OBNUG Roster Update: Kickers

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: Kickers.

Kickers

Ideal candidate: Pele


Worst candidate: a member of the Gramatica family


Actual candidates: Kyle Brotzman, Brock Jaramillo, Brad Elkin

OBNUG's pick: Brotzman for field goals, Elkin for punts. Brotzman could be up for Lou Groza consideration this season, and he was one of the most important players on the Bronco team last year. His value to the 2007 squad was magnified due to the lack of an effective Elkin, leaving all kicking duties in Brotzman's hands. We think Elkin will step it up this year, mostly because there is really no other place to step it. He was pretty bad.

OBNUG Roster Update: Safeties

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: Safeties.

Safeties

Ideal candidate: The six-million-dollar man


Worst candidate: Any kid from the Little Giants


Actual candidates: Jeron Johnson, Jason Robinson, George Iloka, Cedric Febis, Shaun Jordan, Travis Stanaway, Ellis Powers, others

OBNUG's pick: Johnson and Robinson. The incumbents from last year have an obvious advantage over the rest of the field. That said, should Johnson and Robinson falter, there will be plenty of players willing to step up. We are particularly enamored with Febis and Iloka, and we wouldn't mind at all if BSU decided to use four safeties in its dime packages.

OBNUG Roster Update: Cornerbacks

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: Cornerbacks.

Cornerbacks

Ideal candidate: a young Deion Sanders


Worst candidate: Jabba the Hutt


Actual candidates: Kyle Wilson, Garcia Day, Brandyn Thompson, Keith McGowen, Antwon Murray

OBNUG's pick: Wilson, Thompson. Obviously, Kyle Wilson is a shoe-in for one corner position, and we feel that Thompson will make good on the promise he showed last year and earn the other spot. We were expecting big things from Garcia Day this season, and we could still see him make an impact as a nickel back.

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.

OBNUG roster update: Defensive line

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: Defensive line.

Defensive Line

Ideal candidate: a mountain


Worst candidate: a girl


Actual candidates: Ryan Winterswyk, Joe Bozikovich, Jarrell Root, Phillip Edwards, Sean Bingham, Chuck Hayes, J.P. Nisby, Mike T. Williams, Billy Winn, Chase Baker, et al

OBNUG’s pick: Winterswyk, Nisby, Bozikovich, Williams

Winterswyk and Williams are fairly obvious choices, although we could see Jarrell Root pushing Williams for playing time. The inside tackles are still very much up for grabs. We’re picking a freshman and a senior; we like Nisby’s strength and Bozikovich’s experience.

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.

OBNUG roster update: offensive line

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: Offensive line.

Offensive line

Ideal candidate: This kid


Worst candidate: Kyle Brotzman


Actual candidates: Andrew Woodruff, Nate Potter, Chris Byrd, John Gott, Matt Slater, Garrett Pendergast, Paul Lucariello, others

OBNUG picks: Andrew Woodruff and John Gott at guard, Nate Potter and Matt Slater at tackles, Chris Byrd at center

Yesterday, we wrote about the importance of the offensive line, especially as it relates to the quarterback position. This group of guys has little experience (Woodruff is the only one with meaningful playing time), but we feel that they have the talent to get the job done for the Broncos. With senior leadership from Woodruff and Gott, things should go smoothly for the underclassmen, and we could be looking at a dominant bunch in a year or two.

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]

OBNUG roster update: receivers

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: Receivers.

Boise State football starting receivers

Ideal candidate: a 6'6" Tim Gilligan



Worst candidate: Captain Hook



Actual candidates: Jeremy Childs, Titus Young, Austin Pettis, Vinny Perretta, Julian Hawkins, Chris O'Neill, Ryan Putnam, Toshi Franklin, Tanyon Bissell, Tyler Shoemaker, various others

OBNUG's pick: Childs, Young, Pettis, and Perretta; O'Neill as the traditional tight end

What a stable of receivers. Next to running back, this position is the deepest, most talented on the roster. The starters are pretty obvious (Childs, Young, Pettis), but the addition of Perretta is where things get interesting. Will he be the fourth receiver? Will he have his own special package? Will he start at QB? Who knows? We can't wait to find out.

OBNUG roster update: Running backs

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: Running Back.

Boise State football starting running back

Ideal candidate: This vehicle:

Worst candidate: Ian Johnson 2007

Actual candidates: Ian Johnson, DJ Harper, Jeremy Avery, Doug Martin

OBNUG pick: Ian Johnson

Johnson will win the starting job, but whoever gets to be his back-up will be in good position to replace him next season. We hope it is Doug Martin because we have an unhealthy affection for him and we’ve yet to even see him in person.

OBNUG roster update: Quarterback

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: Quarterbacks.

Boise State football starting quarterback

Ideal candidate: Tom Brady

Worst candidate: Jason Street (the wheelchair version)

Contenders: Bush Hamdan, Nick Lomax, Mike Coughlin, Kellen Moore

OBNUG pick: Kellen Moore

That's right. We said it. Kellen Moore, all 180 pounds of him, is our pick for starting quarterback. How did we come to this decision? Easy; we couldn't pick between Nick Lomax and Mike Coughlin.