coughlin was nothing special.
• The defensive line made several plays in the backfield. It was hard to tell who was making the plays, but we know Ryan Winterswyk had an impact.
• Kellen Moore was a breath of fresh air. He handled pressure and ran the offense much better than Coughlin or Lomax.
• D.J. Harper had multiple plays where he refused to get tackled. It looked like the defense had him down, and he would continue to fight for extra yards.
• Kellen Moore’s 50-yard pass to Titus Young was a beauty. He hit him in stride on a deep corner route over double coverage.
• The new Boise State safeties are surprisingly big and tall. There were no rosters available, but we think that true freshman George Iloka was one of the impressive ones.
• Defensive line and linebackers made more plays Friday than they did all last year.
• The D-line got pressure without several starters playing. That is either good news for the defense or bad news for the offense.
• Shotgun snaps might be a problem; there were a few that didn’t get there very fast and fouled up some plays.
• Ian Johnson looked fast on his touchdown run. It was a stretch play from the shotgun, and he went to the house almost untouched.
• Doug Martin’s TD was similar—he took it off the right side of the line and went untouched into the end zone.
• The two Bronco touchdown passes were brilliantly designed plays. Titus Young’s wide receiver screen was perfect, and TE Sean King was wide open on his touchdown grab.

Underclassmen shine in first scrimmage [Idaho Statesman]
New-look Broncos go on display [Idaho Press-Tribune]