This could be the Year of the Newcomer for the Boise State football team.
About half of the 24 players signed to the 2012 recruiting class, announced Wednesday, will enter fall camp with a legitimate chance to earn immediate playing time.
And those opportunities exist almost across the depth chart — at quarterback, tailback, tight end, defensive end, linebacker and kicker, in particular.
Four linebackers are expected to join the team this year (a fifth, Chris Collins, likely will grayshirt) — and they were drawn, in part, by the chance to contribute when the Broncos open the season Aug. 31 at Michigan State.
“We’ll need probably at least two of them to play,” said linebackers coach Bob Gregory, whose group now includes the nickels. “That was part of the deal — to have the opportunity to walk out on the field at Michigan State.”
Linebacker Ben Weaver of Klein, Texas, said access to first-year playing time was about half of his decision-making process.
“No one wants to get that full scholarship and sit the bench,” he said. “… I’m going to work my butt off before I get there and when I get there to give myself the best chance.”
Here’s a look at some of the players who will be vying for playing time:
QB Nick Patti: The Florida 8A Player of the Year graduated from high school a semester early to make a run at the starting job vacated by Kellen Moore. Junior Joe Southwick, the two-year backup, will be the front-runner when spring ball begins March 12, with sophomore Grant Hedrick and redshirt freshman Jimmy Laughrea in pursuit.
“We feel really good about Nick Patti,” coach Chris Petersen said. “We feel really good about the other three guys, and it’s going to be one heck of a competition. There are four guys that really have a good shot here of being our quarterback, and I have no idea, I really don’t. But I know we’ve got some talent there.”
K/P Sean Wale: Petersen recruited a scholarship kicker for the second straight year. The Broncos struggled mightily with scoring kicks last season and last year’s recruit, Jake Van Ginkel, wasn’t able to get on the field.
Wale is known more as a punter, but his first chore will be to compete with Van Ginkel, Dan Goodale and Michael Frisina for the kicking job. Kickoff specialist Trevor Harman could be the punter.
“Down the road, (Wale) could probably be our punter as well,” Petersen said. “We definitely brought him in here to compete for kicking field goals.”
RBs Jack Fields and Devan Demas: The Broncos are shorthanded at tailback, with seniors D.J. Harper and Drew Wright at the top of the depth chart and no proven option behind them. Fields, a powerful runner, and Demas, a speedster, are the 1-2 punch of the future but it’s likely at least one of them will be involved this season.
“We need some firepower back there now,” Petersen said.
Added running backs coach Keith Bhonapha: “Hopefully they’re ready to do something, because they’re going to get opportunities to do something.”
DE Demarcus Lawrence: The Broncos lost their top three defensive ends and expect Lawrence to help fill the void. He transferred from Butler Community College in Kansas and has three years to play three seasons, so he needs to produce. He chose Boise State over Tennessee, among others.
“We put the tape on the other day just to look at it again and we were even more excited,” Petersen said.
WR/KR Shane Williams-Rhodes: He doesn’t fit an exact need, but his game-breaking ability might get him on the field anyway.
“The smallest guy on our roster might be the guy that excites everybody the most,” Petersen said. “I don’t like to put pressure on any guys, but coming in we haven’t had many guys who have made the plays he can make in high school.”
Williams-Rhodes is only 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, but offensive coordinator Robert Prince said he can squat about 400 pounds.
“He’s very hard to catch even in a little telephone booth,” Prince said. “He is dynamite in a (5-7) package.”
TE Connor Peters: He has four years to play three seasons, so he could redshirt, but he addresses a need for a blocking tight end. He slipped under the radar in high school but was showcased more at Laney College last season, tight ends coach Scott Huff said.
“We’re hoping he can be a dirt-dog masher for us,” Huff said.
Other notes on this recruiting class:
— Defensive tackle Elliot Hoyte joins the Broncos from England. He enrolled last month.
“He’s as raw as they come, coming from England,” defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said. “He’s just got to get used to first of all living in the United States, let alone how hard we work, and then school. He’s got a little bit of a learning curve here.”
His connection to the Broncos was former defensive tackle Chase Baker, who met Hoyte while playing rugby in England in high school and stayed in touch with him. Hoyte attended the Broncos’ football camp.
“The football system he grew up in is called rugby,” Petersen said.
— Cornerback Donte Deayon grabbed 24 interceptions in his high school career, including 11 as a junior. Boise State locked him up last summer, before the Pac-12 schools decided that his playmaking was more important than his size (5-9, 155).
“Donte’s a kid I’ve been hearing about ever since he was a freshman or sophomore,” said Bhonapha, who recruits the Inland Empire portion of Southern California. “… You ask a lot of the good receivers in the area, ‘Who’s the best DB you’ve played against?’ and they’ll say, ‘Donte Deayon.’ ”
— Offensive lineman Travis Averill of Anaheim, Calif., one of the more highly regarded players in the class, will try center.
“He’ll really have a chance to be a great center for us, if not that, a guard,” offensive line coach Chris Strausser said. “He’s a very explosive player, very athletic. He shows up on film not just blocking guys, but dominating guys. To finish blocks consistently the way he does intrigued a lot of people.”
