Cowboys acknowledge ‘opportunity’ for Kellen Moore at Boise State; Williams named All-American
Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy addressed speculation about Boise State’s interest in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on Sunday after a 37-17 win over the Eagles.
Boise State is in the market for a new football coach after Bryan Harsin left for Auburn. He was introduced as the Tigers’ new coach on Thursday.
“As far as Kellen’s potential opportunity, that’s really not for me to speak on,’’ McCarthy said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “I think that’s something that we’ll ultimately speak on. I can only tell you that we think the world of Kellen. He’s done an incredible job here.”
Moore was a quarterback at Boise State from 2008 to 2011, and he set an NCAA record for career wins while going 50-3 as a Bronco.
On Monday, he confirmed his interest in becoming Boise State’s next head coach, but with the Cowboys in the race to in the NFC East, he didn’t elaborate on where he was in the hiring process or if he has actually interviewed for the job.
“Obviously, Boise is a unique one for me, special to me,” Moore told The Dallas Morning News. “I love that place. Obviously, just going through the process right now. I’m just focused on this game. We’ll kind of let all this stuff play out and see where it takes us.”
The Cowboys have won three games in a row, and at 6-9, they’re tied with Washington for first place in the NFC East. Dallas needs a win Sunday against the Giants and Washington to lose to Philadelphia to win the division and make the playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s fair to comment right now too much about it,” Moore said. “Obviously, really focused on that we have this awesome chance to win the NFC East, as crazy as this season has been. So let’s go for this thing, and let’s see what happens.”
Moore threw for more than 3,400 yards in each of his four seasons, and he finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy as a junior. He’s the only player in program history who was a Heisman finalist.
He wasn’t selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he signed with the Lions before eventually moving to the Cowboys, where in 2015 he made the only two starts of his career. Both were losses, but against Washington he threw for 435 yards and three touchdowns — becoming the fifth player in Cowboys history to throw for more than 400 yards in a game.
His playing career came to an end after the 2017 season, but he was immediately hired as the Cowboys quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019. Dallas owned the NFL’s top offense that year, averaging 431.5 yards a game.
“We definitely respect and understand the uniqueness of this opportunity to Boise, himself and his family,” McCarthy said. “I think at the right time, that’s really for Kellen and Boise State to speak on. I’ve probably said too much already, but we think the world of him.”
Moore and Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who is a former Boise State player and assistant coach, are widely considered among the top candidates to replace Harsin. Avalos starred at linebacker for the Broncos during a career that stretched from 2000 to 2004. Avalos finished his paying career No. 4 all-time at Boise State with 365 tackles, and he was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018.
Sanders reopens recruitment
Boise State lost one of its top recruits in the 2021 class Sunday when running back Eli Sanders announced on Twitter that he was reopening his recruitment.
Sanders was the Broncos’ second recruit in the class from Arizona powerhouse Chandler High, which entered this season ranked No. 10 in a poll by Maxpreps, went 10-0 and won its fifth straight state championship.
Wide receiver Jalen Richmond committed a couple days before Sanders, and he was one of 15 recruits Boise State signed Dec. 16 on early signing day.
In this year’s state championship game, Sanders scored an 80-yard touchdown on Chandlers’ first offensive play, and the Wolves’ beat Hamilton 23-21. As a junior, he racked up more than 1,200 all-purpose yards and scored 11 touchdowns in just eight games.
The three-star recruit, who is originally from San Diego, verbally committed to Boise State in July, but he has since picked up scholarship offers from Iowa and Iowa State, according to 247Sports.
Sanders and offensive lineman Jason White were the only two commits the Broncos didn’t sign on early signing day.
Without Sanders, the Broncos’ class fell to No. 2 in the Mountain West rankings, trailing San Diego State, according to 247Sports. Boise State has signed the conference’s top-ranked class every year since 2013.
Signing Sanders was a priority for the Boise State coaching staff, which watched its running game rank last in the Mountain West this season with 107.5 yards a game. The Broncos were without running back George Holani, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the second game of the season, and junior college transfer Taequan Tyler, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the preseason.
Boise State was also missing the services of senior Robert Mahone, who was suspended in August after an arrest on suspicion of domestic battery and eventually announced he was transferring.
Williams named All-American
Boise State senior Avery Williams was named a third-team Associated Press All-American as an all-purpose player on Monday.
He’s the first Boise State returner to be named an All-American since Kyle Wilson in 2008.
Williams led the nation this season with four special teams touchdowns — returning two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns and recovering a punt he blocked in the end zone in the Broncos’ win over Colorado State. He also blocked a field-goal attempt that night.
He returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the conference championship game against San Jose State, and Williams was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Williams was also named a first-team All-American by USA Today as a kick returner and made the second-team cut as both a kick and punt returner on CBS Sports’ All-America team.
The Pasadena, California, native has scored nine career special teams touchdowns.
On Thursday, Williams — a former walk-on — joined tight end John Bates in declaring for the NFL Draft.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
