Boise State football 2020 recruiting tracker: Videos, stories for Broncos’ commits
The Boise State football team has added 20 players to its 2020 recruiting class, and that process started April 29 with the first non-binding, oral commitment.
Defensive back Isaiah Bradford out of Redlands (Calif.) East Valley High announced his commitment to the Broncos on Twitter.
The Broncos signed 15 recruits on early signing day, and five on traditional signing day.
Click on a player’s name for the Statesman’s coverage of his commitment, and you’ll also find video highlights, photos and more below:
COLE WRIGHT
School: Carlsbad (California) High
Position: ATH
Height, weight: 6-foot-0, 175 pounds
Notes: Wright started at wide receiver and defensive back at Carlsbad High School, and he finished his senior season with 71 receptions for 1,176 yards and 13 touchdowns. He verbally committed on Tuesday, and he’ll likely be a wide receiver — a position where the Broncos need a body after Chance Luper re-opened his recruitment on Jan. 16.
JONATHAN EARL
School: Golden West College (Concord, North Carolina)
Position: CB
Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds
Notes: Earl had to delay his enrollment in junior college for two years for financial reasons, and once he could enroll, he still had to balance a job, class and football. On the field, he led Golden West in 2018 with six receiving touchdowns. Last season, he started at cornerback and intercepted two passes.
Sophomore season (JUCO) highlights
KYLE JUERGENS
School: St. Margaret’s Episcopal (California)
Position: OL
Height, weight: 6-foot-6, 260 pounds
Notes: Juergens was once committed to USC as a defensive lineman, but he confirmed the day he verbally committed (Jan. 19) that the Broncos plan to bring him in as an offensive lineman and plug him in at guard. 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman thinks he could make an impact on either side of the ball.
BROCK MILLER
School: N.C. State (Port St. Lucie, Florida)
Position: LB
Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 238 pounds
Notes: Miller will join the Broncos as a graduate transfer after spending four seasons at N.C. State. He started 11 games at outside linebacker last season for the Wolfpack. Boise State recruited Miller out of John Carroll High School in Vero Beach, Florida, but he said he wasn’t ready to move across the country when he was 18 years old.
Highlights from Miller’s N.C. State career
CADE FENNEGAN
School: Woodrow Wilson (Texas) High
Position: QB
Height, weight: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds
Notes: In three years as the starter at Woodrow Wilson in Dallas, Fennegan racked up 6,454 yards and 94 touchdowns through the air and added 796 yards and 18 more scores on the ground. He verbally committed to Boise State on Jan. 14, but he also announced on Tuesday that he received an offer from USC.
AUSTIN BOLT
School: Borah (Idaho) High
Position: TE
Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 205 pounds
Notes: A converted wide receiver, Bolt played his senior season out of position at quarterback for Borah and he earned Gatorade Idaho State Player of the Year honors after racking up 2,771 yards of offense and 36 touchdowns. He chose Boise State over Utah State on early signing day, and he could see the field sooner rather than later, according to 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman.
Boise State coach Bryan Harsin raves about signing Bolt.
RODNEY ROBINSON
School: Cajon (California) High
Position: DB
Height, weight: 5-foot-10, 165 pounds
Notes: Robinson committed and signed on early signing day. Boise State had been recruiting him for the past couple of years, but he was a late addition to the class and he joins an already impressive group of defensive backs, including Isaiah Bradford, Donovan Clark, Semaj Verner and Kaonohi Kaniho. Junior college cornerback Jonathan Earl joined the class on Jan. 28. .
DIVINE OBICHERE
School: Long Beach City College (Long Beach, California)
Position: DT
Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 295 pounds
Notes: Obichere played with fellow junior college transfer Shane Irwin at Long Beach City College. The duo visited Boise State together, and Obichere committed and signed on early signing day. He finished the 2019 season with 46 tackles and six sacks.
Sophomore (JUCO) season highlights
Shane Irwin
School: Long Beach City College (Palos Verdes Peninsula, California)
Position: DE
Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 252 pounds
Notes: Irwin began his college career at San Diego State in 2017, and he spent last season at Long Beach City College where he posted 47 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He is the No. 18 JUCO DE in the country, according to 247Sports.
Sophomore (JUCO) season highlights
Herbert Gums
School: Diboll (Texas) High
Position: DT
Height, weight: 6-foot-1, 284 pounds
Notes: When he verbally committed on Dec. 12, Gums became the highest-ranked high school recruit in the Broncos’ 2020 class.
Semaj Verner
School: Mayfair (Lakewood, California)
Position: S
Height, weight: 6-foot-2, 185 pounds
Notes: Verner is the cousin of former UCLA safety Alterraun Verner, who also played in the NFL for the Titans and Buccaneers and most recently for the Dolphins in 2017. Semaj Verner had scholarship offers from 10 of 12 teams in the Mountain West.
Riden Leong
School: Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, California)
Position: OT
Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 320 pounds
Coach’s comment: “He has probably grown about an inch or two and put on 20 or 30 pounds since he got here, and he might not be done growing. That’s the crazy thing about him. He has gotten so big but he hasn’t lost his athleticism. That’s one of the things Boise State loved about him,” Orange Coast football coach Joel “Bubba” Gonzalez said.
Notes: Originally from Waimanalo, Hawaii, he played his high school ball at Maryknoll School — a private school in Honolulu. ... Leong only began playing football as a senior in high school.
LaTrell Caples
School: Lancaster (Texas) High
Position: WR
Height, weight: 6-foot, 185 pounds
Notes: Caples goes to the same high school that produced Boise State sophomore slot receiver CT Thomas. He also competes on the Lancaster track and field team as a long jumper. His career-best leap is 22 feet, 4.5 inches.
Robert Cooper
School: Bethel (Washington) High
Position: DE
Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 255 pounds
Coach’s comment: “Robert is one of the best student-athletes I’ve had the privilege to be around,” Bethel Athletic Director Jason Johnson said.
Notes: Cooper attends the same high school as current Boise State left tackle Ezra Cleveland, who is an NFL prospect and reigning Mountain West first-team pick.
Nathan Cardona
School: Yorba Linda (Calif.) High
Position: OG
Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 280 pounds
Coach’s comment: “Nathan is a great kid and will easily fit in at Boise. ... He is a good teammate and team guy, so I think he will excel in the family situation up there,” Yorba Linda coach Jeff Bailey said.
Notes: Cardona’s former high school teammate, freshman defensive end Michael Callahan, also plays for Boise State. He was voted a team captain and can play guard or center.
Kaonohi Kaniho
School: Kahuku (Hawaii) High
Position: CB
Height, weight: 6-foot, 180 pounds
Coach’s comment: “His awareness. His football IQ on the field. He’s probably the smartest football player that we have on the team right now. He understands being a defensive player everything he needs to do on the back end, and definitely he also plays offense,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said.
Notes: Kaniho missed the majority of his junior season after tearing the posterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in a knee. ... He is the younger brother of Boise State junior nickel Kekaula Kaniho.
Donovan Clark
School: Lincoln High (Tacoma, Wash.)
Position: CB
Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds
Coach’s comment: “He’s very smart. He uses great technique. He can run, and he tracks the ball very well. For us, he’s been pretty much just a lock-down corner,” Lincoln High coach Masaki Matsumoto said.
Notes: Clark played for Sumner High (Wash.) in 2018 and moved to the Lincoln school district in February, Matsumoto said. He also had offers from Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State and Utah State. Clark made 25 tackles with six interceptions, including one he returned for a score, last season at Sumner.
Russell Corrigan
School: Hutchinson (Minnesota) High
Position: TE
Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 230 pounds
Notes: Corrigan had 12 catches, seven going for touchdowns, for 353 yards in seven regular-season games, per MN Football Hub, for the Tigers, who went 9-1 last season. The Broncos don’t often recruit the Midwest. The last Minnesotan to play for Boise State was offensive tackle Matt Slater (2007-10).
Brandon Hernandez
School: Yucaipa (Calif.) High
Position: OT
Height, weight: 6-foot-6, 275 pounds
Notes: He sported an impressive offer list that included Oregon, Cal, Arizona State, Colorado, Washington State and Fresno State, among others.
Isaiah Bradford
School: Redlands (Calif.) East Valley High
Position: DB
Height, weight: 6-foot, 170 pounds
Coach’s comment: “Isaiah is an extremely talented player with great instincts and knowledge of the game, he is a great tackler who plays extremely physical and can always be found around the ball. On top of his athletic ability, Isaiah is a pleasure to be around. He is very polite, well-behaved and has a smile that can light up a room,” Redlands East Valley coach Rich Lunsford said.
Notes: As a junior, Bradford racked up 102 tackles to go with one fumble recovery and an interception. ... Bradford’s cousin is former Boise State running back Alexander Mattison. ... Boise State WR Billy Bowens is from the same high school as Bradford.
Key for the map below: 2020 class (orange footballs), 2019 class (blue footballs), 2018 class (yellow footballs), 2017 class (green footballs), 2016 class (purple footballs), 2015 class (black footballs)
HELPFUL LINKS
Class of 2019: Boise State’s highest-rated ever?
Class of 2018: Boise State inks 19 new additions
Class of 2017: Meet Boise State’s new recruits
Boise State football’s 2019 roster by position
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 10:29 PM.
