Boise State fills 8 spots on All-Mountain West team; New Mexico debates moving football season
The Boise State football team filled a conference-best eight spots on the preseason All-Mountain West team, which was voted on by media members and released Wednesday.
The Broncos were one of two teams with at least one player selected on offense, defense and special teams — the other being Colorado State.
Redshirt senior Avery Williams filled two spots: defensive back and punt returner.
After returning two punts for touchdowns last season, Williams was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year. He was also a first-team all-conference pick as a punt returner and an honorable-mention selection as a cornerback.
Boise State had three players make the preseason cut on offense: sophomore quarterback Hank Bachmeier, junior wide receiver Khalil Shakir and redshirt junior offensive lineman John Ojukwu, who is expected to move to left tackle this fall as former Bronco Ezra Cleveland’s replacement.
Bachmeier went 7-1 last season as the starter and completed 62.5% of his passes. On July 14, he was named to the Davey O’Brien preseason watch list.
Shakir led the Broncos last fall with 63 receptions and totaled 10 touchdowns: six receiving, three rushing and one passing. He’s on the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list and part of a talented class of wide receivers in the Mountain West this season.
Defensively, Boise State had four players make the preseason all-conference team: Williams, junior defensive lineman Scale Igiehon, senior linebacker Riley Whimpey and senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho.
Igiehon will open the season as the team’s only known commodity on a defensive line replacing four starters, including sacks leader Curtis Weaver.
Whimpey led the team last fall with 83 tackles, and Kaniho can play nickel or safety and has already landed on three preseason watch lists: the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Kaniho is joined on the Thorpe Award watch list by cornerback Jalen Walker, who is also on the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the country. The Thorpe Award honors the nation’s top defensive back.
Bates on Mackey Award watch list
Boise State tight end John Bates is on the Mackey Award preseason watch list for the third year in a row.
The watch list for the award, which honors the top tight end in the nation, was announced Friday, and Bates was joined by Colorado State’s Trey McBride and San Diego State’s Daniel Bellinger.
Bates was an honorable-mention All-Mountain West pick last season after finishing with 22 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown. He set career highs in receptions (five) and receiving yards (63) against Marshall, and hauled in his lone score on Sept. 20 against Air Force.
No football in New Mexico?
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent a letter to the leadership at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State on Tuesday, urging them to suspend the fall season in contact sports, such as football and soccer, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
The letter cited rising cases of COVID-19 among young people in New Mexico and suggested sports could resume in late 2020 or early 2021, according to the Journal.
New Mexico would be the first Mountain West program to suspend the fall season, and the decision would cut into Boise State’s schedule. The Broncos are scheduled to visit Albuquerque on Nov. 14.
The Lobos already lost a road game at USC when the Pac-12 announced it was moving to a conference-only schedule. They’re supposed to host Idaho State in the season opener on Aug. 29 and travel to New Mexico State on Sept. 19.
The Pac-12’s decision also cost New Mexico State, which competes as an independent, a road game at UCLA. On Monday the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s decision to postpone the fall season to the spring cost the Aggies a home game against Texas Southern.
The Ivy League was first to cancel the fall season, followed by the Patriot League, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Colonial Athletic Conference — one of the top FCS leagues in the country.
The Big Ten was the first Power Five conference to announce the move to a conference-only schedule, and the Pac-12 postponed its annual media days on Monday.
The Mountain West has yet to announce a decision on the fall season, but on Monday, the conference postponed its virtual media days until further notice.
Lawrence unsure about camp
Dallas Cowboys training camp is scheduled to begin July 28, but former Boise State pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence isn’t sure he’s going to show up.
On Sunday, Lawrence told ESPN that he wants to report to camp but wants to make sure he’s going to stay healthy and keep his family safe. His wife, Sasha, is pregnant and due in October.
On Monday, the NFL and NFLPA agreed on safety protocols for players reporting to camp, which include daily COVID-19 testing for the first two weeks and every other day beyond that if the rate of positive tests falls below 5%.
The league also reportedly offered to cut all preseason games, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Lawrence is entering the second year of a five-year, $105 million contract, which includes a $25 million signing bonus. He told ESPN if he didn’t report to camp, he would be subject to having to repay part of the bonus.
Hammond out at Air Force?
A leading candidate for Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year may miss the 2020 season.
Air Force quarterback Donald Hammond III “is no longer a cadet in good standing,” the Air Force Academy told the Colorado Springs Gazette on Sunday.
No information was provided on the violation, but in the past, the drop in status has led to players missing at least a season’s worth of competition, according to the Gazette.
Last season, Hammond racked up 553 rushing yards and 26 total touchdowns (13 rushing, 13 passing).
