‘There’s the good Riley switch’ and the ‘badass switch.’ Boise State’s Whimpey emerges.

Let’s just face it — Riley Whimpey doesn’t exactly fit the typical mold for a prolific Boise State linebacker.

It could be the last name.

“It’s pretty unique, for obvious reasons,” Whimpey said Tuesday in an interview with the Idaho Statesman.

Maybe it’s that he looks nothing like his predecessor, Leighton Vander Esch, who is 3 inches taller and nearly 40 pounds heavier than the sophomore, who is listed at 6-1 and weighs 218 pounds.

“On a good day,” defensive coordinator Andy Avalos told reporters Monday.

Or perhaps it’s the personality. With a 1,000-watt smile — he wants to be an orthodontist after he’s done playing — Whimpey might be the nicest guy on the Broncos’ roster.

“It’s either him or (senior defensive end) Durrant (Miles). He’s not the meanest guy,” senior STUD end Jabril Frazier told reporters Wednesday.

[Related: Game preview: Matchups, players to watch; Historic November ahead for Boise State]

All that is part of what makes Whimpey an interesting cog in the Boise State defense. Those appearances are deceiving, but underestimate at your own risk. Whimpey leads the Broncos with 48 tackles going into the BYU game on Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium (8:15 p.m., ESPN2) and is coming off a career-best 13 tackles (including a sack) last Saturday at Air Force.

“There’s the good Riley switch, which is almost always on, but there’s times when he flips the badass switch, which I think you saw against Air Force,” Whimpey’s older brother, Kyle, said in a phone interview Thursday.

Whimpey credits his lack of fear of facing bigger opponents and the need to be tenacious from growing up with Kyle and his twin brother Kevin. The twins played offensive line at Utah State, finishing their careers in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Even though Riley was 7 years younger, he wanted to play with the twins, playing knee football — he has a scar on his forehead from hitting the brick fireplace when he was little — or wrestling around in the yard.

“I definitely did not have a winning record against them, but there were a few times I used some linebacker skills to get them down,” Whimpey said. “I’m used to physical situations, for sure.”

A Utah native, Whimpey played his senior season of high school in San Clemente, Calif., signed with Boise State in 2015 and took a two-year church mission. He played immediately as a true freshman last season, making 17 tackles in 12 games. This spring, he told local media backing up Vander Esch, now a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys, “taught me what it meant to be a Bronco.”

“That dude has a motor, that guy will go all game long,” junior safety Kekoa Nawahine said of Whimpey to reporters Thursday.

It was obvious quickly it would be a defense-wide effort to replace Vander Esch, but Whimpey is now starting at his weakside spot. The production is certainly not the same, but Whimpey is starting to fill up the stat sheet. He has 35 tackles (three for loss) and two sacks the last four games, leading the team or tying for the lead in tackles the last three.

“He knows it’s a tough task to replace Leighton, but he refuses to let anyone down, to be the weak link,” Kyle Whimpey said. “I know he always wants to be in the right place, but that can lead to a robotic approach. Leighton was great because he could ad-lib in a smart way. You’re starting to see that with Riley now that he has that experience.”

When the Air Force game was over, the cadets chanted “we want Whimpey!” and gave the linebacker high-fives. Kyle said he and Kevin got it when they played against the Falcons, too, perhaps as digs at their last name, but they took photos with the cadets afterward.

“In typical fashion, he gave them a big smile during the game letting them know he heard it, and he played like a beast, so there was definitely some mutual respect,” Kyle said.

Kyle said he often texts Riley before halftime, laughing that he “cannot confirm or deny” that his younger brother reads the messages. At halftime last Saturday, he told him to “keep flying around, they’re going to crack.” Whimpey’s sack and three other tackles came in the fourth quarter.

“He’s as athletic as anybody in that room,” Avalos said. “His burst, his speed, his quickness — he plays very, very fast when he’s comfortable so we have to continue to make sure he feels comfortable with what he’s doing on the field ... because he’s not the biggest linebacker.”

Whether it is some good-hearted ribbing from opposing fans, or getting the chance to be a major contributor on the Blue, Whimpey has plenty of reasons to smile.

“I hope later on in life I’ll be able to find something that brings the same feelings I get when I’m out there on the field,” Whimpey said.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH RILEY WHIMPEY

Do you bring a little extra against BYU?

“I feel like I do a good job of bringing everything I have to the table, no matter who we play, but it is fun going into this week knowing I’ll be playing some good friends I played (against) in high school. ... There’s something different about this game because of that.”

What was your mission like to Wisconsin?

“Those two years were the most beneficial of my life, letting me become who I am today, learning how to be strong when times are tough. ... The two winters I was there weren’t too bad. The cheese was awesome, I loved it. One of the members sold cheese curds, which was great.”

Are you a big movie fan?

“I love going to movies. My favorites are the Marvel movies — the superhero ones, I definitely like the most.”

If you could make a documentary on any subject, what would it be?

“I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife. Always like watching the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. I always liked bigger animals ... hippos, elephants and rhinos are fun to learn about.”

What would you like to do post-football?

“I’m in the process of changing to be a business major. I want to be an orthodontist, some family friends do that, and I think if I have the business degree, I can understand more how to run my own practice.”

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This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 5:34 PM.