Boise State gets Election Day off; Williams, Sears pick up weekly conference awards
Boise State safety Evan Tyler has seen it all during his college career.
In 2018, his redshirt junior year, the First Responder Bowl in Dallas was canceled because of severe lightning. Last fall, the season opener against Florida State was moved because of Hurricane Dorian.
Tyler has also suffered a pair of season-ending ACL tears, both of which required surgery, and now the sixth-year senior is going through a season altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve probably seen a lot more than the majority of college football players, but it honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve been here that long,” said Tyler, who signed with Boise State in 2015. “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard an age joke, I’d be a millionaire.”
The 23-year-old is working on his master’s degree in athletic leadership, and his teammates have noticed his advanced age. They call him “O.G. (original gangster)“ and “seasoned vet,” but given his experience, they also stop and listen when he speaks.
His message to athletes all over the country is to go out on Election Day on Tuesday and vote, especially since they have the day off.
“Voting is important, and everybody should go out and vote,” Tyler said.
In September, the Division I Council voted that the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 will be a day off every year. Teams are not allowed to hold any mandatory team activities, including workouts, practice or position meetings.
Tyler isn’t the only Boise State athlete who has pushed the importance of voting in recent months.
In July, offensive lineman Donte Harrington led a voter registration drive. His efforts are part of why about 80% of players on the football team are registered to vote, according to a team spokesperson.
The men’s basketball team joined a national movement to register athletes to vote, which was spearheaded locally by star guard Derrick Alston Jr. and assistant coach Mike Burns.
Tyler has done his part to highlight the reasons why voting is so important, especially for young people.
In August, the Corona, California, native led a discussion about many of the social and racial issues the United States continues to face and how voting is the first step in enacting change. The Zoom call was full of Boise State administrators and student-athletes of various races — many of whom also shared their stories and left an impression on Tyler.
“These social issues for young people, myself included, are important because we’re the next generation, and this generation is going to affect change that’s going to happen for years and years to come,” Tyler said. “I want my children to live in a better world than I lived in.”
Having Tuesday off isn’t ideal, given that the Broncos are already facing a short week before their most bitter rival, No. 9 BYU, comes to Alberstons Stadium on Friday (7:55 p.m., FS1).
But Boise State players and coaches alike see the value in having the time to exercise their civic rights.
“It’s awesome for our guys to go vote and do what they should and make the changes they want,” defensive line coach Spencer Danielson told reporters last Wednesday. “So, we’ve got to be intentional with the other days and make sure we get everything in.”
Veteran players such as senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho see voting as an exercise in leadership.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for players to really use their platform,” Kaniho said, “to use your voice and use your vote to vote on the the things that you stand for and that you believe in.”
Senior linebacker Benton Wickersham praised the NCAA for recognizing that in the past, many student-athletes didn’t go out and vote because of schedules dominated by their class loads and practice.
“I think its a necessary thing,” Wickersham said. “I think people should have time to go out and vote.”
Williams, Sears win weekly awards
Two players who played major roles in Boise State’s 49-30 win at Air Force on Saturday were recognized for their efforts by the Mountain West.
On Monday, senior Avery Williams was named the conference’s special teams player of the week and graduate transfer Jack Sears was named to the Manning Award’s “Stars of the Week” list.
After Air Force scored to cut Boise State’s lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter, Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, extending the Broncos’ lead to 42-24 with 11:13 to play.
It was the former walk-on’s sixth career special teams touchdown, and the fourth time Williams has earned the weekly award from the conference.
Last fall, he was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year after returning two punts for touchdowns and ranking No. 9 in the country with 13.2 yards per return.
In his first start for the Broncos, Sears — a former four-star recruit, who spent the past three years at USC — completed 17-of-20 passes for 280 yards and totaled four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).
In 2004, the Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the accomplishments of former college and NFL quarterbacks Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. Former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow won it last year.
Eight quarterbacks from around the country are selected each Monday as the “stars of the week.”
After the initial selection, fans vote on the Manning Quarterback of the Week. BYU quarterback Zach Wilson earned the honor on Sept. 8 after completing 13-of-18 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns in the Cougars’ 55-3 win over Army in the season opener.
It was Sears’ first start since 2018 when he was USC’s No. 3 quarterback, but it’s unclear if Friday’s rivalry game will be his second.
After usual starter Hank Bachmeier missed Saturday’s game for undisclosed reasons, Sears and Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin dodged questions about the quarterback situation.
Bachmeier and safety JL Skinner were two of 29 players that missed Saturday’s game at Utah State. The Broncos confirmed one player missed the game because of a positive COVID-19 test but the team didn’t specify which player.
Many of the players who missed the first two games of the season weren’t available to play because of a Mountain West rule put in place this fall, which limits teams to dressing 74 players for a game.
NO. 9 BYU AT NO. 21 BOISE STATE
When: 7:55 p.m. Friday
Where: Albertsons Stadium
TV: Fox Sports 1 (Aaron Goldsmith, Petros Papadakis). That’s channel 146 on Sparklight, 219 on DirecTV and 150 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 2-0; BYU 7-0
Series: Boise State leads 7-3 (last meeting: Boise State lost 28-25 last season in Provo, Utah)
Vegas line: BYU by 2.5
Weather: Low of 28 degrees, 40% chance of rain and snow, 5-10 mph winds
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
