Hawaii and Utah State's quarterback competitions are not as competitive any more.
Tyler Graunke, the favorite for the Warriors' quarterback spot, will not be with the team for the foreseeable future, and Jase McCormick, one of several irrelevant contenders for the Aggies, has quit football entirely. Utah State will do that to you.
Graunke, who backed up Colt Brennan each of the last three years, was suspended in the offseason, but he seemed to have his problems worked out and was set to capture the starting quarterback spot. His situation now is pretty up in the air, and will remain that way so long as Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin continues to make broad, generalizing statements.
"Tyler has things he has to work on," McMackin said yesterday in a release from UH. "At this point, he will not practice with the team. Because of privacy laws, I can't comment any further."
Things are much more black and white with Utah State's Jase McCormick. He's got better things to do than lose to mediocre WAC teams week in and week out.
When reached by The Tribune on Saturday, Guy said that McCormick was involved with a few business ventures that he was doing well with.
Also, he was tired of this happening:
The turmoil at Hawaii and Utah State serves to highlight the QB flux across the WAC this season. In addition to the Warriors and the Aggies, there are several other schools with unsettled quarterback situations:
LaTech: open competition
San Jose State: open competition
Boise State: open competition
Idaho: Nathan Enderle
The signal callers in the WAC with job security are Tom Brandstater, Chase Holbrook, and Colin Kaepernick. Armageddon cannot be far off.
Welcome back, Bronco football. We have missed you dearly.
Boise State will hit the field for their first practice of fall camp today, and before we know it, August 30th will be upon us. The Broncos practice 20 times in the next three weeks, taking only August 12th and 20th off during that stretch, and they'll have three scrimmages before "preparation" for Idaho State begins.
Monday, Aug. 11 from 3-5:30 p.m. at Bronco Stadium
Saturday, Aug. 16 from 7-9 p.m. at Bronco Stadium
Closed scrimmage at Eagle High School on Aug. 22.
Doesn't it just make you feel warm inside?
We at OBNUG are even more excited because the return of football means the return of a regular posting schedule. Over the summer, we have reined in our posts (really, we have), but starting today, all bets are off. Remember the days of four and five posts per day? Our social lives do. And those days are back and better than ever.
Keep checking back here for new posts or refresh your RSS reader. We'll be keeping the links around through the season, and we'll even bring back the week-in-review. And get ready for a big surprise in the next couple of weeks. It will be huge! (And no, it is not a Marty Tadman guest post, although we would not be opposed to that.)
The Broncos take the field for the start of fall camp on Monday, and not a moment too soon. The offseason has been a difficult one, considering the way that last season ended for BSU. Two losses in a row is quite a different pill to swallow than a Fiesta Bowl win. But we swallowed it nevertheless, washing down the sucker with a tasty brew of early commits and media love. Mmmm, media love.
Now we can start over-evaluating players again. Woohoo! Here are the newcomers who will be in camp on Monday, listed in order of how stoked we are to see them.
LB Daron Mackey. Juco transfers are our weakness.
LB Byron Hout. The Hout era begins in earnest.
OT Tom Swanson. The biggest incoming lineman. Might eat Chris Potter.
WR Chris Potter. Fast, which should prevent Tom Swanson from eating him.
S Tyler Jackson. Young safeties out the wazzoo.
But of course, what would a Division I-A offseason be without drama. It would be a Division I-AA offseason probably. With the Broncos becoming more and more of a big deal every year, they have more and more questions to answer heading into the season. Here are some the most intriguing subplots to watch for when fall camp kicks off on Monday.
Who will be starting quarterback?
Will the offensive linemen be any bigger or any more experienced?
What's the deal with that "Q" formation?
Will playing in the shade of the Mothership make the Broncos complacent?
Can Bob Behler pick Tanyon Bissell out of a crowd?
Is Ryan Winterswyk human?
How soon can we talk about Doug Martin again?
Ian Johnson: overrated or not rated enough?
Will bloggers receive press credentials?
Naturally, all these issues will sort themselves out by the time Idaho State comes to town on August 30. And if they don't, at least it's only Idaho State.
But for now, football is back. Life is complete. And the world is right again.
The tenth verbal commitment for the Boise State Broncos came yesterday from Saguara (Arizona) defensive end Justin Jungblut. The senior-to-be is 6'6", 250 pounds, and he should feel right at home when he hits campus next fall.
Jungblut will join former Saguaro teammate Joe Kellogg on the Boise State roster. Kellogg is a freshman offensive lineman. Jungblut said he had 40 tackles, 15 for losses, and also had two sacks last season.
Jungblut also said that he had, like, 50 fumble recoveries.
Fight Fight BSU has the scouting report on Jungblut, who sounds like a keeper. Don't they all? He spurned offers from Idaho (good choice), Utah, UNLV, Air Force, and Wyoming. Coach Pete's penmanship sealed the deal.
“They did the best job of making me feel welcome, by far,” Jungblut said. “Coach Petersen has written me two letters — hand-written, so I thought that was pretty great.”
For some reason, Robb Akey's singing telegram just didn't do it for Jungblut.
Other links:
USA Today's preseason poll released [USA Today]
Boise State comes in at #34.
Murphy picks best offensive players in WAC [Statesman]
Not surprisingly, no Utah State players make the list.
KTVB 24/7 to air Bronco classics [Bronco Country]
Good luck finding KTVB 24/7.
USC #1 in Rivals countdown [Rivals.com]
Mark Sanchez must know someone at the Rivals office.
Previewing the WAC seems like a good job for an intern. Unfortunately, we do not have an intern. Ugh. Previously: San Jose State. Today: Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech
Motto: Just Dooley it
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are the trendy pick to surprise people in the WAC this season. But does anyone know why?
The Bulldogs certainly don't instill confidence with their outstanding offense. They are not revolutionary in their approach to special teams. Their defense is not suddenly good. No, most people are basing their sudden optimism on two things.
Derek Dooley.
Not sucking as much as usual last year.
Sadly, the WAC has come to this.
Five questions
Taylor Bennett. Thoughts?
If the Bulldogs were going for mediocre, semi-competent, vanilla quarterbacks with so-so arm strength and accuracy, then they hit the nail on the head. In fact, Bennett and last year's starter Zac Champion could very well be the same person, right down to the yuppy first names. But is Bennett ordinary enough?
Not yet, apparently. The Georgia Tech transfer is currently sitting at No. 2 on the depth chart to sophomore Ross Jenkins. Bennett will have to start misreading routes and throwing behind receivers pretty soon if he wants to get the job.
Are you drinking Derek Dooley's Kool-Aid?
Derek Dooley's Kool-Aid is more like a mojito of energy and positivity, and there is plenty for everyone. The head coach/athletic director/campus tour coordinator has Ruston buzzing with the anticipation of a .500 season and a berth in an obscure bowl game. Isn't college football great?
But as far as we're concerned, Dooley's shtick isn't doing it for us. We can't help but get this vibe when we hear his name:
No matter how he spins things, Louisiana Tech will always be Louisiana Tech--that is to say, they will always be mostly above average.So if Dooley has that flavor of Kool-Aid, then we'd be more than happy to drink it.
Describe the LaTech defense using only adverbs.
Disjointedly. Awfully. Tragically. Unwittingly. Openly. Unfortunately.
Will Patrick Jackson matter in three months?
LaTech's senior running back will have to matter for the Bulldogs to be successful. Though he has never rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season, he is always good for about four yards a carry, especially when Idaho is in town, and he and his fellow running backs will be the best part of the offense for the foreseeable future.
The good news is that the LaTech offensive line returns three starters from a year ago. The bad news is that both tackles are gone. Hope you like dive plays. We get the feeling that Jackson will find the going pretty tough this year, and he'll be forgotten about once backup Daniel Porter breaks a few 70-yard touchdown runs. Also, we doubt that will take three months.
What's going to happen when LaTech comes to town?
We don't usually get nervous about Louisiana Tech visiting Boise. That's kind of like the U.S. worrying about border safety with Canada. But this year might be different. Rather than the traditional Saturday kickoff, the Bulldogs will be in Boise on a Wednesday night. And the game is practically in September.
We worry that the Broncos will still be working out the kinks when LaTech comes on October 1st. We worry that Derek Dooley will look into our eyes and see straight to our souls. We worry that the Broncos may only win by four touchdowns.
And then we wake up and realize it was all just a dream. There's really nothing to worry about.
Over/Unders
+/-5, the number of times we fall asleep watching LaTech games this year
+/-0, Derek Dooley's Q rating
+/-450, rushing yards given up to Nevada
+/-11, times Taylor Bennett tries one of these, only with much less success and many more turnovers:
Jumping on the LaTech bandwagon is the new black. "They're cool! They're hip! They are geographically indifferent to their own conference!" Well, we're not buying it.
The reign of Derek Dooley might have gotten off to a good start, but let's look at the facts. In 2006, the Bulldogs finished 1-7 in the conference with losses to Idaho, NMSU, and San Jose State. In 2007, the Bulldogs were 4-4 in the WAC with wins over the same schools. There is a big difference between beating bad teams and being a good team. Basically, all LaTech did last year was win against four of the worst teams in the country, and we have a hard time placing our trust in a program that has, to this point, only proven their lack of awfulness. Beat Fresno State or Hawaii and then we can talk.
Perfect situation:
Taylor Bennett wins the starting quarterback job, the offense finds balance, the defense is allowed a "three-mississippi" head start on all pass plays, the Bulldogs win the WAC and go to the Hawaii Bowl, and Derek Dooley names himself King of Louisiana
Reality:
Taylor Bennett wins the starting quarterback job, proceeds to be not all that good, the defensive line forgets to show up for multiple games, Bulldogs somehow finish 5-3 in the WAC, media members write articles about how right they were in picking LaTech as a sleeper, Derek Dooley gives himself a promotion
Dominique Vinson and other Bronco casualties [Statesman]
As excited as we have been this summer about early commitments, Bronco fans could be just as concerned about the number of players leaving the team. The latest casualty is WR Dominique Vinson, a grayshirt last season who had some exciting expectations this fall. Let's go to the Statesman for the details.
No details of Vinson's departure were available.
Oh.
Vinson's departure adds to the rather long list of Bronco players who will not be back this year (mentioned by us and FFBSU), including some for medical reasons and a few for personal reasons. Depressed yet? If not, then this might do it for you (from the Scott Slant):
Ebenezer Makinde, recruited out of Phoenix as an "athlete" (meaning he'd be plugged in where he fits the best), might be waffling. Tim Schultz (Rivals.com) writes, "Makinde gave a verbal commitment to Boise State at the end of May and while he says he's still committed, he would like to see what options other schools might have to offer to get a feel for whether or not he made the right decision.
Say it ain't so, Ebo!
With all this discouraging news, it would be nice to have something optimistic to talk about. How 'bout a Jeremy Childs update? He is listed on the Boise State roster, which means he is either on the team or that the someone in the BSU administration office does not proofread. At this point, we'll take whatever we can get.
Other links:
Video tour of new Bronco Stadium Sky Club [KTVB.com]
Sadly, it will be the closest we come to getting there any time soon.
Wal Mart does not follow college football [KTVB.com]
But their PowerAdes sure are cheap!
Boise State good at marketing, too [Statesman]
Is there anything our teams can't do?
Not all Idaho players are worthless [Nevada Appeal]
Adam Korby broke the mold.
LaTech could be a sleeper [Times-News]
If sleeper means boring, then yes.
BSU a big game for Southern Miss [EDSBS]
Not losing as badly as last year would be sorta like a win.
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