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 podcasts the Broncos

We had the privilege of being part of a BroncoNation.net podcast, debating the debate about the QB debate. It made more sense on paper.

The podcast is up now on BroncoNation.net. Please check it out. Thanks to JT Ray and the guys at Bronco Nation for having us!

The culture of the BSU quarterback [BroncoNation.net]

Public Enemy #1: Kaepernick's case

OBNUG is in the process of deciding who should be this website's most hated villain. We'll be presenting the cases for all of the candidates over the next few weeks. Enjoy.

Colin Kaepernick

Contrary to popular belief, Colin Kaepernick does not draw our ire because of his fascinating, frustrating romp through the Boise State defense in last year’s epic Bronco-Wolfpack thriller.

He draws our ire for not doing the same to Hawaii.

Nevada had the Warriors on the ropes, taking leads in the third quarter and late into the fourth quarter. A Hawaii loss could have meant a shared WAC title for the Broncos, and all Kaepernick had to do was not be human. Instead, he turned in this pedestrian stat line:

Kaepernick 9-20, 134 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 11 carries, 23 yards

Where was the breakaway speed? Where were the elusive open-field moves? Whenever Kaepernick had a chance to make a play in the Hawaii game, he didn’t.

On the contrary, whenever he had a chance to make a play against the Broncos, he did. In fact, he made plays even when plays weren’t needing to be made. He made plays on top of plays, and his plays were plays that played the Bronco D in ways they’d never been played before. We remember; how could we forget?

Kaepernick 11-23, 243 yards, 3 TDs; 14 carries, 177 yards, 2 TDs

The Nevada sophomore seems to have a grudge against us, which is exactly why he is up for consideration for OBNUG’s Public Enemy #1. Sure, we enjoy pointing out his passing flaws and demeaning his achievements on the football field. But as far as we’re concerned, he started this feud with his impartial supernaturalness.

WAC favorite Fresno finally hits field

Spring practice for preseason media darling Fresno State began today. Impossibly high expectations should follow.

"We are excited to get started," said head coach Pat Hill. "...We are coming off a great season of nine wins and have some great leadership returning. I'd expect this group will pick-up where last season finished and be able to make a run. We are already looking forward to the season opener at UCLA in the Rose Bowl."

This just in: ESPN.com has listed the Bulldogs as the team to beat in the WAC and the PAC-10.

Bulldogs open spring ball [Fresno State athletics]

Facebook just became OBNUGbook

Bronco fans, we are pleased to announced that our humble website now has its own Facebook group! Come be our friend and support the online proliferation of Bronco football! It's a great way to keep up with what is going on here at OBNUG and to connect with fellow BSU fans.

One Bronco Nation Under God Group [Facebook]

B.J. Rhode back with the Burn

Former Boise State QB B.J. Rhode made the final roster for the Boise Burn. Rhode, who found playing at BSU thanks to a Ryan Dinwiddie injury, was with the team last year, and he will be one of the two quarterbacks on the roster when the Burn start their season April 4.

Ah, good old arena football.


Boise Burn set their roster [Idaho Statesman]