Recruiting expert on Boise State football’s 2019 recruiting class: ‘I love it’
The Boise State football team can begin to sign new recruits Wednesday during the early signing period, and 247Sports.com national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman shared his thoughts on the class with the Idaho Statesman.
The early period lasts through Friday. Recruits also can sign during the regular period, which begins Feb. 6.
As of Tuesday night, the Broncos had 14 publicly known commitments for the 2019 recruiting class. It is ranked No. 1 among Group of Five schools for average player ranking by 247Sports.com, and is the only class with multiple four-star commits.
What are your thoughts on the class overall?
“I love it. We have five of their guys as four-stars (Bachmeier, Kline, Duncan, Griffin, Holani). The caliber of recruit they’re getting, they’re beating big programs, as usual. A lot of guys had Power Five offers. … They’re going head to head with those programs and they’re still winning those battles. There’s no question that it’s one of their best classes. It shows you it’s a quality more than quantity. The average rating might be their highest. The whole country wanted some of these guys.”
It seems there has been a little less fending off Power Five programs late than usual.
“That’s the thing, in the past, you had the Pac-12 schools saying ‘come to us,’ using the conference as a selling point, and it’s a long track record. They’re beating those schools on the front end. It’s not a (Chris) Petersen thing, it’s a Boise State thing where guys are flourishing there after turning down the ‘bigger’ programs. … Their evaluations have made a lot of staffs lazy, getting on guys after they commit. I think now, Bryan Harsin and his staff know how to combat that. They’re the Gonzaga of football, they’re their own brand that can thrive nationally where you wouldn’t expect.”
Any of the commits that might be a bit under the radar that you like?
“I’m fascinated by Isaiah Bagnah, partially because a lot of us haven’t seen him in person. When you have the Canadian kids, sometimes people are overly critical because of the level of competition. You watch him on film, the size and athleticism just jumps out at you. If he wasn’t in Alberta, if he was in Atlanta, he’d be in the SEC.”
Hank Bachmeier has been pretty quiet lately, but his commitment seems solid. What is Boise State getting with him?
“He differs from some of the quarterbacks they’ve lost late in recent years (Micah Wilson and Zach Wilson), where they were waiting for the ‘big’ offers. The difference is Hank, he had those offers beforehand and just found the best fit and the best connection with Zak Hill and Bryan Harsin. He sees what (Brett) Rypien has done, he’s a similar player, and just found that comfort level. I talked to a Pac-12 coach that was floored two days after he committed, thought he’d be a Pac-12 guy … but he was like ‘I understood because relationships are big for (Bachmeier).’ I don’t think he’ll blow you away with arm strength, kind of like Brett — the similarities are eerie — but he can make all the throws, he’s a smart kid.”
There’s another quarterback committed in Kaiden Bennett. What does he bring to the table?
“You can’t ignore what he’s done (62 TD passes, 13 rushing TDs, 5 INTs on 301 attempts as a senior). I thought Utah was where he’d end up, but he saw a chance to compete right away in Boise. It was interesting, kind of like Montell Cozart last year where they had a pocket passer in Rypien but also a guy who can do a lot of things. Bennett isn’t the pure pocket guy that Jake Browning was before him at Folsom, he can be a dual-threat guy. If he was 2 inches taller, he’d have offers from just about everyone.”
George Holani seems to fit the mold of the power back the Broncos like, is that fair to say?
“With him, he’s quiet, not going to talk about himself a lot. You talk to him and it’s almost painful, but you put him between the lines and he’s like the Incredible Hulk out there. Looking at Bosco, there’s weapons everywhere. They have one of the best QBs in the country, so they throw it a lot. He’s had to share carries most of his time there, but still has put up some big numbers. He’s similar to (Boise State sophomore Andrew) Van Buren in that way, didn’t take many hits and has a lot of tread on those tires. He can absorb contact, and he’s a guy where that’s his game, he’ll take it between the tackles.”
BOISE STATE FOOTBALL 2019 RECRUITING COMMITMENTS
QB Hank Bachmeier, 6-3, 190, Murrieta (Calif.) Valley High
STUD/LB Casey Kline, 6-5, 215, Brawley (Calif.) Union High
OL Jacob Golden, 6-6, 280, Peoria (Ariz.) High
RB Keegan Duncan, 6-3, 215, Declo High
OL Ben Dooley, 6-5, 279, Fallon (Nev.) Churchill County High
RB George Holani, 6-0, 195, St. John Bosco High (Bellflower, Calif.)
QB Kaiden Bennett, 6-0, 175, Folsom (Calif.) High
WR Khyheem Waleed, 6-3, 190, Casteel High (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
DE Michael Callahan, 6-4, 245, Yorba Linda (Calif.) High
DE Isaiah Bagnah, 6-5, 245, Lethbridge (Alberta) Collegiate Institute
TE Austin Griffin, 6-7, 240, Mt. San Antonio (Calif.) College
STUD Dylan Hall, 6-5, 230, Antelope Valley High (Lancaster, Calif.)
CB Markel Reed, 6-1, 170, Temple (Texas) High
DB JL Skinner, 6-3, 185, Point Loma High (San Diego, Calif.)
Note: These are the known commits who have publicly announced their intention to sign with Boise State. Others may make their decisions Wednesday, Thursday or Friday to sign in the early period.
Men’s basketball: BSU faces one-loss Loyola Marymount
The Boise State men’s basketball team did not return to Boise between its loss at Oregon and Wednesday’s game at Loyola Marymount.
The Broncos went directly from Eugene to Los Angeles, and they’ve used the past two days as a “basketball retreat.”
Coach Leon Rice hopes the extra time in the gym pays off when the Broncos (4-6) play Loyola Marymount (10-1) at 8 p.m. MT at Gersten Pavilion. The game will be streamed online at theW.tv and on the radio at 670 AM.
“We’ve had a great time together (with) individual film sessions and group film sessions,” Rice said in a phone interview with local media on Tuesday. “We’ve had some great workouts, and the redshirts have had some great strength workouts. It’s been like a basketball retreat in sunny Southern California.”
Boise State leads the all-time series with Loyola Marymount 7-2, including five straight wins. The Broncos topped the Lions 68-48 last year at Taco Bell Arena.
The Boise State women’s basketball team (8-2) also plays Wednesday. The Broncos host Southern Utah (3-5) at 5:30 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena.
This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 10:45 AM.