Boise State spring football awards

People have recapped spring football and graded spring football, but no one has yet to make up arbitrary awards for spring football. That's where we come in.

In honor of the many noteworthy performances from the past few weeks, may we present OBNUG's 2008 spring football awards.

Most likely to succeed: DE Ryan Winterswyk.
This half-man, half-monster wreaked havoc in the backfield all spring. If only he could face freshman offensive tackles all the time!

Most likely to have a bandwagon named after him: QB Kellen Moore.
Moore's spring performance made Bronco fans downright giddy with delight. Can you say "man crush"? Half of Bronco Nation can (and has).

Most likely to see playing time as a true freshman: S George Iloka.
The tall, lanky safety made the most of his opportunities this spring, and to think, he's only 18! Our greatest accomplishment at 18 was going undefeated in Madden.

Most likely to replace Marty Tadman (on the field, not in our hearts): S Jeron Johnson.
Tadman was the heart and soul of the defense, and we think that Johnson has what it takes to fill the void. Johnson can walk on water, right?

Most likely to score a billion touchdowns: WR Titus Young.
Young is fast, athletic, and an impossible match-up for every corner in the WAC. He might score a billion touchdowns against Utah State alone.

Most likely to be Ian Johnson's backup: RB D.J. Harper.
If you had asked us this question prior to spring football, we would have shouted "Doug Martin" and maybe giggled a little. And while Martin is indeed a beast, Harper blew us away by his power and elusiveness. Color us impressed.

Most likely to change positions: QB Nick Lomax.
Lomax's immobility will cost him in the QB battle, so we can see him taking the high road and switching positions of his own accord. Our guess? Personal protector to Brad Elkin.

Most likely to wrestle a bear and win: DL Sean Bingham.
He wrestled John Gott, who looks like a bear, and won. We don't see how a real bear would fare any better.

Most likely to stop disappointing us: LB Derrell Acrey.
Acrey, who has long been listed as a breakout candidate, narrowly edged out "rugby punts" for this award.

Most likely to not talk to the media: QB Bush Hamdan.
A winner for the second year in a row! Congrats!

Most likely to drive us mad: the "Q."
Considering our reaction to being under center (elation) compared to that of being in the "Q" (queasy), we think this abbreviated shotgun could be trouble, especially if snaps continue missing their mark.

Welcome to the WAC blogosphere, Nevada

If the Internet needs more of anything, it would be WAC football blogs...and free Bronco iVision.

Thankfully, one of those wishes has been granted. Packfan7, often seen leaving hopeful Nevada oratories in OBNUG's comments section, has started a Nevada blog: Pistol Whipping the WAC. We might have gone with "Kaepernick's chicken legs" or "Can't we Ault just get along?", but the Pistol reference is a good one, too.

Here's a sample from the site's first post:

Welcome to the first edition of Pistol Whipping the WAC. My attempt at proving the impossible, that the University of Nevada is in fact a football school that has just been mascarading as an NBA factory as of late.

At least he's being honest with himself.

Welcome, PWtW. We look forward to hearing what you have to say, and we look forward to leaving childish put-downs in your comments section.

[Pistol Whipping the WAC]

Unique Clady perspective from NY Times

Ryan Clady has been all over the news the past few months as the NFL Draft nears and Clady's draft status continues to rise. We have chosen not to post every little mention of Clady because there have been so many, but we found the following story particularly interesting.

Michael David Smith, a reporter with the New York Times, wrote a quick piece on Clady in his blog, and rather than re-hash the same old story, Smith looked at Clady's rise through the lens of the Fiesta Bowl. Here's our favorite line:

If Clady is among the first six players chosen, he’ll earn the distinction of being the highest-drafted player from the 2007 Fiesta Bowl — higher than Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson, whom the Vikings selected seventh last year. And that will serve as a reminder that the talent gap between Oklahoma and Boise State wasn’t quite as big as everyone thought.

Exactly. That may be one of the lasting impressions of the Broncos' Fiesta Bowl win--Boise State had a great deal of talent, more than anyone gave them credit for.

Smith also mentioned Clady's forgotten role in the Statue of Liberty play, sealing off the edge. That's a good enough excuse for us to post the video again!



A Boise State Fiesta Bowl Hero... [New York Times]

Blue & Orange podcast

We had the privilege of taking part in another podcast with fellow Boise State bloggers. To listen, click here. Matt from Statue Left, JT from Bronco Nation NOW, and yours truly chatted about the Blue-Orange game and the shake-ups with Bronco media. Enjoy.

Podcast [BroncoNationNOW.com]

Vandal defense improved? Hardly

Over the weekend, the Vandals held their second scrimmage of the spring, and at first glance, the defense looks to have taken a big step forward. On second glance? Not so much.

"Defense steps up in second scrimmage" blared the headline at the Vandals' athletic website. "Oh no, they didn't" claimed the facts.

Scoring
Deonte Jackson 2 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Max Komar 3 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Deonte Jackson 8 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Princeton McCarty 3 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Tino Amancio 22 FG
Princeton McCarty 4 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Tariq Ikharo 5 pass from Nathan Enderle (Tino Amancio kick)
Quin Ashley 9 run (Tino Amancio kick)
Tino Amancio 21 FG
Tino Amancio 44 FG
Tino Amancio 49 FG
Deonte Jackson 5 run (Tino Amancio kick)

Idaho took comfort in the fact that all the scoring came in short yardage situations, which apparently makes giving up 68 points easier to stomach.

Defense steps up in second scrimmage [Govandals.com]

Nike tries out new unis with Broncos

Several players at the Blue-Orange game on Friday were sporting fancy new threads, courtesy of those fashionistas at Nike.

“They (Nike) want to test out the fabric, test out the fit with some of the reflector things on it,” Johnson said. “It’s a real tight-fitting jersey … It feels nice … it’s real hard to grab."

Johnson failed to address the black piping on the sleeves of the jerseys, so we will address it for him.

"It's hideous," OBNUG said. "The disgusting black arm veins have to go. Who does Nike think we are? Oregon?"

If we had our druthers, we would prefer the 2006 unis with a special 1980s throwback some time during the year.

Dailey's blog [Idaho Press-Tribune]

Photo courtesy Statue Left Bronco Country.

Public Enemy #1: Hal Mumme'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.

Hal Mumme

Hal Mumme's case for Public Enemy #1 was written by Drew from the Fight, Fight, BSU blog. Drew's distaste for the New Mexico State head man is powerful, convincing, and well-worded. Enjoy his dissertation.

Whenever a coach "invents" a lame, gimmicky offense and then gives it an even lamer, gimmicky name like "the Pistol", "Wildhawg", or, in Mumme's case "the Air Raid," I automatically think that that coach is...well, lame and gimmicky. But couple that lameness with an undeserved air of importance like the towel-toting Hal Mumme exudes and, well, you have made a case for Public Enemy #1.

Mumme, well-known for running several programs into the ground, believes his own hype that he's some sort of offensive genius, cozies up to other hated head coaches like June Jones, and has the audacity to compare teams that have beaten his teams after the fact. The latter was exactly what Mumme did in '06 after their brutal loss to Hawaii. He said (with nothing to gain) that Hawaii was better than Boise State! Boise State had beaten Hawaii weeks earlier. Then to add insult to insult, Mumme voted for June Jones as WAC coach of the year over eventual NATIONAL coach of the year Chris Petersen.

All these things are enough to make any Bronco fan despise Mumme and glory in the fact that his team was absolutely humiliated by BSU in '07...but Mumme tops it all off by disgustingly wiping his nose constantly on the snot-soaked towel that he drapes across his shoulders and can often be seen running his no-doubt mucous-covered hands through his majestically feathered hair. Mumme, in so doing, achieves the rare double whammy...he offends fan's sensibilities and turns their stomach.

Favorite quote: "Mumme needs bandages" (Marty Tadman's infamous quote after the Broncos drubbed the Aggies on the blue in '07)

For more from Drew, check out his Bronco blog at Fight, Fight, BSU.