Boise State OL Harrington holds voter registration drive; Shakir on preseason watch list
Boise State offensive lineman Donte Harrington is doing his part to ensure his teammates understand the importance of voting.
On Tuesday, Harrington teamed up with the League of Women Voters of Idaho to hold a voter registration drive, which led to 46 Boise State football players registering in Idaho and additional members of the program registering in their home states.
“Our team wanted to show that we take these social issues seriously and that we are committed to making a difference,” Harrington said in a statement released Tuesday by Boise State. “Voting provides a voice that many people have fought hard for and that is something we wanted to acknowledge by signing up to vote as a team. Hopefully we can inspire others in our community to do the same.”
Harrington — a 6-foot-2, 300-pound redshirt senior — missed all of last season with a torn ACL he suffered during offseason workouts. In 2016, he was a three-star recruit and the No. 13 ranked center in the nation at San Clemente High School in California — the same program that produced Boise State linebacker Riley Whimpey and former USC quarterback Jack Sears, who signed with the Broncos in May.
With four starters to replace on the offensive line this fall, Harrington is likely to land a starting spot.
The lone returning starter, John Ojukwu, will replace Ezra Cleveland at left tackle and redshirt sophomore Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez is entrenched at center. Harrington’s most likely landing spot is at guard, where he’ll compete with Jake Stetz, Dallas Holliday and Garrett Curran.
NCAA sets testing protocol
The NCAA released its third installment of guidelines Thursday aimed at helping universities keep athletes and coaches safe and limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Highlighting the protocols are a recommendation that all athletes not only be tested for the virus but have results at least 72 hours before competing in a high-contact sport, such as football.
The American Athletic Conference — home to Group of Five contenders Memphis, SMU, UCF and Cincinnati — announced a similar requirement on Thursday morning.
AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN the league wanted to get ahead of any testing protocols the NCAA and Power 5 conferences announce in order to assure its opponents it would be able to meet any standards recommended for fall sports.
On Thursday, the NCAA also recommended daily self-health checks — which Boise State already has players doing online and before they enter the facilities — and the appropriate use of face masks during training and social situations.
College football programs across the country continue to suspend workouts as players continue to test positive for the coronavirus. On Thursday, Miami was the latest to halt offseason activities after three players tested positive, according to the Miami Herald.
Boise State began organized team activities on Monday — a week after campus reopened following a string of cases, which forced a two-week closure. The NCAA voted in June to allow up to eight hours a week of weight lifting, conditioning and film study from July 13-24.
Football and soccer players began returning to Boise State during the first week of June. On June 8, the university reported multiple athletes had tested positive for the virus but declined to identify them or specify which sport they played, citing federal privacy laws.
On June 24, the university announced four positive cases in the athletic department. Last Thursday, Boise State announced it had tested 533 athletes, coaches and staff members and detected 22 positive cases since the beginning of June.
Shakir on Biletnikoff watch list
On Thursday, wide receiver Khalil Shakir became the fifth Boise State football player to land on an award watch list this preseason.
Shakir was named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announced Thursday morning. The award goes to the top receiver in the country.
Last season, Shakir made the Mountain West honorable mention team after leading the Broncos with 63 receptions and ranked No. 10 in the conference with 872 receiving yards. He also accounted for 10 total touchdowns: six receiving, three rushing and one passing.
Shakir is part of a talented class of wide receivers in the conference this season, and he’s joined on the Biletnikoff watch list by four of them: Nevada’s Elijah Cooks, Colorado State’s Warren Jackson, San Jose State’s Tre Walker and Hawaii’s Jared Smart.
Walker led the Mountain West last fall with 1,161 receiving yards, and Smart was second in receptions (87) and third in yards (1,129). Jackson was No. 4 in the conference with 1,119 yards and tied for No. 3 with eight receiving touchdowns, while Cooks finished with 76 catches for 926 yards and eight scores.
On Tuesday, Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier was named to the Davey O’Brien Award watch list, followed by sophomore running back George Holani, who landed on the Doak Walker watch list on Wednesday.
Senior cornerback Jalen Walker was named to the Bednarik Award watch list on Monday, and nickel Kekaula Kaniho made the Lott IMPACT list.
