Boise State football gets ‘encouraging’ sign as QB Cord throws at practice
It was like any typical spring practice, but on Friday, there was just a little extra excitement for the Boise State football team.
Though still limited from a torn ACL suffered in October, sophomore quarterback Chase Cord was throwing the ball with the others in his group in a few drills. He wasn’t doing anything that would risk him getting hit, or rolling out, or working on zone reads.
But Cord was out there throwing, cracking jokes with teammates, and coach Bryan Harsin couldn’t help but savor the moment.
“We had a smile on our faces, too,” Harsin said. “When he gets back and we get him going this summer and he’s feeling good, he’s going to make a difference.”
As Brett Rypien’s backup last season, Cord appeared in four games, rushing eight times for 109 yards and a touchdown. He completed 6-of-9 passes for 67 yards with a touchdown and an interception before his injury prior to the Broncos’ Oct. 13 game at Nevada.
With a competition to replace Rypien well under way, Cord has the most playing experience, but he mostly has been watching. Harsin said he wasn’t expecting Cord to throw at all this spring, but it was a mixture of the quarterback’s will and his rehab progress that allowed him to get back a little ahead of schedule.
“He’s just been itching to get out there and do something,” Harsin said. “He’s done everything a guy can do without playing. What I like about Chase is his focus has changed from last year to where he is right now. You can just tell ... whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it to the best of his ability.”
Harsin said “it was encouraging” to see Cord throwing in practice and that Cord will, at this rate, be fully cleared “probably right around fall camp.”
A SPRING BALL ENGAGEMENT
Senior safety Kekoa Nawahine has certainly had a good spring camp — Harsin said he’s been one of the defense’s standouts, and he spent spring break in Hawaii. Before that, he made a big move.
Nawahine proposed March 12 to his girlfriend McKenna on Table Rock. He one-upped most of us by having her take part in a scavenger hunt that led to the proposal point, where he also sang a song that he wrote for her.
“When you know, you know, there’s no point in putting it off. She’s amazing,” Nawahine said.
PRO DAY COMING TUESDAY
A handful of former Boise State football players will work out for NFL scouts Tuesday at Boise State’s annual pro day. They will do testing starting at 11 a.m. with measurements, bench press and jumps. The on-field work will begin around noon with the 40-yard dash, agility drills and position work. There will be a live stream at BroncoSports.com when the on-field events begin.
Expected to be in attendance are STUD Jabril Frazier, kicker Haden Hoggarth, cornerback Tyler Horton, linebacker Tony Lashley, running back Alexander Mattison, defensive end Durrant Miles, wide receiver Sean Modster, wide receiver A.J. Richardson, quarterback Brett Rypien, running back Skyler Seibold and punter Quinn Skillin.
TWO SCHOOL RECORDS IN 10,000
A pair of Boise State runners set school records in the 10,000 meters on Friday night at the Stanford Invitational. Allie Ostrander set a Mountain West record, too, with her time of 32 minutes, 6.7 seconds. Addison DeHaven set the men’s school record in 29:02.28, topping a 23-year-old mark by 6 seconds.
Ostrander took third in the invitational class, first among collegiate runners, and DeHaven took 17th. Bryce Kirby took second in the men’s 100 meters in 10.39 seconds, best among collegians.
This story was originally published April 1, 2019 at 3:50 PM.
