Boise State adds a second recruit from a nationally ranked program in less than a week
Chandler High School football coach Rick Garretson was familiar with Eli Sanders before the running back ever stepped on campus at Chandler High School in Arizona.
In 2018, Sanders played for Mountain Pointe High in Phoenix, which faced Chandler in the second round of the state playoffs and lost, 49-21, in a game he would probably like to forget.
“I knew he was a tough kid,” Garretson said Saturday by phone. “He took a beating that night.”
Sanders proved his coach right last season after racking up 1,200 all-purpose yards and 11 total touchdowns despite playing in just eight games during the Wolves’ fourth straight run to a state championship.
He’s one of a slew of Division I recruits at Chandler, which heads into the fall on a 26-game winning streak and ranks No. 10 nationally in a preseason poll released by MaxPreps.
Sanders is also the second Chandler player to join Boise State’s 2021 recruiting class in less than a week. He verbally committed on Friday and announced it Saturday afternoon on Twitter.
“The coaches made me feel at home throughout the process, and it just felt right,” Sanders said Saturday by phone. “I sat down and talked to my family about it, and they thought it was a great fit, too.”
On Tuesday, Sanders’ teammate, wide receiver Jalen Richmond, committed to the Broncos.
In all, Chandler has 21 players on the roster with at least one scholarship offer, including fellow running back Quaron Adams, who has offers from Cal, Hawaii, Oregon and Arizona State.
With all that talent on the field, expectations are high for the Wolves to capture a fifth straight state title, which would make it six in the past seven years.
“You just come every day to compete because your spot is not guaranteed and there’s somebody who always wants your spot,” Sanders said.
Sanders is a three-star athlete with at least six scholarship offers, according to 247Sports. He said his final decision came down to Boise State, Arizona and Arizona State, and his connection with the coaches tipped the scales in the Broncos’ favor.
Boise State’s dedication to the running game also played a role in landing him. Last fall, freshman George Holani racked up 1,014 yards, extending the team’s streak of seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher to 11 straight.
“I did my research, and that really boosted them in my eyes,” Sanders said. “Being a running back, going somewhere where they love to run the ball is huge.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound native of San Diego said Saturday that Boise State recruited him as a running back, which Garretson called his natural position.
“He’s a slashing runner, and one thing the coaches (at Boise State) liked about him was his yards after contact,” Garretson said. “He’s a tremendous runner and receiver. And when we got him on the field, he gave us a heavy duty one-two punch that helped lead us to a state championship.”
After transferring to Chandler last year, Sanders had to sit out the first five games of the season due to state athletic association rules. It didn’t take him long to make an impact when he returned, though.
In his debut against Perry High School, Sanders amassed 188 rushing yards and four touchdowns, according to Garretson. He was also a versatile weapon in an offense that often threw the ball as many as 40 times a game.
“You can’t be a running back in our offense if you can’t catch,” Garretson said. “He’s an every-down player. Even when we go empty sets, he stays in the ballgame.”
Because coronavirus has put a hold on all in-person visits, Sanders had to settle for a virtual tour of Boise State. But he plans to make the trip to Boise on his own to check out the city and the campus when it’s safe to do so.
He’s coming in at a position where the Broncos look pretty set for the next couple of years. Holani is only a sophomore, and he’ll be backed up again this season by senior Robert Mahone and junior Andrew Van Buren. In May, Boise State also signed junior college transfer Taequan Tyler, who is coming in with three years of eligibility remaining.
Sanders is the third known recruit in the Broncos’ 2021 class. On April 8, linebacker Jai Jones became the first player to join the class.
2021 recruiting class
LB Jai Jones, 5-11, 230, South Oak Cliff High (Dallas, Texas)
WR Jalen Richmond, 6-0, 175, Chandler (Arizona) High
RB Eli Sanders, 6-0, 190, Chandler (Arizona) High
This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
