QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 12

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.

Tomorrow night we get our second chance to see the quarterback competition for ourselves, but until then, we'll just have to rely on our trusted local media for guidance. Scary thought, huh.

Moore: the People's choice
Hamdan: the Media's choice

Advantage: Hamdan. The media does see practice, after all.

In the lead...Tie. It will make for a more interesting scrimmage this way.

[UPDATE] Camp notes: good-bye East Jr. High, hello interceptions

Update 2:45pm: LaDustin files his report from morning practice. "Dear diary, I saw a fox today..."

The Broncos celebrated their final practice at East Junior High this morning with interceptions and popsicles. The IPT's Dave Southorn has the details.

At the end of the early practice, the offense had to run gassers after the defense held the upper hand most of the morning. Raphiel Lambert intercepted Bush Hamdan, while Travis Stanaway picked off Nick Lomax. Hey, at least everyone got popsicles afterward. Really!

Stanaway was mentioned as one of the standout newcomers who might see playing time this fall, and Lambert was a sensational high school running back who seems to be making a rather smooth transition to the defensive backfield. Coach Pete's bullhorn appreciated their effort.

The Broncos will have one more practice this evening before hitting the field tomorrow night for the team's second scrimmage of the fall. The scrimmage will be tomorrow night at 6:00pm, rather than 7:00pm time that had been previously reported. At least, that's what Judy from the Boise State athletics office told us.

We'll update this post as more reports from practice are filed. We are such freeloaders.

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?

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 10

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.

The Bronco quarterback competition is into the double digits now, and we are still without a starter for the Idaho State game. Hmm, when we say it like that, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Hamdan: Threw a touchdown to Vinny Perretta, threw an interception to Kyle Wilson
Moore: Threw left-handed

Advantage: Push. An interception washes out a touchdown, and left-handed people make us feel awkward.

In the lead...Moore. He's living off his scrimmage performance, which is pretty much all anyone has to go off of now.

[UPDATE] Camp notes: 85-yard TD pass and a Doug Martin sighting

Update: Dustin Lapray has filed his camp report. Tally-ho!

The Broncos are back on the practice field today (Thank goodness! Don't ever leave us again!), and they seem to have recovered well from a listless scrimmage. Touchdown bombs, interceptions, and false starts: at least it wasn't boring.

From Dave's Blog:

There were a heck of a lot more big plays than in recent practices. The defense dominated the first set of 11-on-11, but the offense played well in the middle part of practice, highlighted by a great 85-yard touchdown from Bush Hamdan to Vinny Perretta. That being said, the defense saw a pair of interceptions from Cedric Febis and Kyle Wilson in the final few minutes of practice

One of the picks was thrown by Hamdan, just in case you were getting your hopes up that someone was pulling away in this quarterback race.

While Southorn's report was encouraging, the Statesman's Chadd Cripe brings us some slightly more discouraging news:

Bad snaps, false starts and quick sacks left the offense frustrated.

But it wasn't all bad, right Chadd?

Freshman tailback Doug Martin darted up the middle for 35 yards.

Thanks. That makes us feel better.

The Broncos will have another practice later today, and we'll update this post as needed throughout the afternoon..

Morning paper: Boise State football links 8/12

There is plenty to talk about regarding the first scrimmage of the fall, and before we get into our take on things, let's hear what the Internets have to say. Aren't we gracious?

Fall scrimmage reports

• Moore vs. Hamdan vs. everyone else still up in the air [Fight Fight BSU]
• QB stats and Coach Pete audio [Dave's Blog]
  
• Gassers do not sound like fun [Bronco Beat]
• Taylor Tharp and Coby Karl were there. Party! [Press-Tribune]
  
• Did Dustin Lapray just start his post with a bandana story? [BSU Blog]
  
• Photos and feedback from the scrimmage [Statue Left]

Hop on the D.J. Harper bandwagon [Statesman]
We're already on it, but thanks anyway for the invitation.

The O-line has some work to do [Press-Tribune]
Rushing for 2.3 yards is far too San Jose State-ish.

von Oelhoffen released by Eagles [Statesman]
Carson Palmer's knee laughs an evil laugh.

Boise State best team of last decade [FOX Sports]
We'll take it even if it's only FOX Sports who's giving it.

Injuries strike Vandal line [Statesman]
Good thing they have depth. Oh wait. Never mind.

Week One predictions [What If Sports]
Boise State should be safe.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 5

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. 

The Press-Tribune has posted audio from Kellen Moore's post-practice press conference. Here's the link: Press-Tribune multimedia. We know what will be playing in David Augusto's iPod this weekend.

Here's today's breakdown:

Moore: connected with Titus Young on a deep TD, thought it was "awesome"
Hamdan: found Vinny Perretta for a long touchdown toss, celebrated with Geritol and extra-cautious high-fives

Advantage: Moore. Assuming Young will be on the field more often than Perretta, Kellen chose the right wideout to connect with.

In the lead...Hamdan. By a hair. And no, we have nothing to base this on.

Camp notes: pads are heavy and other new experiences

Today's Boise State practice was full of firsts:

• First time wearing full pads
• First time practicing on the new blue turf
• First time newcomers practiced with returners
• First time the offense showed up
  
• First time Paul J realized that Jeremy Childs and Jeremy Avery are different people.
  

Dave Southorn filed his report from the morning sessions, and he had plenty of nice things to say about RB D.J. Harper, even though Harper did not have many nice things to say about himself.

"I was actually really disappointed with how I did last year," Harper said. "If I can stay healthy, I want to be a lot more productive."

The offense finally showed some firepower with three long touchdown plays during practice today. Kellen Moore and Bush Hamdan threw for two of the scores, and Jeremy Avery broke a 45-yard TD run. It sure was nice of Ryan Winterswyck and Mike T. Williams to let them.

Chadd Cripe has details, too.

More on practice today if anything surfaces.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 4

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.

Today was an ugly day in the Boise State quarterback competition, as the Bronco defense picked off six passes. Though throwing six interceptions might be good enough to win Nathan Enderle the starting job at Idaho, the same is not true of the Boise State QBs. Here is where things stand after four days.

Moore: was picked off at least once
Hamdan: was picked off at least twice

Advantage: Direct snaps to Ian Johnson.

In the lead: Joe Southwick. The quarterback recruit for the class of 2009 did not have an interception today...that we know of.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 3

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.

The Boise State quarterback competition is now into its third day, and we are no closer to finding out who will be manning the good ship Bronco come August 30th. Here is where things stand as of today.

Moore: Fumbled in the morning session. Looked small with shoulder pads on.
Hamdan: Reminisced about the early 1980's during line drills. Looked old with shoulder pads on.

Advantage: Push.

In the lead: Hamdan. Fortunately for him, ageism has no place among Bronco coaches.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 2

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.

Word from Broncos camp is glowing about Bush Hamdan and strangely silent about Kellen Moore. How are we supposed to overreact to every little detail when we don't have every little detail? Looks like we'll just have to start reading into things.

Moore: Practicing with the returners? Good. Throwing an interception to Jeron Johnson? Bad.
Hamdan: Gave a media interview and said all the right things.

Advantage: Hamdan.

In the lead: Hamdan. Haven't heard a bad thing about him yet ... except that he's a senior.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 1

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 they hype and hyperbole surrounding the Boise State quarterback competition. 

Vs.

Boise State football is back, which begs the question: Who will the starting quarterback be? Now that the players are actually on the field, we will be able to track the candidates (Kellen Moore, Bush Hamdan, and to lesser degrees, Mike Coughlin and Nick Lomax) and provide daily breakdowns of where things stand. Today, senior Hamdan takes the lead.

Hamdan: Spent summer vacation organizing softball game and warming up to media.
Moore: Spent summer vacation getting a farmer's tan.

Today's winner: Hamdan.

In the lead...Hamdan. But that's nothing a Planet Beach tanning session can't fix.

Morning paper: Boise State football links 8/4

Brian Murphy on QB competition [Statesman]
Coach Pete and Harsin have been there before.

Chadd Cripe on QB competition [Statesman]
Well, at least the Statesman isn't blowing this thing out of proportion.

Alex Guerrero doing color on Spanish radio [Fight Fight BSU]
Donde esta el futbol? En el endzone! Seis puntas!

Broncos ranked #26 by NYT [New York Times]
A good read, if you're into looking up words in dictionaries.

15 minutes of fame for the laundry guy [Statesman]
No word on the Tide-to-go pen.

Dinwiddie CFL player of the week [CFL.ca]
Bags of milk for everyone!

If Aztecs are out, will Broncos be in? [Union-Tribune]
SDSU may be without stadium, which makes it hard to play football.

Nevada gets QB commit [Gazette-Journal]
See? Early recruits can happen outside of Boise.

WAC recruiting budgets [ESPN]
Blogger is out to get us [Blogger Buzz] 

Thursday: Links with religion

Story of the day:

Peak redeems itself with Jadon Dailey [Statesman]

With the hiring of former BSU center Jadon Dailey as the new color commentator for Bronco football games, Peak Broadcasting has done something that has thus far eluded them: appear competent. If the reaction to Dailey's hiring is any indication, then Bronco fans are feeling pretty good about life after Paul J.--at least as good as they could feel.

Bob Behler's already a fan.

Behler, who said he has worked with many first-timers in the booth, was impressed with Dailey's intelligence and enthusiasm. "He's going to add a lot in stories and knowledge," Behler said. "He's going to help me a heck of a lot, knowing personnel, history and coaches. He's going to bring a lot to the table."

Will Dailey's lack of experience be an issue? Not with Behler, the father of modern radio, in the booth! Besides, if things get bad, Peak can always just play snippets of Dailey's Out of the Blue commentary in between Behler's live-action play-by-play calls. Don't think anyone would mind that. 

Other links:

New recruit Mooney not taking other campus visits after all [Press-Tribune]
Guess he was okay missing out on all the fun times at Army.

Bush Hamdan is a better man than you are [Scott Slant]
Thanks to Tom Scott we suddenly feel much less charitable for giving that homeless guy a dollar.

Boise State season preview [Don Best]
Always trust a man with a mustache...except for Robb Akey.

Cocaine hoax fuels Big XII rivalry [SI.com]
We anxiously await the Idaho "pirated Norbit DVD" hoax.

Preview mags take Moore over Hamdan

We were browsing at Barnes and Noble the other day, and we came across some interesting news from the two college football preview magazines that were available: Both Lindy's and Athlon Sports projected Kellen Moore as the starting quarterback.

Bush Hamdan was not available for comment.

Wednesday: Links with thumbs up

Story of the day:

Summer conditioning: let the side aches begin [Idaho Statesman]

Success takes time off for nobody, which is too bad for the summer vacation plans of Boise State players.

The Broncos kicked off their eight-week summer training schedule that is equal parts preparation and muscle torture. Strength coach Tim Socha is in charge of the conditioning, and the Statesman reports that there is 100 percent participation from the team.

"This is a big deal for (the players)," Boise State strength and conditioning coach Tim Socha said. "This is to us - to me and to them - the start of their season. We come in in the summer and they know they've got eight weeks of hard work to get ready."

He wasn't kidding about hard work. Take a look at one of the more demanding exercises:

Former strength coach Jeff Pitman made the "decks" famous - a workout during which the players ran/walked/crawled to the top of Bronco Stadium. In 2005, the players did 20 decks in one workout by the end of the summer.

Socha, who replaced Pitman in May 2006, put his own twist on the decks. He staggers the players' starting spots based on body type, so linemen don't have to climb as far as running backs, and he times them - the goal is 10 seconds per climb.

Ten seconds per climb! We get tired just thinking about that.

The workouts will be four days a week for about two hours each session, and they'll involve equal parts weightlifting and running. Players also plan on holding their own player-led practices about three times a week, and those will involve lying around and trying to catch their breaths.

Other links:

Summer conditioning video [Idaho Press-Tribune]
Boise State voyeurism at its finest.

Hamdan speaks! [Idaho Press-Tribune]
The IPT's story about summer conditioning is rife with quotes from QB Bush Hamdan, a notorious media avoider.

Vlade Divac: humanitarian [Idaho Statesman]
A flop for every child.

Hawkins' tour across Colorado [Post Independent]
Why? Because it's Division I football! It's the Big XII!

Hawaii starts season early [Sporting News]
Like 6:30am Hawaii time early.

National media fuels QB debate

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg focuses his weekly non-BCS column on Boise State's quarterback contest, with predictable results.

(Tharp's) successor will come from a pool of four candidates: senior Bush Hamdan, junior Nick Lomax, sophomore Mike Coughlin and redshirt freshman Kellen Moore. All four have received equal repetitions this spring, but Hamdan and Moore have emerged as the early favorites.

Obviously, he has not talked to Phil Dailey.

Non-BCS notebook [ESPN.com]

Harsin feels QBs still neck-and-neck

Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin gave his thoughts on the BSU quarterback race yesterday, saying that all four candidates still remain very much in contention.

“Nobody is overall making a huge jump at this point,” Harsin said. “They’re doing what we ask them to do.”

Freshman Kellen Moore and senior Bush Hamdan did impress Harsin with their play in the first scrimmage. He also liked the presence of sophomore Mike Coughlin, who is a threat in the option run game and was on the field for some long run plays.

Also, Nick Lomax's fumble made Harsin laugh.

Chadd Cripe reports that the Broncos were happy to return to practice after a week off for spring break, and they hosted Upland (Calif.) QB Josh Nunes, a top prospect whom OBNUG profiled last week.

Harsin: no quarterback 'making huge jump' [Idaho Statesman]

Bold predictions for the week ahead

Today is Opening Day in Major League Baseball, and we are excited to see the new names in new places. Guys like Johan Santana, Andruw Jones, Miguel Cabrera, and Torii Hunter could have a big influence on pennant races and division battles. One person not making much news is free agent slugger Barry Bonds. Fortunately, we have the perfect team for him: the Boise Hawks. Memorial Stadium is a hitter's park, Barry!

Here is what we see happening in the next few days.

• In Friday's scrimmage, a beautiful pass from WR Tanyon Bissell will cause BSU message boards to fill up with debate that Bissell should be starting at quarterback. In related news, Nick Lomax will slip to fifth on the depth chart.
  
• Coach Chris Peterson will pull an elaborate April Fool's joke on Bronco Nation, involving the naming of a starting quarterback. Brian Murphy will fail to see the humor.
  
• Bush Hamdan will grant OBNUG an interview request, provided we stop referring to ourselves as a media outlet.

Hamdan to start spring scrimmage; world to end

Senior QB Bush Hamdan will get the starting nod in this afternoon's scrimmage, according to offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin. In related news, the sky is falling.

Hamdan, who finished last season as the backup, has had a strong spring so far.

“He’s doing a nice job,” Harsin said. “Right now, until we get into that scrimmage, it’s hard to start making a lot of separation.”

The general consensus among Bronco Nation is that we don't want another first-year senior starting quarterback, so the news of Hamdan's start is a little bittersweet. Regardless, we will support the coaches' decision of a starter, and we'll be front and center at the scrimmage cheering him on.

Harsin did say that the other three quarterbacks should all see action with the first team offense, so we should have a good chance to compare everyone. Let the second guessing begin!

Hamdan will lead off scrimmage [Idaho Statesman]