Boise State’s Hightower makes a veteran’s day; Lui serves up a birthday surprise
Boise State wide receiver John Hightower emerged the past two seasons as one of the most consistent deep threats in the Mountain West Conference, and he spent the offseason expanding his grasp of the entire route tree. He also spent some time making a difference in the Boise community.
On Monday, Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin said he recently received a letter about one such endeavor. He didn’t recite the letter line by line or go into the specifics of Hightower’s actions, but he did say that the senior recently spent time at an assisted living facility for military veterans, and he made enough of an impact that one former soldier needed two pages to fully express his gratitude.
“Here’s a guy who went out of his way to make a difference, and, as described, in an environment that needed some uplifting,” Harsin said during his weekly press conference. “Some guys could go put the jersey on and do what they’re asked to do to get their hours. John goes and makes a difference and does it in a way where he’s not just there to check a box, but actually goes and tries to connect with people.”
Harsin said Boise State players are required to do two service projects a year. He used to bring it up with the team every season, but said Monday that he hasn’t had to mention it the past two years. The guys just do it.
“You watch them on TV and they’re making plays, and you think that’s all they do is just sit around here and gear up, lift weights and drink protein shakes, and get ready to play ball, and then they’re out there actually in the community doing what everyone else does, making a difference,” Harsin said. “Stuff like that to us, that is not necessarily about the wins every Saturday, but in our jobs and how we talk about culture in this program, that stuff matters.”
Hightower puts his selflessness on display on the field, too. He gets plenty of attention for his team-high 754 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and his 20.4 yards-per-catch average, but Harsin said he’s more impressed with Hightower’s effort when he doesn’t have the ball.
“The thing that doesn’t always stand out is John’s ability as a blocker. John’s a very good teammate in terms of what he’s going to give for the guys around him, and sometimes he goes even harder when someone else has the ball,” Harsin said. “I look at things like that, that’s the sign of a great teammate, and guys respect that.”
Harsin specifically mentioned senior wide receiver Akilian Butler as a player Hightower will “sell out” to block for, and that effort isn’t lost on Butler.
“That’s like one of my closest friends on the team,” Butler said. “So me and him going out there together and finishing this ride together is going to be very special.”
A birthday surprise
In an unrelated act of kindness by a Boise State player, defensive tackle Sonatane Lui gave a birthday surprise to a local waitress.
Lui and his wife were grabbing dinner at their favorite sushi spot in Boise, Yoi Tomo, with teammate Riley Whimpey and his wife. Lui is enough of a regular that he knows much of the wait staff, and while scrolling through his phone during the meal, he realized that it was a difficult day for the waitress serving them.
Her mother died eight years ago, and it would have been her 40th birthday. To commemorate the day, Lui left a $40 tip and a note, which read, “Because it’s your mom’s birthday and I can’t give it to her. Happy birthday to your mom.”
The waitress anonymously posted about the experience on Instagram with the hashtags #BoiseKind and #WorldKindnessDay.
“It brought me to tears when I saw it,” she wrote. “It was the kindest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m so glad he represents Boise State.”
A special tackler
Like offensive linemen, long snappers often get recognized only when something goes wrong. That wasn’t the case Saturday in Boise State’s win over New Mexico.
The Broncos’ long snapper, Daniel Cantrell, was among the first players down the field on three punts. He brought the return man down all three times, but he got credit for only two tackles because one was negated by a roughing the kicker penalty, which kept a Boise State drive alive.
It isn’t every day that a long snapper gets in on one tackle, much less three. For Cantrell, Saturday marked the second time this season that he has been credited with a pair of solo tackles in a game. The first was on Oct. 5 at UNLV, and the redshirt sophomore, who played at Bishop Kelly High School, now has six tackles on the season.
“I like to give the other guys a break since they’re going on offense and defense full time, so I was like, I’ll help you guys out a little bit here,” Cantrell said with a grin.
Cantrell bounced around from linebacker to tight end during his first two seasons with the Broncos. This fall, he’s the starting long snapper on the punt team.
“Special teams is such a big part of the journey here,” Cantrell said. “I’ve learned a lot on all sides of the ball, and I just wanted to help out the team wherever I could. This is the position where I could help it the most, so I took it and ran with it.”
After training in the backyard with his father since he was 12, Cantrell handled the snapping duties at Bishop Kelly, where he helped the Knights reach the 4A state championship game in 2016.
“It’s all about precision and one-snap mentality,” Cantrell said. “You’ve got one chance each time. You don’t get a re-rack.”
NO. 20 BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Maverik Stadium (25,100), Logan, Utah
TV: CBS Sports Network (carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor, AJ Ross)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State is 9-1 overall, 6-0 Mountain West; Utah State is 6-4, 5-1.
Series: Boise State leads 18-5 (last meeting: Boise State won 33-24 in 2018 in Albertsons Stadium)
Vegas line: Boise State by 8
Weather: 45 degrees, partly cloudy, 4 mph wind
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 1:40 PM.
