Boise State hasn’t replaced Vander Esch’s production, but run D remains stout

When a major piece departs, any struggles at that guy’s position are going to be magnified.

Leighton Vander Esch left following his junior season at Boise State and is now excelling with the Dallas Cowboys, so there was no doubt that the Broncos’ linebackers would be analyzed closely in his absence this season.

“A little bit like when you had Kellen Moore here, Jay Ajayi here, Leighton Vander Esch, that’s going to be the standard,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “Do we have that one guy like Leighton right now? No, we don’t. Do we have multiple players that can go out there, do their job and make plays? Yeah, we do.”

It was always going to be a team effort to replace Vander Esch, who could alter a game by himself. Through seven games last season, he had 74 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions. Boise State’s top two linebackers, Riley Whimpey and Tyson Maeva, have a combined 66 tackles and two sacks.

“Very excited about where we’re going in the development we’ve made over the course of the season. ... We’re on the right path, some guys are playing with some confidence,” defensive coordinator Andy Avalos said.

It is probably unwise to expect the same level of production with Vander Esch gone, but his absence has been especially notable in the long runs the Broncos have allowed — opponents have five of more than 50 yards. BSU gave up one such run last season. Minus those five carries, the Broncos are allowing just 2.5 yards on the other 219.

“It’s definitely hard to replace a guy like Leighton, because he brought so many things. ... I feel like we’ve had a lot of guys step up,” Maeva said.

One of those big runs came on a 72-yard touchdown for San Diego State on Oct. 6, but the Broncos otherwise clamped down on the run-heavy Aztecs. This weekend they face the run-heavy option offense of Air Force.

“Guys that play the run well, superb on third down (18th nationally),” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “… I think San Diego State had nine first downs, you see that right there, that’s pretty stout.”

Saturday’s game will give the linebackers plenty of chances to make plays, as the Faclons’ rushing attack will force them to be sound tacklers. Maeva, who missed last year’s game against the Falcons with a concussion, said “that’s the most sore I’ve ever been after a game” when he played them two years ago.

“It tends to be the linebackers are usually more active in this game, because the D-line is giving up their bodies ... they’re going to take the brunt so we can get the glory,” Maeva said.

FORMER BIG SIGNEE LEAVES BRONCOS

Harsin said Thursday that redshirt freshman cornerback Jermani Brown is leaving the team and intends to transfer.

Brown (5-foot-9, 168 pounds) was rated as a four-star recruit when he signed with the Broncos in February 2017 out of Midlothian, Va. He never appeared in a game for Boise State.

NEGATIVE PLAY, BUT BIG HUSTLE

The Broncos yielded their fifth 50-yard-plus run in Friday’s win over Colorado State when Izzy Matthews cracked off a 56-yarder in the third quarter. That was not usually a play that would make a Boise State highlight reel, but the tackle was worthy.

Senior defensive end Durrant Miles, who was on the opposite side of the run, chased Matthews all the way down the field to make the tackle in BSU territory.

“Impressive,” Avalos said. “That’s one we definitely talked about, and that’s what we’ve got out of Durrant all year.”

Miles said it’s part of the defense’s mentality, and said he’s continuously inspired by ex-Bronco Kamalei Correa, who chased a Utah State running back 50 yards downfield in a 2015 game — a highlight played frequently when he was drafted the next spring.

“That’s really stuck with me ever since then. It’s bound to happen eventually, and I made the most of it,” Miles said.

MIXED BAG ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Following the Broncos’ win over Colorado State, Harsin said he had never seen live what sophomore Avery Williams did — run back an onside kick for a touchdown.

But his special teams coordinator, Kent Riddle, had seen it before, and it happened against him. He was coaching at Army when East Carolina ran one back 46 yards for a touchdown against the Black Knights on Oct. 3, 1999.

Williams’ return could have been just one of multiple touchdowns against the Rams, as he had a solid lane on a punt return, but fumbled, and Kekaula Kaniho picked it up to run for a touchdown of his own. Williams appeared to have an 87-yard score on a punt return later in the game, but it was nullified by an illegal block in the back on cornerback Robert Lewis, which Riddle called “terrible.”

Boise State has had eight penalties this year on kickoff or punt returns, and Riddle said part of it has been an overzealousness to make that one block that could spring Williams or Khalil Shakir or John Hightower.

“We’ve practiced way more than I can possibly remember ever practicing that kind of stuff,” Riddle said. “... Most years it’s as simple as ‘if you’re behind a guy, don’t hit him,’ but it hasn’t been that way this year.”

QUICK HITS

Pro Football Focus graded Boise State senior receiver A.J. Richardson’s performance the best of any offensive player in the nation last week — he had six catches for a career-high 137 yards with two touchdowns. PFF also graded left tackle Ezra Cleveland as having the top performance of any tackle. ... Former Boise State QB Jake Constantine is the starter at Weber State, which is ranked No. 4 in the FCS, the highest in program history. He has six TDs and six INTs in six games. ... All four of Air Force’s losses have come by 10 points or fewer.

[Related: Sports Pass subscription offers a year of sports coverage for $30; The 208 Podcast features Dave Southorn]

BOISE STATE AT AIR FORCE

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Falcon Stadium (46,692; FieldTurf)

TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Steve Beuerlein, Cassie McKinney); Cable One ch. 139/1139, DirecTV ch. 221, Dish Network ch. 158

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: BSU 5-2, 3-1 (won 56-28 over Colorado State on Friday); Air Force 3-4, 1-3 (won 41-35 at UNLV on Friday)

Series: Tied 3-3 (Boise State won 44-19 on Nov. 18, 2017, in Boise last meeting)

Vegas line: Boise State by 9 1/2

Weather: High 60s, clear

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 4:27 PM.