Bachmeier, Holani on preseason award watch lists; Steelheads sign Boise product Walker
Quarterback Hank Bachmeier and running back George Holani were prized recruits in the Boise State football team’s 2019 class, and neither has disappointed on the field.
Injuries knocked Bachmeier out of the lineup a couple times last season, but he went 7-1 as the starter and completed 62.5 percent of his passes.
Holani totaled 10 touchdowns (seven rushing) and racked up 1,014 yards on the ground, marking the 11th consecutive season the Broncos have produced a 1,000-yard rusher.
Expectations are high for both heading into their sophomore seasons, and this week, both landed on preseason watch lists.
On Tuesday, Bachmeier was named to the Davey O’Brien Award watch list — given annually to the top quarterback in the country. He’s one of two Mountain West quarterbacks on the list, joining Air Force’s Donald Hammond III.
Four other quarterbacks from the Group of Five made the list: Shane Buechele (SMU), Zac Thomas (Appalachian State), Brady White (Memphis) and Dillon Gabriel (UCF).
Bachmeier started the first six games last fall, leading the Broncos to wins in all of them. He suffered a hip injury in week six against Hawaii, which kept him out of Boise State’s only regular-season loss — a 28-25 setback at BYU.
He returned the following week to lead a come-from-behind victory at San Jose State but in the process, he suffered another injury, which cost him four games, including the Mountain West championship game against Hawaii.
Bachmeier started the Las Vegas Bowl against Washington, but he was replaced by Jaylon Henderson early in third quarter of the Broncos’ 38-7 loss. The former four-star recruit from Murrieta, California, finished the season with 1,879 passing yards, 10 total touchdowns (nine passing) and six interceptions.
On Wednesday, Holani was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, which goes to the top running back in the country.
He’s joined by six Mountain West running backs: Utah State’s Jaylen Warren, Wyoming’s Xazavian Valladay, Hawaii’s Miles Reed, Fresno State’s Ronnie Rivers, Nevada’s Toa Taua and UNLV’s Charles Williams.
The Broncos’ season-opening opponent, Georgia Southern, had two running backs make the list: Wesley Kennedy III, who led the team last fall with 824 yards and 11 touchdowns, and JD King, who posted 804 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Both are seniors.
Boise State is scheduled to host the Eagles on Sept. 5.
Holani’s rushing yards ranked No. 4 in the Mountain West last season. Valladay led the conference with 1,265, Williams was second with 1,257 and Rivers tied Hammond with a league-leading 13 rushing touchdowns.
On Monday, Boise State senior Jalen Walker was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, which goes the to the top defensive player in the country.
On June 4, senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho was named to the Lott IMPACT Award watch list, which goes to the defensive player in the nation who most embodies integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity.
Broncos honored by Phil Steele
The Boise State football team had 12 players make the Phil Steele preseason All-Mountain West team on Tuesday.
Senior Avery Williams was honored twice. The reigning Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year made the first-team cut as a punt returner, and he was a fourth-team pick as a cornerback. He returned two punts for touchdowns last season.
Four more Broncos were named first team: Bachmeier, Walker, Kaniho and linebacker Riley Whimpey, who led the team last season with 83 tackles.
Holani highlighted the second-team picks and was joined by tight end John Bates, offensive lineman John Ojukwu — who is slotted to replace Ezra Cleveland at left tackle — wide receiver Khalil Shakir, nose tackle Scale Igiehon and N.C. State transfer linebacker Brock Miller, who has yet to play a snap in the Mountain West.
Sophomore STUD Demitri Washington, who many believe will replace Curtis Weaver as the team’s top pass rusher, was a third-team pick.
On June 10, Boise State had 17 players make Athlon’s preseason all-conference teams.
Woman of the Year nominees
Three local athletes were nominated for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award this week.
On Tuesday, Boise State gymnasts Isabella Amado and Courtney McGregor were part of 605 female athletes across all three divisions nominated for the award.
Both qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — with Amado competing for Panama and McGregor for New Zealand — and went on to help the Broncos capture three straight Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference titles.
Amado won a conference title on the beam in 2019 and was named second-team All-MRGC in the same event this spring. McGregor won the beam title in 2018 and was the all-around conference champion in 2019, and she was a six-time first-team all-conference pick.
McGregor’s senior season was cut short by a ruptured Achilles Tendon, and in June, she announced she was retiring from gymnastics to pursue a career in the medical field.
Idaho State soccer player Katie Hogarth was also nominated for the award on Tuesday. The goalie finished her career sixth all-time in program history in saves (192) and second in saves per game (5.5).
The Woman of the Year nominees will be paired down to 30 and then to nine finalists, and the winner is expected to be announced sometime this fall.
Steelheads sign Boise product
The Idaho Steelheads signed Boise product Zach Walker on Tuesday, making him the first homegrown player to join the organization, according to a press release from the team.
Walker, 21, played in the Junior Steelheads organization from 2008-12 and was a member of the 2011-12 team that won a national championship. He was also a member of the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and on its U17 and U18 National Teams.
Although Walker was born in Puyallup, Washington, his family moved to Boise before his second birthday, and he still calls Boise home.
In a four-year career at Boston College, the 6-foot-1, 201-pound forward tallied three goals and 15 assists. After his eighth-grade year, Walker left Idaho to join an elite youth hockey team in Colorado coached by two-time NHL Stanley Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Adam Foote.
In 2019, he was invited to compete in the Nashville Predators development camp.
Hawaii adds Robert Morris
Hawaii added a game to its 2020 football schedule, which has been ravaged by COVID-19.
On Monday, the Rainbow Warriors announced FCS program Robert Morris will play in Aloha Stadium on Sept. 26, filling one of four open dates.
The Patriot League’s decision to ban flights costs Hawaii a Sept. 12 home game against Fordham even before the league moved to a conference-only schedule.
On Friday, the Pac-12 followed the Big Ten’s lead and cut nonconference contests, which cost Hawaii a home game against UCLA (Sept. 5) and road trips to Oregon (Sept. 19) and Arizona (Aug. 29).
