Boise State reloads secondary, defensive line; still no QB in the 2020 recruiting class
Boise State had four defensive backs verbally committed to its 2020 recruiting class before early signing day, and the Broncos added one more Wednesday morning.
Boise State Director of Recruiting Darren Uscher said the Broncos have been recruiting Rodney Robinson from Cajon High in San Bernardino, California, for about two years, but the staff just offered him a scholarship Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, “He woke up and said he wanted to be a Bronco,” Uscher said.
Robinson’s was the last of Boise State’s 15 national letters of intent that filtered in Wednesday, and the Broncos’ coaches foresee him filling a critical position on the defense, nickel, which is a role currently filled by junior Kekaula Kaniho.
“We were looking for a safety, nickel-type body, and he has really good twitch and intangibles,” Uscher said. “We really wanted to get a guy in here to learn from Kekaula for a year, more so the off-the-field stuff and how Kekaula prepares himself for games.”
Robinson isn’t as physically imposing as many of the other defensive backs the Broncos signed Wednesday, but even at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Uscher said he’s more stout than Kaniho and may be able to hold his own better against the run. Robinson proved that point with more than 300 tackles in his high school career. His 10 career interceptions also speak to his ball skills.
Uscher compared Robinson to former Boise State defensive back Donte Deayon, who played for the Broncos from 2012 to 2015 and finished his career with 17 interceptions, which ranks No. 5 in program history.
Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said he knew Robinson was talented, but he was sold after traveling to San Bernardino last week to spend some time with him.
“He’s got a great vibe,” Harsin said. “As you watch him on film, you see what kind of player he is and you realize this guy fits what we’re trying to do.”
Robinson is listed as a three-star safety by 247Sports, and he also had scholarship offers from Washington State, San Diego State, Oregon State, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, Princeton, Yale and Wyoming.
Through fellow San Bernardino natives Alexander Mattison — a former running back at Boise State, who currently plays for the Minnesota Vikings — and Broncos’ safety Tyreque Jones, Robinson had some familiarity with Boise State, which may have played a role in him signing without visiting.
Boise State occasionally signs players who haven’t visited campus. The Broncos landed true freshman running back George Holani and redshirt freshman cornerback Tyric Lebeauf in the same fashion. But Robinson’s commitment does speak to what Harsin saw as a trend in the class.
“There’s a lot of guys in this class where it was ‘no doubt about it, this is where I’m going,’ ” Harsin said. “To me, that means a lot with our guys. They come in here and they want to be here, and you see the guys work hard because they want to be here, and it shows up on the field.”
Boise State’s coaches recruited this class with the goal of getting taller in the secondary. They checked that box with signed letters of intent from Semaj Verner (6-2, 185), Donovan Clark (6-3, 190) and Isaiah Bradford (6-0, 170) — all of whom could develop into safeties or stay on the boundaries as cornerbacks.
“Having long guys on the edge is crucial for us to make it hard for quarterbacks to throw into tight windows,” Boise State safeties coach Gabe Franklin said.
The Broncos also made it official with Kaniho’s younger brother, Kaonohi, who missed most of his junior season at Kahuku High in Hawaii with an injury, which may have played a role in his light recruitment. The cornerback’s only offers were from Boise State and Hawaii, but the coaches see a lot of similarities between the brothers.
“Kekaula is a baller and can fly around and make plays, and we see Kaonohi as another version of him,” Boise State cornerbacks coach Jalil Brown said. “He can cover, he’s football savvy and he gets his hands on the football. He does some returning, too. He’s an athlete and a guy we think can come in and make us better on the back end.”
A foundation in the trenches
As heavy as the Broncos went on defensive backs in their 2020 class, Harsin said the class was built from the inside out, beginning in the trenches.
Boise State signed three offensive linemen and four players on the defensive line, including junior college transfer Divine Obichere, a 6-4, 295-pound defensive tackle who committed and signed Wednesday. He played at Long Beach City College with defensive end Shane Irwin, who also signed Wednesday.
“That’s where it all starts,” Harsin said. “We didn’t sign all the positions of need at this point, but that was certainly the focus, ‘alright, how do we get the O-line and D-line, I wouldn’t say solidified, but make sure we have a good foundation with that group?’ And then work our way out from there.”
Obichere also had offers from UTEP, San Jose State and Liberty. He’ll work on the interior of the line alongside returning tackle Scale Igiehon and fellow incoming freshman Herbert Gums (6-1, 284), who gave the Broncos his verbal commitment Dec. 12.
“(Gums is) a very focused individual and not a man of many words,” Harsin said. “He’s a big dude, he can play and he’s got a very focused demeanor about him.”
Harsin said Wednesday that Irwin, who began his career at San Diego State, will enroll early and join the team in January. With Mountain West sacks leader Curtis Weaver potentially leaving early for the NFL Draft, Irwin likely will join redshirt freshman Demitri Washington in the STUD role.
“I think Shane can come right in and play,” Harsin said. “When I watched his tape, I was like, ‘That’s exactly the type of guy we look for.’ ”
On the offensive line, the Broncos’ incoming recruits are led by Brandon Hernandez — a 6-6, 275-pound offensive tackle who Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell described as a mauler.
“He’s a physical dude, and that’s what we were looking for in that position,” Bedell said. “He’s big and athletic enough to move well, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him.”
Hernandez was joined in filing his letter of intent Wednesday by junior college transfer Riden Leong and three-star offensive lineman Nathan Cardona, who Bedell said will play guard or center.
The Broncos have a fifth defensive lineman in the class in tackle Nick Booker-Brown, but he did not sign Wednesday. Harsin also said they may not be done adding linemen on both sides of the ball. A couple more could be on the way when traditional signing day rolls around Feb. 5.
Still searching for a QB
One position of need the Broncos didn’t fill Wednesday was quarterback. Salinas High quarterback Carl Richardson visited Boise State on Dec. 9.
“You’d like to have a guy in there, but at the same time you want to have the right guy,” Harsin said. “We could have gotten into a quick offer and just get somebody signed. We didn’t do that. We just said we’ll get into the second signing period and get somebody.”
The early signing period isn’t over. High school recruits have until Friday to file their letters of intent, and the Broncos have landed quarterbacks late in the process before. In 2017, Jaylon Henderson didn’t sign until Dec. 22 — three days after early signing day.
Richardson, a three-star prospect who was a finalist for this year’s High School Heisman, may be waiting to see where his brother, Jack, ends up after entering the portal as a graduate transfer from Stanford on Dec. 11.
The Broncos may be in the market for a transfer quarterback even if they add a high school prospect and Hank Bachmeier and Chase Cord both decide to stay. Jack Richardson hasn’t publicly announced an offer or even any interest in Boise State, but 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman said Boise State conceivably could land them both.
“Even when Boise has had established quarterbacks in the past, they’ve still welcomed in grad transfers,” Huffman said. “It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility, especially if it gets them a guy who’s going to be a freshman and isn’t going to be leaving them any time soon.”
NO. 18 BOISE STATE VS. WASHINGTON
What: Las Vegas Bowl
When: 5:30 p.m. MT Saturday
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium (35,500), Las Vegas
TV: ABC (Bob Wischusen, Kirk Herbstreit, Molly McGrath)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State is 12-1; Washington is 7-5
Series: The series is tied 2-2 (last meeting: Boise State won 16-13 in 2015 in Albertsons Stadium)
Vegas line: Washington by 3.5
Weather: High of 57 degrees, mostly cloudy, 6 mph wind
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 7:04 PM.
