‘The best player in the state’ decides to stay home, signs with Boise State football
Austin Bolt attended his first Boise State football game at 5 years old, and he painted his room blue and orange at 8.
So while the Borah High senior kept his recruitment close to his vest, he said he dreamed of playing for the Broncos his entire life.
That dream came true Wednesday as Bolt signed a national letter of intent as a tight end in Boise State’s 2020 recruiting class.
“Boise State is the place for me,” Bolt said. “I want to stay here in my hometown and play at Boise State on the blue turf.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Bolt chose the Broncos over offers from Utah State and UNLV. He also had offers from Idaho, Idaho State, Montana and Montana State of the FCS Big Sky Conference.
Bolt planned to wait until the February signing period as several Power Five programs hinted they may have a place for him. But after he made his one and only official visit to Boise State last weekend, he knew he didn’t need to see anything else.
He scheduled a signing ceremony for Wednesday but didn’t announce his plans publicly. Even Borah football coach Jason Burton didn’t know where he was signing until he showed up to the Lions’ gym and spotted the blue-and-orange balloons.
The only question remaining was what position the do-it-all senior would play for the Broncos. 247Sports listed him as a three-star athlete, and other programs saw him as a wide receiver or a linebacker.
But Boise State signed him as one of two tight ends Wednesday. Broncos coach Bryan Harsin said he’ll play a hybrid tight end/H-back role, adding he gives Boise State a weapon unlike any they’ve ever had.
“This is a guy that can flat out play the game,” Harsin said. “We knew that. We offered him, and we’re trying to figure out the position for him because he’s very unique. That’s the one thing about Austin, he’s a unique player. He’s a guy you will get the ball to him somehow, someway.”
The born-and-raised Boisean had a hand in everything for Borah this fall, lining up at quarterback, wide receiver, safety, linebacker and punter. He also returned kicks and punts, and he even held for the field-goal team.
The receiver converted to quarterback — a position he’d never played — because Borah needed the ball in the hands of its best playmaker. He turned heads all around the state while playing out of position, winning the 5A All-Idaho Player of the Year honor and Gatorade’s all-class player of the year award.
He finished his senior season with 2,771 yards and 36 TDs on offense. He made 62 tackles and four interceptions on defense, including one he returned for a touchdown. And he set 10 program records on his way to becoming the Southern Idaho Conference’s unanimous player of the year.
But that only describes his dominance on the football field. He also made the All-Idaho basketball team as a sophomore and a junior, and he won a pair of state track titles (400 meters and 4x400 relay) last spring.
He’s the first 5A athlete to make the All-Idaho football team and the All-Idaho basketball team and win an individual state track title in the same school year since the turn of the century. And he did it as a junior.
Boise State tight ends coach Kent Riddle said Bolt will have to learn how to block at the college level. But his athleticism has the Broncos excited.
“He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever seen,” Riddle said. “… He’s the best football player in the state. He’s certainly one of the best, if not the best, basketball players in the state. He’s got a chance to set a state record in track in the 400.
“The guy, just whatever he does, he wins. And that’s probably the most impressive thing about him.”
Harsin said the Broncos were willing to wait until February to sign Bolt. But he didn’t make them wait.
“He had a spot, period,” Harsin said. “It didn’t matter. If he had to figure it all out, it didn’t matter. We want him in our program. We want guys like that.
“He’s the best player in the state. This guy has done some tremendous things.”
MEMMELAAR SIGNS WITH WASHINGTON
Middleton offensive lineman Gaard Memmelaar was the first player to commit in Washington’s 2020 recruiting class 18 months ago. And the 6-5, 297-pound senior never wavered, even after Huskies coach Chris Petersen announced his resignation.
Memmelaar finished his recruiting process Wednesday, signing his long-awaited letter of intent to play at Washington.
Idaho’s top-rated prospect by 247Sports at three stars, Memmelaar didn’t allow a single sack in three years as a tackle in Middleton’s Air Raid offense. Memmelaar, who benches 405 pounds with a 30-inch vertical, will graduate early and enroll with the Huskies in January.
“(He’s) physical as a run blocker with quickness off the ball, strong lower base and powerful initial punch to offset the bull rush,” wrote Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting editor for 247Sports. “(His) competition level is a question mark, but he does dominate at that level.”
UC DAVIS LANDS LARISON
Four-year Vallivue starting quarterback Lan Larison capped the Treasure Valley’s Division I signings Wednesday with his official paperwork to play at UC Davis under former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins.
Larison repeated as the 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year earlier this week after a senior season that saw him lead the 4A classification with 2,373 rushing yards and 27 TDs at 12.1 yards per carry. He also had 3,151 total yards and 37 TDs.
UC Davis signed him as an athlete, opting to figure out where to play him once he arrives on campus.
“He plays with a reckless abandon that is rare in football now,” Cody Hawkins, UC Davis’ wide receivers coach, told IdahoSports.com. “I told him, ‘You could run the ball and win us a national championship tomorrow.’ ”
MORE IDAHO HIGH SCHOOL SIGNINGS
Ten more former Idaho high school football players signed with Division I programs, including:
Idaho
- Greyson Harwood, OL, Minico
Idaho State
- Keegan Thompson, QB, Rigby
- Kamiah Olsen, LB, Highland
- Andrew Gunter, WR, Century
- De’Qua Lang, DL, Century
- Connor Stanford, DL, Sugar-Salem*
- Bryon Leckington, LB, Shelley*
- David Rowe, DE, Madison*
* - returning missionary
Eastern Washington
- Shane Jennings, QB, Gooding
Montana
- Brandon Casey, OL, Sandpoint
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 1:17 PM.
