08/22/2006 — Boise State senior tailback Brett Denton leaned on former teammate Jeff Carpenter for advice through his first three years as a walk-on on the Bronco football team.
Now he’ll try to replace him.
Carpenter, who was a senior on last year’s team, played mostly in passing situations because of his ability to block blitzers, catch passes and read defenses.
Coach Chris Petersen says that’s just the kind of player he thinks Denton, who is on scholarship for the first time this fall, can be.
“He knows our offense,” Petersen said. “He’s a smart guy. … He can have a real important niche for us.”
Denton will complement sophomore Ian Johnson, the starter, and power runners Jon Helmandollar and Brad Lau in the backfield this year.
“I’m really just trying to help out wherever they need me,” Denton said. “Wherever my skills are going to help the team win.”
Read more about Denton and the Broncos running backs in Wednesday’s edition of the Idaho Statesman as we continue our position-by-position previews.
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Boise State fans still consider Fresno State the Broncos’ stiffest competition in the WAC, even though Nevada shared the title last year.
Fresno State received 61.4 percent of the votes in a poll at IdahoStatesman.com that asked who was the biggest threat to the Broncos in the WAC.
Nevada got 23.1 percent, followed by Hawaii (12.4) and the rest of the conference (3.0).
The poll generated 985 responses.
Today, tell us which bowl game you think the Broncos will play in this season.
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The Broncos return to practice at 3:35 p.m. today. They were off Monday for the start of school.
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Today’s links:
Austin, Texas, newspaper ranks WAC eighth: http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/archive/2006_colfoot_preview/23col_leagues.html
Hawaii concerned about safety Leonard Peters: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060822/SPORTS0301/608220335/1032/SPORTS
Fresno State looking for a healthy running back: http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/bulldogs/story/12619330p-13324600c.html
