Former Boise State stars to make first NFL starts; men’s hoops to open against Kansas
Former Boise State stars Ezra Cleveland and Alexander Mattison, both now in Minnesota, will make their first career NFL starts this weekend.
On Friday, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Falcons, leaving Mattison to start in his place. Cook suffered a groin injury last weekend against the Seahawks.
Mattison posted his first career 100-yard rushing performance against Seattle, finishing with 112 yards. Through five games this season, he has 219 rushing yards and a touchdown on 44 carries. As a rookie last season, he carried the ball 100 times for 462 yards and a touchdown.
In three seasons at Boise State (2016-18), he racked up 2,829 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. The Vikings picked him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
With Vikings right guard Dru Samia also ruled out of Sunday’s game, Cleveland will step in for his first start.
Most of Cleveland’s 40 career starts at Boise State were at left tackle, but Broncos offensive line coach Brad Bedell praised the Spanaway, Washington, native’s athleticism and versatility leading up to this year’s draft, and Cleveland has been getting first-team reps at guard the past week at Minnesota’s practices.
The Vikings picked Cleveland in the second round of the draft after he was named first-team All-Mountain West the past two years.
Correa on the move
Former Boise State linebacker Kamalei Correa has a new NFL franchise to call home.
On Thursday, Tennessee traded Correa and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft to Jacksonville for a 2021 sixth-round pick.
Frustrated with his diminished role on the defense, Correa requested a trade after he wasn’t activated for Tuesday’s game against Buffalo, despite having been removed from the reserve/COVID list. He tested positive for the virus on Sept. 30.
The fifth-year pro has played just 38 snaps on defense and 23 on special teams this season. During his NFL career, he has appeared in 57 games, starting 13, and posted 77 tackles and 8.5 sacks.
Correa was a two-time All-Mountain West pick during his three-year career at Boise State. As a sophomore in 2014, he earned first-team honors after leading the conference with 12 sacks.
Men’s basketball: Broncos to open with Kansas
The pandemic has created a scheduling nightmare for college basketball teams, but it appears Boise State has landed a big fish.
If everything comes to fruition as planned, the Broncos will open the 2020-21 season in late November against Kansas in The Wooden Legacy tournament in Orlando, Florida.
Boise State was originally scheduled to play in the Orlando Invitational Nov. 26-29 against a field that included Auburn, Belmont, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Saint Louis, Siena and Xavier.
Siena officially dropped out of the Orlando Invitational because Florida is on New York’s COVID-19 travel advisory list, which would require the Saints to self-quarantine for two weeks after returning to campus, according to the Albany Times Union.
Kansas was originally scheduled to play in the Wooden Legacy Nov. 26-27 with UCLA, Virginia and Georgetown. However, Georgetown withdrew from the event after it was moved to Florida because the state is on Washington D.C.’s travel restriction list.
The scheduling chaos led to a chance matchup between Boise State and Kansas.
“It just became this mad dash of ‘Who can get this game?’” And “Who can get that game?’” Boise State coach Leon Rice said on a conference call with media on Friday. “We were fortunate. I credit ESPN and (assistant coach) Mike Burns’ persistence and consistency to stay on it to help us get this opportunity. We were kind of in the right place at the right time.
“We were fortunate to get that pod that we’re in, because it’s not only Kansas but UCLA and Seton Hall play in the other game. No matter what, you’re gonna have two terrific games.”
Boise State’s official nonconference schedule is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 2:33 PM.
