Former Boise State safety Happle heading home to finish college career
Former Boise State safety Jordan Happle is heading home to Oregon to finish his college football career.
Happle is from Portland, Oregon, and on Monday, he announced on Twitter that he’s heading to the University of Oregon, where he’ll be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
“First I would like to thank all of the schools that reached out to me since entering my name into the transfer portal,” tweeted Happle, who has already earned a degree in criminal justice. “But after some long conversations and prayers about it, I will be going home to fulfill my dream of becoming an Oregon Duck.”
Boise State confirmed on Sept. 24 that Happle was in the transfer portal.
He was limited to five games last fall due to injuries, but he was expected to compete for a starting spot this season in the Broncos’ secondary, which already has to replace safeties Kekoa Nawahine (graduation) and D’Andre Pierce, who transferred to Arizona State.
Happle appeared in 26 games for Boise State since 2017 — the year he recorded his only career interception in the Las Vegas Bowl when he picked off a pass from former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.
Happle’s departure leaves the Broncos in a tough spot at safety.
Sophomore JL Skinner is likely to claim one starting spot, and he’ll be joined by some combination of Tyreque Jones, Evan Tyler and Kekaula Kaniho, who has spent the bulk of his career at nickel.
Junior college transfer Jonathan Earl (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) has the size to transition from cornerback to safety, and Boise State made the secondary a focus of its 2020 recruiting class — adding six defensive backs, including Semaj Verner (6-2, 185) and Rodney Robinson.
Happle may see the field sooner rather than later at Oregon, which has had three members of the secondary — Jevon Holland, Thomas Graham Jr. and Brady Breeze — opt out of the season. Another defensive back, Deommodore Lenoir, initially opted out but announced Monday that he will rejoin the program.
Happle will also be reunited with Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who held the same position at Boise State from 2016 to 2018.
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 5:31 PM.
