Boise State TE Bates is a soon-to-be-married man — and a key part of the Broncos’ offense
Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier called tight end John Bates a “big safety net” after last weekend’s season-opening win over Utah State.
Boise State football coach Bryan Harisn doesn’t think that adequately describes the role the tight ends play in the offense.
“We’ve done so many things with that position, I kind of call them the glue to the team,” said Harsin, who coached Boise State’s tight ends from 2002 to 2005. “I think the intelligence of that group, that gives us the opportunity to do the things on offense that we want to do.”
The Broncos’ starting quarterback and coach may not be able to agree on what to call Bates on the field, but off of it, they’ll both soon refer to him as a married man.
Just one day after the Mountain West announced football season would begin in October, Bates proposed to his girlfriend, Kegan Bertram, and got the answer he was looking for.
“It was back-to-back pretty exciting days,” Bates said. “I’ve got a great girl, and I can’t wait for the future with her.”
Bates popped the question on Sept. 25 at The Farmstead in Kuna. They stopped in a field of sunflowers for a photo, and as Bertram set the timer on the camera on her phone, he slipped the ring into his back pocket.
Not wanting to give it away, he convinced his soon-to-be fiancee to take a few extras, and just before the timer counted down to zero for the final time, he dropped to a knee and asked the question. She said yes.
“We’ve been a team for a while. Now, we’re going to officially be a team,” he said. “This is real. This is something I want, and we’re taking that team mentality that we’re going to be one someday.”
They haven’t set a date. That will come after the season, which, if the opener was any indication, could be a big one for Bates.
Bates tied his career high with five catches last Saturday against Utah State. All five receptions were made in the first half, and he finished with 44 yards.
Bates’ focus this season is on improving as a big-play threat, which he said comes down to having a certain mindset.
“You’ve got to know when the ball is coming to you, it’s got to be yours every single time,” he said. “Then having that mentality that when you catch the ball, no one is going to bring you down. I’m going to score a touchdown every time the ball is in my hands.”
Bates is joining a group of married teammates. Graduate transfer linebacker Brock Miller got married this offseason, and fellow linebacker Riley Whimpey is also married.
Broncos’ Bedell has history with Calhoun
Having played at Colorado, Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell is used to the altitude that will come with this weekend’s trip to the Air Force Academy.
He’s also pretty familiar with Air Force coach Troy Calhoun. Bedell made the final stop of his NFL career in Houston in 2006, where Calhoun was the Texans’ offensive coordinator.
Bedell said the demands of a college football coach’s schedule have kept them from staying in touch, but he enjoyed the time they spent together in Houston.
“He’s very smart, he adapts well to players, he demands the respect that he deserves and he controls a room well,” Bedell said.
Calhoun didn’t try to run the triple option with the Texans, but it has served him well during his time at Air Force. The Falcons routinely produce one of the top rushing attacks in the country, including last season when they ranked No. 2 in the nation with 298.5 rushing yards a game.
Calhoun took over at Air Force in 2007 and has led the Falcons to a bowl game in 10 of his 13 years as head coach. The Falcons finished last fall with a 31-21 win over Washington State in the Cheez-it Bowl.
Volleyball, soccer formats announced
The Mountain West announced scheduling formats for spring volleyball, women’s soccer and baseball seasons on Thursday.
Women’s soccer will employ a 10-match conference-only schedule in a divisional double round-robin format taking place between March 5 and April 11.
Matches will be played on Fridays and Saturdays, and a single match will be played on April 17 between the two division winners to determine the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Volleyball teams will play a 16-match conference-only schedule from Feb. 5 to April 3. There are no divisions in volleyball, and the regular-season champion will be the Mountain West’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
The regular-season formats for softball and men’s and women’s tennis are unchanged, according to the conference.
Mountain West baseball teams will play a 36-game conference schedule in a double round-robin format, but that won’t apply to Boise State, which cut its baseball and swimming programs in July in response to the budgetary crisis brought on by COVID-19.
