The most impressive thing about Boise State’s 24-member recruiting class:
It stuck together.
No one is foolish enough to make predictions about how good the players in this class will be on the blue turf. At least, no one should be.
But the newest Broncos proved to be young men of their word, even as three assistant coaches — some of the program’s best recruiters in important recruiting territory — left for BCS jobs in the month before National Signing Day.
“It says something about those guys and I think it says something about this university and this program that they were committing to that there wasn’t one kid that changed his mind after the three coaches moved on, which is rare,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen said.
The lone defection came from UCLA signee Marcus Rios, who de-committed in October, long before the coaching moves.
None of Boise State’s new assistant coaches did any off-campus recruiting, leaving the Broncos’ six returning coaches to fill in the gaps. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and running backs coach Keith Bhonapha expanded their Southern California recruiting. Promoted offensive coordinator Robert Prince and linebackers coach Bob Gregory went to Texas to hold onto those recruits.
The recruits had questions. Good ones.
“Why are the coaches choosing to leave at this point in their career?” asked Klein, Texas, linebacker Ben Weaver, who turned down a last-minute offer from nearby Texas A&M.
“What’s going on there? Do coaches not like it there? Do coaches not get along with the head coach?” Bhonapha said.
“They wanted to make sure Coach Pete was not going to leave. They wanted to know who the next defensive backs coach was going to be,” defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said.
Coaches explained that offensive coordinator Brent Pease, special teams coach Jeff Choate and defensive backs coach Marcel Yates were leaving for professional reasons (raises, job titles) and not because of any problems at Boise State.
They also pointed to the program’s stability — not necessarily in terms of coaches, though Petersen’s five-year extension helped — but in terms of winning and tradition. A decade of dominance that transcends coaches. They assured them that the new position coaches would be great people and excellent mentors.
Still, recruiting is never that easy.
Check out the Pac-12. The schools have spent the last few weeks prying recruits — and assistant coaches — away from each other. Wide receiver Jordan Payton pledged to three different Pac-12 schools before signing with a fourth — UCLA.
“We always say as soon as the kid commits to us, that’s when the recruiting really starts. Because as soon as a guy goes out online and says, ‘I’m committed to Boise State,’ everyone else is going to start swinging,” offensive line coach Chris Strausser said. “We know that is when we have to turn the heat on. Build those relationships, and really try to build it up to the point where a kid says, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m not leaving.’ ”
Weaver turned down A&M. Southern California offensive lineman Travis Averill told coaches that even if Petersen bolted for nearby UCLA, he would have come to Boise State. Cornerback Donte Deayon got late calls from other schools. Oregon reportedly called running back Devan Demas. Others surely got phone calls, texts and Facebook messages from schools eager to swipe them from the Broncos.
“It speaks for Boise. It speaks for our fans. It speaks for Coach Pete. It’s the whole thing,” linebackers coach Bob Gregory said. “Kids see that and say, ‘That’s where I want to go to school.’ ”
They kept their word.
It’s the most definitive thing we can say about this class. And not a bad place to start.
Brian Murphy: 377-6444
